ayzrules

When Royalty Collides (#YIKES)

PSA: since we have a lot of people and IC has started, join status is now "full" BUT if you have previously expressed interest in the int check, discord, or OOC you are welcome to take as long as you need to finish up characters <3

When Royalty Collides (#YIKES)

M A I M E I O F L I A N G

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Mai had been getting ready for hours. First, she’d combed her long, wavy hair, ensuring that her midnight locks were free of all knots and snares. Sitting in front of her mirror, Mai had stared at herself in silence, thinking about all that her life had been up to that day. In her twenty-four years that she'd been alive, Mai had gone from hiding her identity from everyone to practically flaunting it in front of the most powerful people of Liang, and now the entire world. "Leonard Ford of Krieg-Königreich," she said out loud, clumsily. The foreign name sat heavily on her tongue, while her native language flowed fluidly out of her mouth. Mai winced, more aware than ever of her slight accent. She sighed-there was not much that she could do about that right then.

Mai had mixed feelings about being betrothed to Leonard Ford. On one hand, she understood the political implications of her marriage; Krieg-Königreich would provide her uncle's precarious regime with much-needed advanced technology, especially in terms of military technology. But on the other hand, Mai had never been particularly fond of soldiers. She tsked irritably to herself. Now was certainly not the time to be remembering that kind of stuff. Mai steeled her resolve and settled into the rhythmic motion of combing her hair. No, she would play her part, as she had always done. There was no need for the royalty of the entire damn world to know about the things that she'd seen and the things that she remembered. Besides, we've met before, she reminded herself. Even if the first time Mai had been sixteen and Leon eleven, and all subsequent encounters had been...awkward.

From what she'd seen and read, Leon was friendly enough, if on the more private side. He'd be the first of the royal family marrying a foreigner, and most news reports painted him in a relatively positive light. What more could she ask for?

Mai was not so foolish as to believe everything that people said, though. Being the crown prince of a kingdom with the world's most advanced military required more than just friendliness. No, there would be a certain cunning that only rulers and politicians and generals had within him, too. Mai had spent her life around that lot, for goodness's sake. She of all people would know.

After she had combed her hair until it shone, Mai pinned it out of her face while she went to get dressed. She carefully slipped into the gown that was hanging in the closet, admiring the smooth silk and the rose motifs. The billowy skirt fell down to the ground, almost covering Mai's feet, and Mai couldn't help but to think that it would be exceedingly easy to conceal a weapon underneath it. The bodice was a snowy white, featuring a wide black sash and a large silk rose, velvet ribbons creating the effect of leaves. The white gradually darkened into gray and then black as one traveled from bodice to hem, bright red accents that resembled rose petals splayed out across the bottom half of the skirt.

Mai sat down again at the vanity and prepared to work magic with her hair. With a veritable arsenal of bobby pins, hair gel, and combs spread out on the vanity in front of her, Mai eventually managed to tease her hair into a half-up, half-down hairstyle. She curled the ends of the tendrils of hair that hung against her back just so, examining her handiwork in the mirror. Satisfied with her hair, Mai retrieved her wooden jewelry box decorated with intricate carvings of koi fish and lotus flowers and pagodas, opening it and assessing her collection of hairpins, earrings, bracelets, rings, and necklaces with a critical eye. A particular set of hairpins with bright red glass beads hanging from a butterfly caught her attention, and Mai picked two of them up. She examined the ends, which were wickedly sharp, albeit extremely tiny, blades of sorts. Mai nodded idly to herself-they would do-and arranged them in her hair on the back of her head, crossing them in a manner that reminded Mai of hairstyles that featured two chopsticks in the bun.

After ensuring that no parts of the bladed ends were visible, Mai moved on to make-up, putting away her hair products and shoved her jewelry box to the side for the time being. She went through the motions of rubbing foundation across her skin and applying a slight hint of pale pink blush with a practiced ease, her mind on other things. Mai had pored over the reports of the other royalty that her uncle had provided her and listened intently to what Ming Mei said about each and every person that would be in attendance. Zhou had been there too, but he had seemed rather bored.

Mai rolled her eyes when she thought of Zhou; her cousin was much too rash for his own good, but there was something endearing to her about the the prince’s rashness. Not that she would ever tell him that, mind you, and his rashness had gotten him into plenty of trouble in the past.

Mai allowed herself a small grin. Despite all his glaring flaws, Mai had grown quite fond of Zhou. She finished touching up the light blush and carefully applied eyeliner and a pale gray eyeshadow, dusting her eyelids with the soft hue that set off the inky black of her hair. Then came the lipstick, which had always been Mai's favorite part about makeup. She went with her usual deep-red color, smiling at her reflection. Perfect.

Just a few more things left to do, she thought idly to herself. She put away her cosmetics and picked up the jewelry box again. A collar-like necklace of rubies, set in gold, went around her neck. She settled on ruby studs for her ears, to match the necklace. Mai pulled on a pair of evening gloves, the black satin gleaming in the soft glow of the electric lights in her room. A tiny dagger-the size of a nail file-went into her bodice. To top off the entire ensemble, Mai slipped into a pair of spiky black high heels that added a few inches to her height, making her almost freakishly tall. That was alright, though: she could deal with being extremely tall if it meant that she had an extra pair of weapons, so to speak.

Mai knew that having weapons on her was not something that she should be doing. But old habits die hard, and you would have to be a fool to go around weaponless in court back in Liang. It wasn't like she was planning on using any of them anyway; they served more as a reassurance than anything else. And if somebody happened to discover them-well, considering where her daggers were placed, they'd have a hard time justifying why they'd been looking there in the first place.

Mai stepped out of her room, taking a deep breath. Now that she was dressed, Mai felt a good deal better. Her heels click-clacked against the fine mahogany floor of the hotel room. One of her uncle's advisers-Liu-rose to meet her. "You look beautiful, as always," he said politely when he laid eyes on her.

"Thank you," Mai replied.

"Are you ready to go?" Liu asked.

Mai nodded. They set on their way.

As they made their way to the ballroom, Mai began thinking about the other people who would be there, as well as the prince that she was betrothed to. Mai and Liu said nothing to each other. What needed to be said had already been said many, many times. However, it was not an awkward silence that the two lapsed into, but a companionable one. If Ming Mei was like Mai's father, then Liu was like her uncle. It was Liu who had marshaled mass support for her uncle when he was trying to restore the dynastic rule, it was Liu who had risked everything for them in opposing the socialists, and it was Liu who her uncle had first contacted when he came out of isolation. Mai glanced at the austere man-with his salt-and-pepper hair, severe expression, and rigid posture, one would never have guessed that he had a warmer side to him. Mai considered it a great honor that she was privy to this warm side.

As they walked, Mai mentally went through everything she knew about the other royalty. First and foremost, there would be her betrothed, the prince of what some would argue was the most militarized nation in the world. Mai wasn't so sure about that part; she hadn't exactly had a great experience with soldiers or their commanding officers in the past, to put it lightly. Liu must have seen something in Mai's eyes, because he gave her a reassuring look. "You're going to be alright," he said. "Your uncle would not have betrothed you to somebody that he didn't approve of." Mai nodded, her face expressionless. Whether or not her uncle approved of Prince Leonard was not the question. It was the question of whether or not Prince Leon's kingdom could help Liang, if a marriage to him would help her people. And, of course, the answer was yes.

The Aciran ballroom was lovely. Crystal chandeliers glimmered up above, the gilt accents of the massive room sparkling in the light. The herald announced Mai's arrival, and she strode forward to greet the hosts, the king and queen of Aciras. Princess Ayleanna (whom everyone referred to as "Princess Lea") was there as well. Mai had read and heard many interesting things about the Aciran crown princess, from her commitment to the environment to her unhealthy obsession with social media and her love of fashion and haute couture. Mai smiled internally. She and Prince Alejandro probably got along swellingly.

Mai shook hands with Queen Cecilia, King Landon, and Princess Lea. The other princess flashed her a broad, genuine smile. "Oh wow, Princess Mai, I absolutely adore your gown," Lea gushed. "You look so lovely tonight."

Mai allowed a small but sincere smile to slip onto her face. "You flatter me, Princess Lea," she murmured softly. "But I must say, your gown is very beautiful as well."

Lea's sparkling eyes lit up, and she gave Mai another wide grin as Mai plunged into the crowd that had started to form inside the ballroom. She swept her gaze around the room, taking in the scene. Her betrothed had not arrived yet, but Princess Rhiannon of Wales was standing near the entrance, absolutely stunning in her gown. Princess Genevieve Anders of Maris-a small, isolated, and frankly, rather insignificant nation (at least, from the perspective of the Liangii. There was not much they could do with a tiny kingdom in the far north, in terms of trade or alliances)-was also already present, and Mai just had to take a moment to admire her hairstyle; it was quite pretty. The two sisters from Notia were there, together; Talya, the older one, in a pretty white dress with a lacy bodice, and Ivelynne, the younger one, wearing blue.

Wasn't their brother killed a year or two ago? Mai thought idly, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. Hmm.

Finally, there was the diminutive Princess Liviana Viriatus, accompanied by her niece, Princess Domitia. Mai admired Liviana's gown, for a moment, before-

-wait. What was Domitia wearing?

Well, I must say that I am impressed by her boldness, Mai mused to herself. I certainly would not have been gutsy enough to wear a...a suit of armor to a ball. Heavens above. How did she ever get away with that, if what I have heard about the Lusitanians is true?

In any case, she needed something to do as she waited for Prince Leon to show up. She accepted a glass of champagne from one of the members of the staff, taking a few dainty sips as her gaze swept over the ballroom once again. Her eyes were drawn in Princess Genvieve's direction. The blues and whites and greys of her gown were a stark contrast to the mulberry lipstick she wore. Deciding that out of all the people in the room, she knew the least about the red-haired princess of Maris, Mai wandered over to her, giving her a warm smile.

"Princess Genevieve, is it?" she asked, pleasantly. "Pardon me for being forward, but I simply adore your gown. As well as the lipstick. It is absolutely gorgeous."

Mai's Dress

When Royalty Collides (#YIKES)

Okay, weird questions maybe, but I'll ask since I'm new to an RP of this many characters and players (most I've been involved with is like four).

What's the best way to keep track of each player? Taking notes? Do we even need to be concerned with spacial awareness of every character?

Also, would it even make sense to designate like two or three others as your "go-to" partners when it comes to interacting?

I'm sure I have other questions but I can't think of any atm :)

@Glyph

1. handy-dandy character guide here: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15Il1j…

2. If you want to plot prior friendships/relationships, feel free to, but there's no requirement!
(also the discord is popping discord.gg/2CRJKRr)

When Royalty Collides (#YIKES)

Character Sheet

Edwin Drakewine of the Britannian Imperium

"Mark this well, you proud men of action: You are nothing but the unwitting agents of the men of thought who often, in quiet self-effacement, mark out most exactly all your doings in advance." -Heinrich Heine

Name
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Edwin Harold Drakewine

Title
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Basilieus/King of Anatolia, Doux/Duke/Emir of Anatolia, Shahzadeh/Prince of Blood/Crown Prince, the Little Crosses, among others

Age
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17

Gender
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Male

Sexuality
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Heterosexual

Appearance
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Edwin stands at a 6', slightly shorter than his 6'1 father; He is not exceptionally strong though he is physically fit, courtesy of his training with the household guard, as is tradition for the heir. He has inherited the typical brown hair and eyes of the Drakewine family. His hair refused to be made neat and by this point he has pretty much given up on ever taming it, much to his fathers chagrin. Outside of occasions, he typically dresses 'smart casual', never dressing too casually. On special occasions however, such as when away on important affairs, he wears full military dress as is customary for male members of royal family, who typically have positions within the military. The bright colours of his uniform stand in stark contrast to his usually dull clothing and he has a strong air of authority around him on these occasions.
He has a deep scar along the back of his right hand that was caused by an accident while learning to ride a bike as a child, and has a small scar along his right shoulder which was caused by a fencing accident

Personality
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Edwin is a scholarly man, as is the tradition of the British Emperor. He frequently visits the Imperial Library which spans many texts, with thousands of gigabytes worth of electronic documents filed. He has spent excessive amounts of time in this place, enjoying books and reading more than most.
Edwin was raised as a "true emperor of the Dominion", taught not to give in to the demands of others. Edwin has taken this somewhat to heart; He typically stands his ground firmly in arguments and negotiations. He is willing to concede defeat should his point be proven wrong in debate and is willing to forge agreements if need be, but typically he doesn't budge.
He is motivated primarily by his desire to be a great leader; Britannia has a very impressive history with many stand out Emperors and Empresses... And like any great nation, it also has a lot of mostly forgotten rulers. Edwin would far prefer to be the former.
Beneath this apparent confidence however, lies a fearful teenager. He is almost self loathing, thinking of himself as being incompetent and weak. This doubt drives him to overcompensate at everything his does; nothing he does is ever good enough, it always fall short of what he was aiming for. Truth be told, even when he achieves a goal, he always finds something wrong with the way he did it.

Likes + Dislikes
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Likes:
Books
Order
History
Drawing
Outsmarting or impressing other people
Puzzles
Politics

Dislikes:
Alcohol
Cowards
Disorder

Fears:
Being publically humiliated
Death
Heights
Failing at his duty as the future emperor
Being forgotten

Biography
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Heir to the throne of Britannia, the 'Kingdom of Heaven', Edwin's training began practically from the day he was born. His childhood was dominated by his royal status; Order and structure were the name of the game, the schedule being very much the same for the majority of his childhood. What free time he did have was often spent with the same few people, palace life being what it was.
His father was kept away by the demands of running the monolithic empire its self and his mother had died giving birth to his sister when he was only 6. It was inevitable that the boy would find a parental figure in his tutors, namely one Richard. Richard was the captain of His Majesty's Household Guard and came from a long and distinct noble family that had many ties with the Drakewines. He doubled as the boys tutor for politics. It was Richard who gave Edwin the confidence he lacked, who taught him how to hold his own in an argument, who actually taught him about the value of responsibility rather than simply commanding him to take it, and showed the world to him.
And taught him languages. So. Many. Languages. Aside from knowing foreign languages for diplomatic reasons, it was considered prudent for the Emperor to know all the major official languages of the realm. This would be fine in a state with, say, two or three… But in a state which has two dozen and no less than 3 official scripts…

FC + Color Code
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Color Code: red

Betrothed To
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Dom

Other
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(add anything you want; fun aesthetic-y stuff, pets, fun facts, etc)

Kingdom Sheet (OPTIONAL BUT HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)

The Most Heavenly Britannian Imperial Dominions

"Rock, not Sand."

Kingdom Name
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The Empire of Britannia, Britannia, the Heavenly Kingdoms, the Drakewine Empire

King and Queen
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www-tc.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/files/2014/…
His Divine and Imperial Majesty Harold IV of House Drakewine, Emperor and Sovereign, Bretwalda, Shahanshah/King of Kings/Malik Al-Amlak/Sulṭānü's-Selāṭīn, Lord of the Four Corners, King of England, Jerusalem, Sultan of Syria and Malik Arabia, Duke of Mercia, York, Jerusalem and Emir of Damascus, Amir al-Mu'minin and Protector of the Faith (among other honourary titles...)

Kingdom Colors
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Red and White

What the Kingdom is Known For
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Aside from its vast material wealth and even baster tracts of land, the Britannic empire is perhaps best known for not being in the least bit Britannic. The British Isles lay some thousand miles away from its capital of Jerusalem, and are not frequently graced by the touch of the monarch who nominally controls it but rather ruled by subordinates. The language known as English (Britannic) would to us in reality be almost completely indistinguishable from modern English. Even its claim to be 'Christian' is a blatant lie.
Unfortunately, what is true about its reputation rarely gets much better. It is an Empire known for throwing its weight around when it benefits from it and is historically something of a warmonger, having swallowed country after country and only stopped expanding once, frankly, it was such a bureaucratic disaster that controlling its own territory and absurd population was a nightmare.
Stereotyped as a lazy, bureaucratic mess of an empire and in fairness there is some truth to this stereotype. The Brittanic system requires almost every legal document translated into many different languages which all stand as co-official. Still, the modern era has lessened this burden substantially and despite this, the stereotype remains.
Other stereotypes, bozzarely, range from seeing them as religious zealots to seeing them as very tolerant. A confusing state of affairs, to be sure, brought on by the plethora of different cultures and Religions that have to coexist within its borders. Traditionally, 'Britannic Christianity' was privileged but never forced upon the population, which created 'soft' pressure for conversion, particularly along economic routes, rather than 'hard' pressure of swordpoint conversions. While these privileges were abolished legally, the socially privileged status of the religion has not been and it still permeates the cultural zeitgeist of the Britannic Dominion deeply and even by its very name it is a deeply spiritual nation. The best efforts of the Liberal Party go to routing out this social privilege and continuing to reform Britannia into a secular society... Which has naturally put many of its traditionalists and Nationalists on edge, seeing the very identity of their country under threat.

Recent Kingdom History
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"Our Kingdom is belov'd of God. A proud boast but true all the same." -Harold Drakewine

History

The Empire of Britannia is a long standing empire that spans vast tracts of land. Theirs is a proud history, filled with military conquests and great defences against the odds, littered with great heroes such as Ealdwulf the Hammer ("Protector of the Faith", the monarch responsible for many of the initial holy wars against the Caliphates in the middle east, Ealdwulf had a remarkable record of defeating enemies with greater numbers than he.) Harold the Conqueror ("Lord of the Three Empires", the first British King to claim land in India. Despite the title, Harold did not really conquer much territory when compared to other kings) and Catheryn the Wise (The queen who outwitted the Byzantine Emperor and put the final nail in the coffin of the Byzantine Empire, managed to end the near constant stream of rebellions within Arabia. Despite this, she is probably best known for winning a theological argument with the Pope in order to secure her daughter a divorce from an abusive Polish duke, a story which became immortalised in folktales.)

The Empire has its origins in the crusades of the late 1000's. The English king Eadwulf Drakewine, already an accomplished military commander responsible for the defeat of the Norman invasion, joined Pope Innocent VII's crusade to reclaim Jerusalem. For their efforts in the crusades, the English monarchy was rewarded with the Crown of Jerusalem. The English, however, must have half wished they had never received it; Almost annually, the Muslim caliphs called Jihads against the occupying English, forcing vast amounts to be spent on maintenance of the holy land. The English fought continually during this period, and Eadwulf never set foot back in his home country again in his life. Despite some offensive territorial gains during this period, the English may have been pushed out entirely were it not for a second crusade; The Seljuk had seized Anatolia from the Byzantines, and the Christian world was once again up in arms. Once more, the English sprung into action and half bankrupted their treasury hiring mercenaries to sail to Anatolia and fight alongside them. Still, they were rewarded greatly for their efforts, with Eadwulf being made King of Anatolia and earning the title 'Protector of the Faith'. With their powerbase in the east effectively doubled, the English escalated their military offensives and began a series of holy wars against primarily the Muslim kingdoms but later against even orthodox Christianity. Over the course of 180 years, the English would expand further and further throughout the region at the point of a sword.

"I should rather have a heathen come from the east to lead the people justly than that you should govern them poorly." - Eadwulf the Hammer to his son.

The Empire of Britannia its self formed in the 1100's. The English armies back home had fought metre by bloody metre under the command of the Heir and had seized control of Scotland and Wales. With Great Britain entirely under their control, they officially formed the empire. With a few well placed bribes, the majority of the Irish lords swore allegiance to the new Britannian Crown, bought and sold for English gold. Only Connacht resisted all efforts. In 1103, it would be invaded and seized by the British; The count was deposed and the second son of a duke from England was installed in his place.
By 1250, the British controlled an immense volume of land; The Byzantines had slowly been whittled down by the British and their Croatian allies until the British had finally seized total control of Asia Minor and the western coastlands of the black sea in 1213, bringing the British border to that of Lustania. The Islamic world was slowly but surely giving way to Catholicism. The Seljuk and Fatimid were all but destroyed following the final major holy wars in 1233 and 1239 respectively. In 1242, the college of cardinals was over half British, though by 1261 the British presence in the college of Cardinals had shrunk dramatically. The British crossed blades with almost every neighbouring nation at some point during this period.

"Like the King of Babylon, you are the man who shook the Earth and made Kingdoms tremble, and so I deliver you to hell." - Emperor Henry III

The years 1267-1294 were very calm by comparison; The ruler, Ealdulf, was a far less ambitious man than his predecessors and was more than content with what he had. It was only once his grandson ascended to the throne in 1294 that British expansion was again a reality; It was in this period of time that the British began to acquire sections of India; Most of these were only held for a few years at a time, though Punjab was taken by British forces in 1301 and remains held to this very day.
From the years 1337-1363 the Empire entered a period of decline under Henry IV, a controversial monarch who was completely unsuited to the burdens of leadership. He rarely made public appearances and he was generally a weak willed man who was easily manipulated by the nobles on his court. Slowly but surely, the selfish machinations of the nobility eroded away the integrity of the empire, and by Henry's death it had fractured into many parts.
Henry's son, Richard II, was likewise a poor ruler. The new king, however, caught pneumonia two years into his reign and died. Had Richard continued to rule, many believe the Empire would have declined further still. Whatever the case, fourteen year old queen Edith inherited a nightmarish scenario when she came to the throne. By the time of her death some five decades later, the Empire had been mostly reunited; The remaining two independent duchies would be absorbed back into the empire around the year 1426.

"Never fear, Duke; I think my victory here calls for a release, not a punishment. Sir Thaddeus, release his treacherous head from his body." - Empress Edith at the end of Baghdad Reconquest, 1387

The colonialism that arose after this time proved to be a relatively lucrative venture for the Empire; the world was changing rapidly and Britannia flowed with the tides. Britannia spread its flags across the Indian ocean and established a vast colonial empire in Indonesia, Australia and later Africa and through to the Americas. Though most major territories in the Americas have long since vanished, with the only remnants of the colonialism in the Americas being a handful of islands in the Bahamas and some territory in northern south America, the expansion east and south has been more permanent, with Britannia retaining control over many of these territories as well as Australia by proxy (It is technically its own independent Kingdom, but its monarchs are from a cadet branch of the Drakewine family and typically acquiesce to their demands) and from there exercising considerable influence over the surrounding islands.

In the modern day, the Empire is a titanic first world country; Its vast supplies of oil, trade links with the Indians and mercantile dominance of the Indian ocean and the Suez canal have made it immensely rich. These in turn fund the nations education system and it's healthcare and social programs, as well as funding their behemoth of a military; military spending is high, as they nation has a lot of territory to cover and many trade roots to protect. The nation broken down into many different administrative districts along ancient county and ducal lines, in an attempt to manage its vast size and population. This was an ongoing process over many decades; Earlier attempts at breaking the empire down into more manageable chunks created several de jure independent kingdoms such as the Kingdom of Australia, for all intents and purposes puppets of the Crown. With the advent of the internet and near instant communication, the empire has become far more manageable and efficient, a far cry from its 19th century counter part which was characterised by common breakdowns of communication (A common joke claimed that entire countries were lost during filing); though said problem has been fixed, it nonetheless caused considerable damaged the prestige of the nation and even now the stereotype of British bureaucratic inefficiency persists. Taxation has likewise become far more efficient, helping to solve many of the nations economic crises. Ultimately, the Empire has entered something of a golden age - and there is a wariness from some of Britannia's neighbours that the Wyvern might breath fire once more

By this time the Empires state religion had fused into some strange bastard child of Christianity and Islam. In 1429, Arabic was adopted as the script of the Empire and in time the language developed into what is commonly referred to as “Anglo-Arabic” or “English (Britannian)”. Likewise, governing a multi-ethnic , multi-lingual and multi-cultural empire with many competing Religions required a degree of cosmopolitanism. While pressure to convert to ‘Britannic Christianity’ was omnipresent in the form of tax exemptions such as the Jizya (one of the many elements this alleged Christianity outright plagerised from Islam as it adapted to better fit the regjon) and other incentives, the Empire tolerated minority Religions and allowed (and, indeed, on some creations promoted) the construction of sites of worship for other faiths. While periods of heightened religious oppression (and conversely, more egalitarian religious policies) would wax and wane throughout the existence of the empire, it was not until 1982 that Britannia finally did away with the last of the special exemptions for Britannic Christians.

This unique history and the bizzare descendence of Britannic Christianity... A word which should be used very loosely(Indeed, Muhammed holds the rather weird distinction as a ‘Saint Prophet, Mouthpiece of Allah’... A decidedly very non-Christian viewpoint) has of course spawned jokes amongst those of other faiths that Britannic Christianity is neither Britannic nor Christian. Its fellow ‘Christians’ never accepted it as anything even approaching Christianity - and conversely, it is not anything approaching Islam. Yet it held enough distinctions and draws of both faiths to allow it to convert and dominate much of Britannic Eastern territory, acting much like Christianity had towards the Pagan faiths and absorbing festivals as its own. Rather amusingly, this has resulted in Britannic Christianity countries having some of the most public holidays of any country, commonly stereotyping Britannians as being lazy.

Emperor Harold notices one of his lights is dead and asks it be replaced. The next day, he sees it is still dead and asks once more. On the third day, the Emperor is furious upon seeing that the light is still dead. In annoyance, he turns to ask his chamberlain "Really, how many of my bureaucrats does it take to change one lightbulb?"
The chamberlain clears his throat and states awkwardly "Well, we're still waiting on the lightbulb, your grace." - A common Britannic joke

Other
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(add anything you want)

@darkwolf687

looks good move him over

When Royalty Collides (#YIKES)

Mila Ford

Mila Ford of Krieg-Königreich

"Let us bring equality, justice, and peace for all. Not just the politicians and the world leaders, we all need to contribute. Me. You. It is our duty." -Malala Yousafzai

💎𝓝𝓪𝓶𝓮
――――――――――

Mila Petra Ford

💎𝓣𝓲𝓽𝓵𝓮
――――――――――

Princess

💎𝓐𝓰𝓮
――――――――――

16

💎𝓖𝓮𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻
――――――――――

Female

💎𝓢𝓮𝔁𝓾𝓪𝓵𝓲𝓽𝔂
――――――――――

Heterosexual

💎𝓐𝓹𝓹𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓮
――――――――――

Mila is one of those girls who, just like a certain song says, smiles at the ground and it ain't hard to tell she doesn't know she's beautiful. And her smile itself puts a warm feeling in anyone it's directed at. Smooth dirty blonde hair, deep blues eyes, and nearly flawless skin are key features of Mila's. Standing at an unimposing 5'5" Mila is often overlooked when standing with her taller siblings and parents. She probably just didn't get the height gene from her father. One thing she did get from him is the ability to frighten someone with a single glare. Mila has given a new meaning to the 'death glare'.

💎𝓟𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓸𝓷𝓪𝓵𝓲𝓽𝔂
――――――――――

• Protective • Charitable • Intimidating •

Where Leon is the perfect image of their father with the gentle nature of their mother, Mila could be considered the perfect image of their mother with the forcefulness of their father. It would not be uncommon to see Mila out of the castle, with an obnoxious amount of guards following not of her desire, spending time with the locals and hearing their beliefs and opinions. She believes that the people are the most important part of any kingdom. Especially the children. Even if she isn't to rule this land one day. She will make sure that the peoples voice is heard.

💎𝓛𝓲𝓴𝓮𝓼 + 𝓓𝓲𝓼𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮𝓼
――――――――――

• Spending time with people, anyone really doesn't matter who
• Piano
• Literature
• Learning about culture
• That feeling when you're teaching someone something and you see it click in their head

• Jewelry/Makeup/Fancy Dresses
• Fighting
• Not being able to help the people more
• Being told she can't
• The thought of being married off to someone

💎𝓑𝓲𝓸𝓰𝓻𝓪𝓹𝓱𝔂
――――――――――

Since Leon was the firstborn, King Herrick's attention was largely focused on him. Due to this, Mila had a lot more freedom to do as she pleased. Because of this she somewhat kinda maybe just a little bit became a spoiled little brat. Yeah. Who knew that growing up as a princess with no one caring much of what you did besides your mother would cause one to be a little bratty. King Herrick didn't really bother too much with her as she wasn't causing issues for him or the kingdom. Leon couldn't step out of line and do anything or risk their father getting upset with the both of them for distractions. Poor Queen Adelisa just couldn't get the girl to listen.

A silver spoon in mouth since birth and no consequences for her actions were a bad combination. Well, this lasted until she was about twelve with no signs of any change coming. That is until Mila and a few friends went horseback riding together. Leon and his best friend, Bartram, had come along as well. Largely because the young preteen had developed a crush on Bartram so she convinced Leon to come along knowing his friend would follow. She tried flirting with him and he turned her down. Long story short she got angry and upset. Mila yelled at him insulting him and then darted off on her horse.

She sped off so fast that no one was able to catch up to her. When the horse stopped she had found herself in the woods. She didn't know where she was and a storm was starting up. In the distance, a lightning bolt struck scaring the horse causing it to rear up. Mila fell off and the horse bolted. Lost, cold, and alone Mila started getting scared. She soon started panicking but, vaguely remembering what she was told to do if she got lost, Mila stuck next to a tree which gave her some shelter.

For nearly two hours had passed and Mila was still alone freaking out. The rain is letting up and she hears a wolf howl. Mila tenses up and then she hears a twig snap a few feet away. The young girl screams only to be stopped by none other than Bartram. When she sees him she launches into a hug saying she's sorry and begging him to help her. He tells her she doesn't even need to ask and that it's just the right thing to do. He leads her out of the woods and she's eventually taken back home. That night she didn't get much sleep mulling over his words. She thought about what he meant and how it felt to have someone help her just because it was the right thing to do and not because she was the princess. Over time, as well as through the oh so perfectly timed teachings of Queen Adelisa, Mila began trying to live her life based on what was right.

💎𝓕𝓒 + 𝓒𝓸𝓵𝓸𝓻 𝓒𝓸𝓭𝓮
――――――――――

Color code is FFA500 and face claim is Lisa Vicari

💎𝓣𝓱𝓮𝓶𝓮 𝓢𝓸𝓷𝓰
――――――――――

This Is Me - Kesha
_{When the sharpest words wanna cut me down
I'm gonna send a flood, gonna drown them out
I am brave, I am bruised
I am who I'm meant to be, this is me
Look out 'cause here I come
And I'm marching on to the beat I drum
I'm not scared to be seen
I make no apologies, this is me}

💎𝓑𝓮𝓽𝓻𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓭 𝓣𝓸
――――――――――

N/A

@alexfangtalon

she looks good! feel free to move her over

When Royalty Collides (#YIKES)

hihihi will update relations sheet stuff in the morning but here are my 3 girls :) will do alejandro later on

Character Dynamics for Mai Mei

Mai Mei of Liang

{"My skin has turned to porcelain, to ivory, to steel."}

Lea Lynton of Aciras
"Heavens above. If she is to be Zhou's bride...the two of them are going to give my uncle SUCH a headache. Zhou already has way too much energy to be humanly possible. But now we are adding Princess Lea to the mix???"
Relation Details

Alejandro Aguíla de Agustín
"Alejandro if one of the most amusing people that I have ever met. Though one must wonder how much he truly knows...and how much of this knowledge he hides from the rest of the world."
Alejandro and Mai hit it off when she and her uncle, along with Zhou, visited Castilya in order to negotiate a trade deal. Both of them share an ardent love for fashion and make-up, as well as a mutual exasperation for Zhou's sloppiness.

Isabella del Reyes
"I heard what happened with her sister, mmm. Evalusia does not seem like a fun place to be."
Relation Details

Talya Burnley
"She reminds me of Zhou, right down to the part about sharing too much on social media."
Relation Details

Edelessa/Valentine Blanchefleur
"Mmm, poor girl. Though if her complete, utter lack of a media presence is any indication of what she is like as a person, I do not think she would make a very good queen."
Relation Details

Rhia Cadfael
"She seems nice enough. I wonder how she gets along with Prince Edwin."
Relations Details

Liv Viriatus
"Truth be told, I know very little about her. But growing up as a girl in Lusitania surely could not have been easy."
Relation Details

Dom Viriatus
"Lusitania and Evalusia are remarkably alike in their backwardness, now that I think about it. I wish Dom the best of luck in getting the hell out of there, especially after that incident with the twin brother."
Relation Details

Anton Telesphorides
"He reminds me of the generals and politicians who defected to my uncle's side after he made the alliance with Krieg-Konigreich. Not to be trusted, at the very least."
Relation Details

Ivy Burnley
"I've no opinion of her, to be quite honest. She's...nice, I guess."
Relation Details

Alexandra Bonnisseau
"It seems like she had quite an eventful 'rebellious teenage phase'."
Relation Details

Leon Ford
"Prince Leonard...I do not know how to feel about him. He seems to take after his father in some respects, and that, coupled with his kingdom's military prowess, makes me wary. Nevertheless, I will marry him and be the wife that he wants me to be. There simply is no other option-not if Liang is to survive through my uncle's regime without another war breaking out."
Leon and Mai have been betrothed for a little over ten years, as part of an alliance between their respective kingdoms. They have never interacted with each other outside of a formal capacity. When they first met, Mai was 16 and Leon was 11. Needless to say, it was a bit awkward.

Elijah Rothchester
"He reminds me of Zhou. Both are too reckless for their own good."
Relation Details

Yu Song
"I don't know how good of a ruler he will be, but he seems nice enough, I guess."
Relation Details

Gen Anders
"I do very much like her hair color. Other than that, I suppose I have nothing else to say."
Relation Details

Erik Rothschild
"Angering his grandmother would not be the best idea."
Relation Details

Han Hyeri
"She's nice enough. There is part of me that envies her peaceful upbringing, I suppose; neither Zhou nor I were afforded that kind of...luxury."
Relations between Liang and Haneul improved dramatically after Emperor Ming took the throne. The two countries are on friendly terms, and Mai, Zhou, and Hye-ri have visited each other before.

Dirk Isidor
"The rumors about his mother are of a mild interest. But other than that, I have yet to form a concrete opinion abou thim."
Relation Details

Venera Nikolayevna
"The dynamic in between her mother and father are...interesting, to say the least. Though I do commend her mother; she is a bolder person than I would ever be."
Rustavya and Liang are on friendly terms.

Anastasiy Romanova
"I can only hope that the coming years are as peaceful for Liang as they were for Glavnya, sixty years ago. Alas, that remains to be seen."
Relation Details

Elias Kokinos]
"His people seem rather warmongering, no?"
Relation Details

Character Dynamics for Isabella Cotilla del Reyes

Isabella Cotilla del Reyes of Evalusia

{"History does strange things to dead women."}

Lea Lynton of Aciras
"I used to wish that I had what Ayleanna has. This freedom that she has, the freedom to do as she pleases...I would have traded anything for that, when I was younger. Now, though, I am not so sure I would abandon everything for such a chance."
Relation Details

Mai Mei
"I must admit, I do not understand her. How can she accept her station in life, as deemed by Liangii society, so easily? Does she not resent it at all?"
Relation Details

Alejandro Aguíla de Agustín
"I am surprised that Father did not consider marrying me off to Prince Alejandro, actually, given the historical connection between our kingdoms and the shared religion. Perhaps it is because of the rumors his parents so desperately try to hide."
Relations Details

Talya Burnley
"Was she not the one whose brother was killed a few years ago? Hmm. Nonetheless, I think I would like to visit Notia, one day, if only for the snow."
Relation Details

Edelessa/Valentine Blanchefleur
"I know little to nothing about her. Is she to be the future ruler of Luxieme? Interesting..."
Relation Details

Rhia Cadfael
"I have no opinion."
Relations Details

Liv Viriatus
"It seems the two of us are stuck in a somewhat similar predicament. I do feel for her, at least, and hope she is able to find a way out without being forced into an unhappy marriage."
Relation Details

Dom Viriatus
"Lusitania and Evalusia are remarkably alike in their backwardness, now that I think about it. I wish her-or them, rather-the best of luck in getting the hell out of there."
Relation Details

Anton Telesphorides
"I...can't say that I have much of an opinion on him, either. In any case, the Athenian Federation is not to be trifled with."
Relation Details

Ivy Burnley
"No opinion. She and her sister have been coddled since birth, and I doubt that they will ever amount to much. Why should I have an opinion?"
Relation Details

Alexandra Bonnisseau
"She reminds me of the protagonists in mainstream Aciran Young Adult novels. One can only hope that she has more substance than those characters."
Relation Details

Leon Ford
"His kingdom is not one that I would like to alienate, no. I'm sure Father would have tried to marry me to Prince Leonard, if he was not already betrothed to Mai Mei."
Relation Details

Elijah Rothchester
"He seems...irritating."
Relation Details

Yu Song
"From what I have seen, I am not inclined to believe that he would make a very good king. I wonder how his sisters feel."
Relation Details

Gen Anders
"I have no opinion of her."
Relation Details

Erik Rothschild
"I wonder if he knows the meaning of the word 'responsibility' at all."
Relation Details

Han Hyeri
"Another princess that I have absolutely zero opinion of."
Relation Details

Dirk Isidor
"Was there not some sort of scandal about his mother a couple years ago? Nevertheless, I do not think the two of us have much in common."
Relation Details

Venera Nikolayevna
"Ah, Venera. I suppose I should thank her family for their aid in bringing my father to power. I suppose."
Relation Details

Anastasiy Romanova
"You know, I've always heard a lot more about his brother than about him. Nevertheless..."
Relation Details

Elias Kokinos]
"What opinion is there to be had of him, really? I have heard rumors that his people would prefer him as king, rather than his older brother, but alas. I, too, would prefer him over Prince Stefanos, if only because Stefanos is...dangerous."
Relation Details

Character Dynamics for Lea Lynton

Ayleanna "Lea" Lynton of Aciras

{"Kale them with kindness, and let that shiitake go."}

Mai Mei
"I've never met anyone with a better taste in shoes, honestly. And she is the QUEEN of the smokey-eye look!!!"
Relation Details

Alejandro Aguíla de Agustín
"Oh, Alejandro! I love everything that he wears; I'll never get bored of florals!"
Lea and Alejandro have met on occasion (mostly for official state functions), and they get along very well. Lea adores his taste in fashion.

Isabella del Reyes
"Her eyes are so pretty! As is the rest of her, of course. I wonder if she'll let me visit the mountains her kingdom, one day. The glaciers look amazing."
Relation Details

Talya Burnley
"Oh no, I remember hearing about her brother! Wow, that sucks. But it's so cool that she likes horses! I wonder if she'd ever want to check out the ones we have in the stables???"
Relation Details

Edelessa/Valentine Blanchefleur
"Awww, I heard about all the stuff with Luxième a couple years ago. She seems REALLY quiet, like, quieter than it's even physically possible for me to be...hope she's doing alright!"
Relation Details

Rhia Cadfael
"Rhia!!!! I love that girl. Wish I owned as many headbands as she does, honestly."
Lea and Rhia are second cousins-the current queen of Wales is the first cousin of Lea's mother. The two have known each other for basically their entire lives, and have definitely visited back and forth.

Liv Viriatus
"Everything about her seems so cute! I love love LOVE her entire Instagram aesthetic...it's so pink!"
Relation Details

Dom Viriatus
"Wasn't there some HUGE scandal about them or their brother a long time ago??? Anyway, they seem cool. I like their eyes!"
Relation Details

Anton Telesphorides
"He comes off as a lot taller in pictures, for some reason. Poor guy-he's shorter than I am!"
Relation Details

Ivy Burnley
"Holy shit, her hair is SO pretty!!!! She seems really fun!"
Relation Details

Alexandra Bonnisseau
"She seems like the COOLEST person ever. Like, she just gives off cool. Is it possible to be intimidated by how cool someone seems? Because if so, that is totally me right now."
Relation Details

Leon Ford
"He seems nice enough! I'm not sure if we have much in common, but sometimes it just be like that."
Relation Details

Elijah Rothchester
"He seems like he's REALLY edgy. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course. I guess I just don't get it-I'm like the opposite of edgy!"
Relation Details

Yu Song
"Oh wow, I LOVE his hair...he seems super chill! I can't wait to meet him!"
Relation Details

Gen Anders
"She seems really sweet! And ahhhh! Her hair is such a pretty color!"
Relation Details

Erik Rothschild
"His grandma seems like a total badass, honestly. Didn't one of his brothers pass away a couple years ago, or something? Man, that SUCKS."
Relation Details

Han Hyeri
"Oh wow, she's seems really sweet and down-to-earth!!!"
Relation Details

Dirk Isidor
"He seems pretty fun! Can't wait to get to know him better."
Relation Details

Venera Nikolayevna
"She seems really nice and really pretty!"
Relation Details

Anastasiy Romanova
"Aw, poor guy. The stuff with his brother last year must have been really hard to deal with!"
Relation Details

Elias Kokinos]
"He seems super chill. His eyes are cool!"
Relation Details

When Royalty Collides (#YIKES)

*lurking again*

@buffykdh

:D check ur discord DMs!

When Royalty Collides (#YIKES)

1st post is up sorry if i fucked anything up <3

@MorningStar1399 btw elias is good! u can move him over

When Royalty Collides (#YIKES)

L E A L Y N T O N O F A C I R A S

---

“Lea, are you ready yet?” The sound of her sister's voice rang out, though Lea could barely hear her over the cacophony of the hair dryer and the music she was blasting at full volume so that she could actually hear it over the hair dryer. Lea yelled back an "almost!" but apparently she didn't hear her, because there was a sharp knock at the door before it burst open.

"Ayleanna Katherine Lynton, what in the hell is taking you so goddamn long?"

Lea finished with the hair dryer and turned around, giving her older sister, the queen of Aciras, a mock-disapproving look, sticking out her tongue. "Cece, you should be more polite," she reproached, grinning at her. "And when did you get so old? You sound like Mom." Queen Cecilia "Cece" Lynton of Aciras made a dismissive gesture with one manicured hand, rolling her eyes.

"You've been 'getting ready' for five hours now, Lea. We need you downstairs in three minutes." And with that, Lea's sister turned on her heel and strode out of the room, the intricate beading of her royal blue gown shimmering in the light as she did so.

Lea sighed and rolled her eyes at the mirror. She was already done, anyway! Why's Cece making such a big deal about me taking a long time? Lea wondered incredulously as she flicked an invisible speck of dust off the sheer pink silk of her gown. This isn't anything new. I always take a long-ass time to get ready. But I definitely plan for it! You can't fault me for not taking this into account!

Lea's warm brown eyes took in her reflection one last time as she prepared to follow her older sister down to the grand ballroom. The dress she wore was by one of her favorite designers, made in partnership with People Tree, a fair trade apparel company founded in 1991 by Safia Minney. According to their Wikipedia page, anyway.

In any case, Lea adored the gown, and she adored the people from People Tree (they were all so nice to her, and they did so much good work. What was there not to love?). Everything from the bubble-gum pink drape to the intricate embroidered designs and the pink fringe at the bottom was absolutely perfect. She didn't even mind that the bodice was too sheer for her to hide a tube of emergency lip gloss in (just in case, you know?). She!!! Loved!!!! It!!

Lea's glittery gold acrylic nails (to match her glittery gold eyeshadow, and glittery gold jewelry) glimmered and flashed when she moved, and she was quite pleased with herself for doing her eyeliner, mascara, and lip gloss almost flawlessly. Lea's gleaming black hair was styled in a fun combination in between a pixie cut and a bob (with the bangs curled!), and she'd thrown on a couple of gold bangles that jingled as she walked. All in all, Lea thought she looked quite glamorous. And her strappy gold heels only added to the effect.

Of course, her parents had thrown a fit when they realized that she wasn't exactly planning on wearing red and white, the colors of Aciras, so to appease them Lea had used a set of silver-white hairpins to hold up her hairdo. There was no way that she wasn't wearing as much pink as he could. Besides, pink is basically just light red! Lea didn't understand why it was such a big deal.

Realizing that she had approximately thirty seconds to get down to the ballroom before her sister and her parents flipped, Lea booked it down the corridor, skipping the elevator for the stairs, her steps never faltering once-even in god-knows-how-high heels (Lea prides herself on being more than capable of sprinting through the Aciran palace in a floor-length gown and high heels, and one can see why. She also prides herself on being capable of applying cosmetics of all varieties, including winged eyeliner, while operating a motor vehicle, but shh. Her parents don't know that, and she'd prefer for it to stay that way). She made it to the ballroom in less than a minute, though definitely more than thirty seconds. Still. That was pretty good.

Fortunately, King Landon and Queen Cecilia did not notice that Lea was a few seconds late, nor did Lea's parents, the former monarchs of Aciras. Lea took her place beside them just as the ball officially started. She walked out into the ballroom proper with her family, grinning widely. Oh, but Lea loved parties!

Even as she smiled and waved and greeted the attendees of the welcome ball, Lea could not get rid of the pit of anxiety that had settled in her gut. In just a couple short months, she was to be married! She'd ignored this fact in the flurry of preparations that had consumed her life for the last month or so (there were many arrangements that had to be made, and many other things that had to be pushed back or re-scheduled due to the fact that Aciras would be hosting two dozen princes and princesses from around the world in the next two months, you see), but now that the welcome ball was upon her, Lea couldn't help but to feel...nervous. She was to marry one Prince Zhou Mei of Liang, who she knew nothing of besides what had been reported in the media and what her parents and their advisers had told her...and what she had been able to find on social media, of course. What was he like? What music did he listen to? Did he like the outdoors? Did he like to eat meat? Or fish? Or dairy and eggs? Did he think that the dress was white and gold or black and blue? Yanny or Laurel?

Lea's brother-in-law, King Landon Lynton of Aciras (well, the King Consort, technically. Or whatever the fancy word for it was supposed to be), raised his eyebrows comically in her direction. Relax, those expressive eyebrows seemed to murmur, and Lea decided to take her sister's husband's advice, smiling at him. It'll be fine, she told herself. Everything will work out in the end. Mom and Dad wouldn't have picked this guy for me to marry if they didn't think that he'd be at least a decent person.

Now that Prince Zhou was not so much of a pressing worry, Lea scanned the room, looking for faces that she knew. She knew everybody's names and faces and countries by heart, as well as what she could talk about and what she could not talk about. For example, she shouldn't talk about how much she loved the Britannian old-growth forests to Princess Valentine Blanchfleur of Luxième (duh). And human sacrifice was a no-no when it came to Princess Isabella del Reyes of Evalusia. Her thoughts regarding socialism and communism and how they had the potential to both hurt and help the environment were probably not to be discussed with Princess Mai of Liang, and she didn't think Prince Quentin of the Texas Sovereignty would appreciate a ramble about why concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs, for short) were not only torturing animals in the pursuit of wealth, but were also poisoning the Earth through excess phosphorus and greenhouse gases. Although, from what Lea knew, she was fairly certain that the Texas Sovereignty wasn't really big on factory farming and the like. Which could make CAFOs an interesting topic of discussion with Prince Quentin, but Lea supposed that she should save that "SJW-y stuff" (her sister's words, not hers!) for another day.

Really, though. This entire thing was going to be fun. It would be super cool to meet people from all around the world, yeah? And Lea was so looking forward to meeting the princesses from Notia, Talya and Ivelynne (whom Lea had been referring to as "Ivy" in her head, but you know. She would need to remember to not do that out loud!!). She wanted to hear all about the work being done in renewable energy in their universities and maybe even ask if she could meet their energy and conservation experts, if there were any that would be willing to talk with her. And she really wanted to ask the Veredunian royalty if they knew of any authentic Veredunian cuisine that was also vegan (because as much as Veredunian aesthetics were so lit, Lea really wasn't into sausage, ya know? But the chocolate!!! And desserts!!!!!!), and if they could maybe forward a recipe to her so that she could get the palace cooks to try it out (Lea herself was atrocious at cooking. The most she could do was microwave a piece of leftover pizza).

Lea's mind flitted to the third thing she loved most in the world (first came plants and animals and the Earth, since she couldn't possibly pick a favorite out of the three, and second was the colors pink and green)-fashion!!! Royalty from the various fashion capitals of the world would be here, and Lea was dying to see stuff from all of the cities, honestly. She'd heard that Prince Alejandro (from Castilya) was as into fashion as she was, and Lea had been in Portaya during the 2014 Spring/Summer shows. Officially, she'd been there to talk to Castilyan environmentalists, but hey she was already there-might as well go see some fashion shows, right?

All in all, Lea was super excited to get this show on the road. She stood with her parents near the entrance of the ballroom, greeting people as they filtered in. This was going to be so much fun!

Dress pics

When Royalty Collides (#YIKES)

Wip

Character Sheet

Edwin Drakewine of the Britannian Imperium

"Mark this well, you proud men of action: You are nothing but the unwitting agents of the men of thought who often, in quiet self-effacement, mark out most exactly all your doings in advance." -Heinrich Heine

Name
――――――――――

Edwin Harold Drakewine

Title
――――――――――

Basilieus/King of Anatolia, Doux/Duke/Emir of Anatolia, Shahzadeh/Prince of Blood/Crown Prince, the Little Crosses, among others

Age
――――――――――

17

Gender
――――――――――

Male

Sexuality
――――――――――

Heterosexual

Appearance
――――――――――

Edwin stands at a 6', slightly shorter than his 6'1 father; He is not exceptionally strong though he is physically fit, courtesy of his training with the household guard, as is tradition for the heir. He has inherited the typical brown hair and eyes of the Drakewine family. His hair refused to be made neat and by this point he has pretty much given up on ever taming it, much to his fathers chagrin. Outside of occasions, he typically dresses 'smart casual', never dressing too casually. On special occasions however, such as when away on important affairs, he wears full military dress as is customary for male members of royal family, who typically have positions within the military. The bright colours of his uniform stand in stark contrast to his usually dull clothing and he has a strong air of authority around him on these occasions.
He has a deep scar along the back of his right hand that was caused by an accident while learning to ride a bike as a child, and has a small scar along his right shoulder which was caused by a fencing accident

Personality
――――――――――

Edwin is a scholarly man, as is the tradition of the British Emperor. He frequently visits the Imperial Library which spans many texts, with thousands of gigabytes worth of electronic documents filed. He has spent excessive amounts of time in this place, enjoying books and reading more than most.
Edwin was raised as a "true emperor of the Dominion", taught not to give in to the demands of others. Edwin has taken this somewhat to heart; He typically stands his ground firmly in arguments and negotiations. He is willing to concede defeat should his point be proven wrong in debate and is willing to forge agreements if need be, but typically he doesn't budge.
He is motivated primarily by his desire to be a great leader; Britannia has a very impressive history with many stand out Emperors and Empresses... And like any great nation, it also has a lot of mostly forgotten rulers. Edwin would far prefer to be the former.
Beneath this apparent confidence however, lies a fearful teenager. He is almost self loathing, thinking of himself as being incompetent and weak. This doubt drives him to overcompensate at everything his does; nothing he does is ever good enough, it always fall short of what he was aiming for. Truth be told, even when he achieves a goal, he always finds something wrong with the way he did it.

Likes + Dislikes
――――――――――

Likes:
Books
Order
History
Drawing
Outsmarting or impressing other people
Puzzles
Politics

Dislikes:
Alcohol
Cowards
Disorder

Fears:
Being publically humiliated
Death
Heights
Failing at his duty as the future emperor
Being forgotten

Biography
――――――――――

Heir to the throne of Britannia, the 'Kingdom of Heaven', Edwin's training began practically from the day he was born. His childhood was dominated by his royal status; Order and structure were the name of the game, the schedule being very much the same for the majority of his childhood. What free time he did have was often spent with the same few people, palace life being what it was.
His father was kept away by the demands of running the monolithic empire its self and his mother had died giving birth to his sister when he was only 6. It was inevitable that the boy would find a parental figure in his tutors, namely one Richard. Richard was the captain of His Majesty's Household Guard and came from a long and distinct noble family that had many ties with the Drakewines. He doubled as the boys tutor for politics. It was Richard who gave Edwin the confidence he lacked, who taught him how to hold his own in an argument, who actually taught him about the value of responsibility rather than simply commanding him to take it, and showed the world to him.
And taught him languages. So. Many. Languages. Aside from knowing foreign languages for diplomatic reasons, it was considered prudent for the Emperor to know all the major official languages of the realm. This would be fine in a state with, say, two or three… But in a state which has two dozen and no less than 3 official scripts…

FC + Color Code
――――――――――

Color Code: red | FC:

Theme Song
――――――――――

(optional)
[url=insert here]Name of Song - Artist[/url]
_{A Few Lyrics here}

Betrothed To
――――――――――

(TBD if you don't know yet; N/A if not betrothed. can be edited later)

Other
――――――――――

(add anything you want; fun aesthetic-y stuff, pets, fun facts, etc)

Kingdom Sheet (OPTIONAL BUT HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)

The Most Heavenly Britannian Imperial Dominions

"Rock, not Sand."

Kingdom Name
――――――――――

The Empire of Britannia, Britannia, the Heavenly Kingdoms, the Drakewine Empire

King and Queen
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www-tc.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/files/2014/…
His Divine and Imperial Majesty Harold IV of House Drakewine, Emperor and Sovereign, Bretwalda, Shahanshah/King of Kings/Malik Al-Amlak/Sulṭānü's-Selāṭīn, Lord of the Four Corners, King of England, Jerusalem, Sultan of Syria and Malik Arabia, Duke of Mercia, York, Jerusalem and Emir of Damascus, Amir al-Mu'minin and Protector of the Faith (among other honourary titles...)

Kingdom Colors
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Red and White

What the Kingdom is Known For
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Aside from its vast material wealth and even baster tracts of land, the Britannic empire is perhaps best known for not being in the least bit Britannic. The British Isles lay some thousand miles away from its capital of Jerusalem, and are not frequently graced by the touch of the monarch who nominally controls it but rather ruled by subordinates. The language known as English (Britannic) would to us in reality be almost completely indistinguishable from modern English. Even its claim to be 'Christian' is a blatant lie.
Unfortunately, what is true about its reputation rarely gets much better. It is an Empire known for throwing its weight around when it benefits from it and is historically something of a warmonger, having swallowed country after country and only stopped expanding once, frankly, it was such a bureaucratic disaster that controlling its own territory and absurd population was a nightmare.
Stereotyped as a lazy, bureaucratic mess of an empire and in fairness there is some truth to this stereotype. The Brittanic system requires almost every legal document translated into many different languages which all stand as co-official. Still, the modern era has lessened this burden substantially and despite this, the stereotype remains.
Other stereotypes, bozzarely, range from seeing them as religious zealots to seeing them as very tolerant. A confusing state of affairs, to be sure, brought on by the plethora of different cultures and Religions that have to coexist within its borders. Traditionally, 'Britannic Christianity' was privileged but never forced upon the population, which created 'soft' pressure for conversion, particularly along economic routes, rather than 'hard' pressure of swordpoint conversions. While these privileges were abolished legally, the socially privileged status of the religion has not been and it still permeates the cultural zeitgeist of the Britannic Dominion deeply and even by its very name it is a deeply spiritual nation. The best efforts of the Liberal Party go to routing out this social privilege and continuing to reform Britannia into a secular society... Which has naturally put many of its traditionalists and Nationalists on edge, seeing the very identity of their country under threat.

Recent Kingdom History
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"Our Kingdom is belov'd of God. A proud boast but true all the same." -Harold Drakewine

History

The Empire of Britannia is a long standing empire that spans vast tracts of land. Theirs is a proud history, filled with military conquests and great defences against the odds, littered with great heroes such as Ealdwulf the Hammer ("Protector of the Faith", the monarch responsible for many of the initial holy wars against the Caliphates in the middle east, Ealdwulf had a remarkable record of defeating enemies with greater numbers than he.) Harold the Conqueror ("Lord of the Three Empires", the first British King to claim land in India. Despite the title, Harold did not really conquer much territory when compared to other kings) and Catheryn the Wise (The queen who outwitted the Byzantine Emperor and put the final nail in the coffin of the Byzantine Empire, managed to end the near constant stream of rebellions within Arabia. Despite this, she is probably best known for winning a theological argument with the Pope in order to secure her daughter a divorce from an abusive Polish duke, a story which became immortalised in folktales.)

The Empire has its origins in the crusades of the late 1000's. The English king Eadwulf Drakewine, already an accomplished military commander responsible for the defeat of the Norman invasion, joined Pope Innocent VII's crusade to reclaim Jerusalem. For their efforts in the crusades, the English monarchy was rewarded with the Crown of Jerusalem. The English, however, must have half wished they had never received it; Almost annually, the Muslim caliphs called Jihads against the occupying English, forcing vast amounts to be spent on maintenance of the holy land. The English fought continually during this period, and Eadwulf never set foot back in his home country again in his life. Despite some offensive territorial gains during this period, the English may have been pushed out entirely were it not for a second crusade; The Seljuk had seized Anatolia from the Byzantines, and the Christian world was once again up in arms. Once more, the English sprung into action and half bankrupted their treasury hiring mercenaries to sail to Anatolia and fight alongside them. Still, they were rewarded greatly for their efforts, with Eadwulf being made King of Anatolia and earning the title 'Protector of the Faith'. With their powerbase in the east effectively doubled, the English escalated their military offensives and began a series of holy wars against primarily the Muslim kingdoms but later against even orthodox Christianity. Over the course of 180 years, the English would expand further and further throughout the region at the point of a sword.

"I should rather have a heathen come from the east to lead the people justly than that you should govern them poorly." - Eadwulf the Hammer to his son.

The Empire of Britannia its self formed in the 1100's. The English armies back home had fought metre by bloody metre under the command of the Heir and had seized control of Scotland and Wales. With Great Britain entirely under their control, they officially formed the empire. With a few well placed bribes, the majority of the Irish lords swore allegiance to the new Britannian Crown, bought and sold for English gold. Only Connacht resisted all efforts. In 1103, it would be invaded and seized by the British; The count was deposed and the second son of a duke from England was installed in his place.
By 1250, the British controlled an immense volume of land; The Byzantines had slowly been whittled down by the British and their Croatian allies until the British had finally seized total control of Asia Minor and the western coastlands of the black sea in 1213, bringing the British border to that of Lustania. The Islamic world was slowly but surely giving way to Catholicism. The Seljuk and Fatimid were all but destroyed following the final major holy wars in 1233 and 1239 respectively. In 1242, the college of cardinals was over half British, though by 1261 the British presence in the college of Cardinals had shrunk dramatically. The British crossed blades with almost every neighbouring nation at some point during this period.

"Like the King of Babylon, you are the man who shook the Earth and made Kingdoms tremble, and so I deliver you to hell." - Emperor Henry III

The years 1267-1294 were very calm by comparison; The ruler, Ealdulf, was a far less ambitious man than his predecessors and was more than content with what he had. It was only once his grandson ascended to the throne in 1294 that British expansion was again a reality; It was in this period of time that the British began to acquire sections of India; Most of these were only held for a few years at a time, though Punjab was taken by British forces in 1301 and remains held to this very day.
From the years 1337-1363 the Empire entered a period of decline under Henry IV, a controversial monarch who was completely unsuited to the burdens of leadership. He rarely made public appearances and he was generally a weak willed man who was easily manipulated by the nobles on his court. Slowly but surely, the selfish machinations of the nobility eroded away the integrity of the empire, and by Henry's death it had fractured into many parts.
Henry's son, Richard II, was likewise a poor ruler. The new king, however, caught pneumonia two years into his reign and died. Had Richard continued to rule, many believe the Empire would have declined further still. Whatever the case, fourteen year old queen Edith inherited a nightmarish scenario when she came to the throne. By the time of her death some five decades later, the Empire had been mostly reunited; The remaining two independent duchies would be absorbed back into the empire around the year 1426.

"Never fear, Duke; I think my victory here calls for a release, not a punishment. Sir Thaddeus, release his treacherous head from his body." - Empress Edith at the end of Baghdad Reconquest, 1387

The colonialism that arose after this time proved to be a relatively lucrative venture for the Empire; the world was changing rapidly and Britannia flowed with the tides. Britannia spread its flags across the Indian ocean and established a vast colonial empire in Indonesia, Australia and later Africa and through to the Americas. Though most major territories in the Americas have long since vanished, with the only remnants of the colonialism in the Americas being a handful of islands in the Bahamas and some territory in northern south America, the expansion east and south has been more permanent, with Britannia retaining control over many of these territories as well as Australia by proxy (It is technically its own independent Kingdom, but its monarchs are from a cadet branch of the Drakewine family and typically acquiesce to their demands) and from there exercising considerable influence over the surrounding islands.

In the modern day, the Empire is a titanic first world country; Its vast supplies of oil, trade links with the Indians and mercantile dominance of the Indian ocean and the Suez canal have made it immensely rich. These in turn fund the nations education system and it's healthcare and social programs, as well as funding their behemoth of a military; military spending is high, as they nation has a lot of territory to cover and many trade roots to protect. The nation broken down into many different administrative districts along ancient county and ducal lines, in an attempt to manage its vast size and population. This was an ongoing process over many decades; Earlier attempts at breaking the empire down into more manageable chunks created several de jure independent kingdoms such as the Kingdom of Australia, for all intents and purposes puppets of the Crown. With the advent of the internet and near instant communication, the empire has become far more manageable and efficient, a far cry from its 19th century counter part which was characterised by common breakdowns of communication (A common joke claimed that entire countries were lost during filing); though said problem has been fixed, it nonetheless caused considerable damaged the prestige of the nation and even now the stereotype of British bureaucratic inefficiency persists. Taxation has likewise become far more efficient, helping to solve many of the nations economic crises. Ultimately, the Empire has entered something of a golden age - and there is a wariness from some of Britannia's neighbours that the Wyvern might breath fire once more

By this time the Empires state religion had fused into some strange bastard child of Christianity and Islam. In 1429, Arabic was adopted as the script of the Empire and in time the language developed into what is commonly referred to as “Anglo-Arabic” or “English (Britannian)”. Likewise, governing a multi-ethnic , multi-lingual and multi-cultural empire with many competing Religions required a degree of cosmopolitanism. While pressure to convert to ‘Britannic Christianity’ was omnipresent in the form of tax exemptions such as the Jizya (one of the many elements this alleged Christianity outright plagerised from Islam as it adapted to better fit the regjon) and other incentives, the Empire tolerated minority Religions and allowed (and, indeed, on some creations promoted) the construction of sites of worship for other faiths. While periods of heightened religious oppression (and conversely, more egalitarian religious policies) would wax and wane throughout the existence of the empire, it was not until 1982 that Britannia finally did away with the last of the special exemptions for Britannic Christians.

This unique history and the bizzare descendence of Britannic Christianity... A word which should be used very loosely(Indeed, Muhammed holds the rather weird distinction as a ‘Saint Prophet, Mouthpiece of Allah’... A decidedly very non-Christian viewpoint) has of course spawned jokes amongst those of other faiths that Britannic Christianity is neither Britannic nor Christian. Its fellow ‘Christians’ never accepted it as anything even approaching Christianity - and conversely, it is not anything approaching Islam. Yet it held enough distinctions and draws of both faiths to allow it to convert and dominate much of Britannic Eastern territory, acting much like Christianity had towards the Pagan faiths and absorbing festivals as its own. Rather amusingly, this has resulted in Britannic Christianity countries having some of the most public holidays of any country, commonly stereotyping Britannians as being lazy.

Emperor Harold notices one of his lights is dead and asks it be replaced. The next day, he sees it is still dead and asks once more. On the third day, the Emperor is furious upon seeing that the light is still dead. In annoyance, he turns to ask his chamberlain "Really, how many of my bureaucrats does it take to change one lightbulb?"
The chamberlain clears his throat and states awkwardly "Well, we're still waiting on the lightbulb, your grace." - A common Britannic joke

Other
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(add anything you want)

@darkwolf687

looks good so far but pls add tl;dr for ur history at some point thank u ur my fave butler <3

ALSO PSA to everyone: since we have a lot of people and IC is starting in a couple hours (aka when I get my lazy ass to do something) join status is now "full" BUT if you have previously expressed interest in the int check, discord, or OOC you are welcome to take as long as you need to finish up characters <3