Rían Stafford

Aine is not a fan of having Rian here AT ALL, but I do think that she was the kindest and most welcoming of everyone when he first arrived?

She knows that Rian helped Roderick in the war against Astaira, which is NOT cool -- especially since Astaira's defeat has resulted in the disappearance of her husband! -- but I do think that she believes that Rian thought he was doing the right thing (even if Aine doesn't really agree with him on this point). I think she can also sympathize in what his life must have been like and why he thinks this way.

As long as he continued to run Lorcan as fairly/justly/to the best of his ability, Aine would have tried to have as good of a relationship with him as possible and would hope that he would allow to her to continue her own duties as Lady of Lorcan/listen to her advise, etc. etc.

But if he ever mistreated anyone in Lorcan, her children, or her siblings, that would definitely change things!! Aine is pretty forgiving (often too forgiving!) but her family and her home mean the world to her (especially since Lorcan was entrusted into her hands when her husband left!) and so she will fight him on any of those points.

i do think this came on pr gradually over the two years or so he's been here, like -- idk if they met when he was here for the kingsmoot? -- but if not, i ~imagine they met when he arrived at lorcan as its new lord which was frankly!!!!! probs a really weird/tense/charged moment and interaction for soooo many reasons!!!! i def feel like a lot of ppl weren't super gracious abt it for obv reasons hahaha and tbh i doubt he'd expected a warm welcome, given the circumstances etc, but yeah i do think her being at least gracious abt it, esp in that she was more put out by it really than ~anyone, really struck him. i don't think he imagined for a ~second that she was cool w it or liked him or anything like that at all but i think that actually just made her behavior all the more impressive to him honestly! esp bc he knew, firsthand, what it was like to resent the person who (at least in ~his eyes) was replacing you in the position you felt was yours by rights!!!!!

i def think he tries to run lorcan as justly as he knows how! tbh idk ~how good his education really was in this~ given that he had his instruction from his dad who is pr blatantly an entitled ass hahahaha but i do think he largely tries to just be ~reasonable abt this, and i do think he's extensively studied astairan history and law and such so he does at least have a pr good working sense of like...their expectations at least and tries to model his actions after who he thinks were the greatest astairan rulers...whether the ~astairan agree w his ideas abt who was best who knows, given his value system was taught to him by his dad, but i do think its pr clear he's trying and that this is SUPER SUPER important to him, if you get to know him at all, and i do think he is at least pulling off the reasonable/common sense stuff bc i do think he is a pr logical person so that's smth at least!

however, at this same time he is def walking a tight rope tryna court both astairan and imperial support, two things pr clearly diametrically opposed!! and obv its no secret that roderick ~is rian's de facto powerbase, given that roderick is literally the person who installed him, etc! i do think rian knows his life is literally on the line if he fails roderick bc, well, of who roderick is as a person hahahah that man don't trust easy alkjdflksjdf and so, all that taken together, if roderick gives direct orders, rian doesn't hesitate to obey!!!! but i do think he kinda finds ways he can maybe sort of...reintrepret things sometimes, like having a guard on the callearies that quickly looks the other way at the first opportunity so they can easily slip away unobserved etc!

re: aine's advice...i think he's been on a bit of a journey! i def feel like he did noT feel the trust the first couple times and even suspected she was being nice just to try and influence him!!!!! but i do think he figured out pr quickly that her advice actually ~was good! and i do think now she's someone he actively seeks out when he's torn etc, and i think this foundation of trust and respect and even a touch of partnership is def another aspect of the feelings he's got! but i think ~now that he's figured out he's got these feelings, he wonders how much they cloud his judgment and yeah!! what a mess!! i do think he sometimes overcorrects now too where he'll be like -- sees her coming and instantly leaves the room in afit of temper, slamming the door in her face as he goes bc these stupid feelings are causing him to fail his beloved father who only ever asked the one (1) thing of him!!!!!! and how could he be so blindly ungrateful!!!! and i think that does then throw him overly into camp roderick at times to tryna escape that!!!! and also towards guin and yeah its a whole thingggggg

and flirting with her (and ill get back to this) is really confusing now too bc like!!!!! is he flirting for himself or for the plan??? he doesn't know????? also circling back to flirting!!!!! rian deffff thinks he is laying this stuff on thickkkkkk but we all know he's not exactly socially gifted and his idea of a big flirtacious gesture is to, like, have the servants make her favorite breakfast in the morning!!!! does he even remember to tell aine that ~he ordered the breakfast??? probably not!!!! and even if he did would you immediately assume he wants to marry you, even if you ~didn't already believe that he saw you as a married woman??? also PROBABLY NOT!!!!

so yeah i think he def ~thinks she ~must know he's courting her lkajdfkljldkjsf and by the sounds of it, she def thinks nothing of the sort? BAHAHAHAHA god what a disaster alksdjfksdjfsdf

and! tbf! he def doesn't see it as, like, any sort of binding thing on either of their ends! he's also courting guin and, he has no doubt, she also entertains a whole host of suitors bc who ~wouldn't want to marry her??? <3

Okay, given this, yeah I do not think that Aine thinks that he has romantic feelings for her at all! Between the fact that a) she's married; b) his attempts to do so are terrible; and c) he's making a move on guin (although tbh she might not even realize this w/ how poor rian lets his feelings known!)

I do think that she has come to respect him a great deal more than she did when he first got here. Of course, he has done a lot of things in the past that Aine does NOT agree with ... but I think, especially given their partnership, she can see that he is trying and doing his best in this situation and that he does actually care about the people he is entrusted with and that means a lot to her ... especially since that does not seem to be the case with a lot of roderick supporters!!

I also think that she can appreciate the situation he is in, in regards to roderick, too. Like she realizes that it is HIS OWN FAULT that this is where he is, but no one can change that now and there are some things that they all have to put up with because he is in charge (Aine knows that first hand!!) and so she can forgive him for some of those things, too.

In general, she's at the point where she likely does consider him to be a genuine friend though? I don't think she completely trusts him, but she does want to and I think she sees him as someone who could help keep Astaira alive under Roderick's rule? She's not happy with how he got here, but he clearly still has a love for this place and the traditions, etc, and especially since Aine is both deeply traditional and religious -- anyone who might be on her side to help keep those things alive is an ally in all of this!!

Aria wasn't sure who had spoken with the guards that followed her around the castle, but when she'd requested to go read in the library they'd escorted her there and, instead of standing over her like she might fling herself out the window in a wild escape attempt, stationed themselves outside the door instead.

She'd been reading for nearly an hour now and part of her wondered if the guards were even still outside the door. She'd thought to go check, but she decided she would just embrace the solitude and be content with this time with her books.

She'd taken up her favorite spot in the window seat that looked over the gardens which had turned shades of brown and gold and red as the seasons changed. Aria thought of Malconaire, walking under the canopy of autumn colors when she'd go to see Aoife. She'd give anything to have the freedom to do that again, even just once more.

The sudden sound of a door opening caused Aria to start. Her eyes darted to the door, expecting to see one of her guards there, demanding she return to the frozen tower Roderick was keeping the Stafford sisters in now, but the door remained closed. Aria's eyes trailed around the room and found, surprisingly, that the door from the room that had once been the quarters of the Citadel's Librarian was open.

Half expecting to see Cassandra Varmont, who was constantly asking about secret passages or hidden doorways, to come bursting into the room, she instead found it was her cousin, Rían, stepping into the room instead. This was not the first time Aria had seen him exploring the Citadel, though she had yet to figure out exactly what he was looking for in his wanderings Aria was silent, sitting still as a statue in the window seat, the fading sunlight casting odd shadows across the library. She observed Rían as he pushed the door closed behind him with a soft thud before walking towards the bookshelves. Rían didn't seem to notice her, or perhaps now that she was a bastard daughter she was too beneath his notice.

Aria had never met her uncle but she knew he'd abandoned his family, his brother, because of his own pride. Aria couldn't imagine ever abandoning Eilia for any reason. That wasn't how family behaved. It had been a shock when Aria and Eilia had realized their own cousins were fighting on the side of Roderick Varmont, but once the shock had worn off, she was not entirely surprised. His father was a traitor to his family, it only made sense that Rían and his brother would be traitors to their family and entire homeland.

After a few minutes watching him, Aria flipped shut the book in her hands as forcefully as she could. She slipped out of the window seat, smoothing her skirt out as her cousin finally turned towards her.

"Looking for something in particular? The Citadel's Librarian never returned after the final battle in the city, but I should be able to point you in the direction of whatever book you're seeking."

He'd decided to take the roundabout way. Though he was sure he remained unfamiliar with all the labyrinths which wound round the citadel, Rian was privileged to know of a few. Between his father's many acocunts -- having grown up in the self-same castle, himself, -- and Rian's own voracious studies of Astaira and Stafford, particularly, he was aware of a number of them.

Today was one day upon which he did not wish to be disturbed by any of the inevitable unpleasantness spelled out by human society, and so he'd taken the circuitous route, entering where, at low tide, the ocean lapped against an exposed cave, and making his winding way up and up and up until, at last, he took the doorway which led to the rooms of the librarians, always revered in Astaira, and whom Roderick had largely chosen to put to the flame along with the heretical books they had attempted to save...even Rian had been outraged by that act -- but he had spent his rage in utter, gloomy silence.

And it meant, too, that there was no one, now, to disturb his discrete entrance into the library...or so he thought.

His plan, it seemed, had worked, and Rian couldn't help but smile to himself as he whisked towards the nearest shelf, half-holding his breath in excitement, fingers feathering eagerly over the worn leather spines as he drank in the names.

So absorbed was he that the sound of the book slamming shut startled him, and he jumped, only now realizing that he was not, in fact, alone. Turning quickly to face the intruder, he felt his heart sink as he recognized his disgraced cousin. The situation was difficult for Rian as well. Though there was little love lost between the two branches of Stafford, they remained his kin, and this, then, was a blemish not only upon the girls, but upon the whole family, entire. Her shame was his.

Eyes widening slightly as Aria referenced the librarians' loss, he swallowed hard and looked away. She did not know. He wondered if it was better that way -- to think oneself abandoned -- or to know of the horrific fate that had overtaken her late allies, instead?

"Are you, then, their heir?" he asked, voice oddly echoing in the filmy hush of the room. He looked a touch repentant at that, and lowered his voice. For all he knew, there were many patrons here to disturb, after all. He had certainly failed to make note of her.

The truth was that he had been after a specific title -- it was how he had justified shirking today's duties -- but he did not wish to reveal it to her. He thought it would be tantamount to admitting a weakness, if he told her he wished to know more of the flora and fauna of Lorcan, and what best to grow there, what with Malconaire's war-diminished output. Winter was coming, and his people would need more stores put by this year, than last. He could not for the life of him say way, but in the past few months, they'd been going through supplies at Lorcan at a much faster clip -- almost as if there were scores of fugitive refugees hiding in the deep. But, fortunately, that was not an explanation which had yet occurred to Rian.

Rian cast his gaze out towards the spot Aria indicated. It lingered, there, sorrowfully. His face turned grim. Books were not all that he had burned, but Aria could not have seen that from this vantage, he realized. He let out a sigh. Slowly, he turned to face her. "You have a wicked tongue, cousin, and bold," he hissed. "To say such things -- where anyone might hear." Though Rian hated to admit any ignorance, whatsoever -- a chink that grated against him, half-wincing even now as he contemplated it -- it now seemed wisdom in the face of her accusations. He could weather no whispers of mistrust. Roderick would not hesitate to act, given even the smallest whiff of suspicion.

"But I've nothing to hide. I want, only, books of regional flora and fauna. Someone must see to the plantings of Astaira if your precious Lord Malconaire will not." His voice took on a sour turn. Cassimir was something of a thorn in Rian's side but, as he was at least nominally one of the few remaining Astairan lords, he supposed him to be a favorite of his cousins'. Still, Cassimir was ever wheedling his way in. He coveted Lorcan. And Rian meant to thwart him, there. But, first, he had to feed everyone. Lorcan, being mountainous, was not so fertile as Malconaire, but he must find a way. The first place to start, he reasoned, was with whatever grew there naturally. Surely, that would take most easily to the rocky soil...

"How is the little Lord?" asked Rían, not ungently.

He, himself, had had a strange hybrid Astairan-Varmont upbringing, similar to that which Peadar and his sister were now being subjected, and he remembered well how one's first execution sat with one. Even years later, so many executions in, there was still something in that first one that hit him harder than all the rest when he thought back on it.

Nevertheless, the boy had borne it bravely, and Rían felt this spoke well of him: and boaded well for Roderick's treatment of him, as well. Rían had no doubt that the emperor, himself, remembered his own first execution, as well, and placed faith in how a child dealt with this introduction. Rían could recall the emphasis Roderick had put on his own sons' firsts, and the pride he'd displayed when they'd acquitted themselves well.

Roderick had summoned Aine aside after the executions were done, and Rían had little doubt it was to tell her her son had borne it as a Varmont lord ought. Rían doubted these tidings had done anything to comfort Peadar's mother.

Entertaining the Emperor and his sons, Rían had not had a chance to speak with Aine that night, but on this, the next morning, he saw her. Aine had a luminous quality to her, always, he'd come to see. She shone bright, like starlight cast upon the sea, her eyes radiant as the moon, but there was something in her light that was diminished this morning, some cast down quality that he felt as a pang in his gut.

Instinctively, Rían stretched out his arm for her to take, as if he feared she would stumble, but this was foolishness: she was steady as ever, and he rued his action the next moment. Still, he did not draw his arm away.

Her eyes flickered to meet Rian's.

"I fear he is too young to have seen such things." It had been fear of the consequences for everyone involved that had kept her from going against Roderick's commands, but if there was a punishment to be had: she would have gladly borne it, if it meant her son should have been spared.

"I should have done more to keep him from it."

Her heart ached for her son, who she feared would try so desperately to be brave for her that he would do his best to never let on how the day's events had affected him.

"Surely the emperor would have understood?" She asked. "He would not have seen a child punished?"

'Had I but won that wretched election,' he thought. 'They might all have been spared this. How anyone could have imagined a fourteen year old girl might have thwarted the will of a world-shaker like Roderick...' But Astaira would not have him -- and so Roderick had had them, in turn. And that was an old hurt. There was no use in dwelling on it, now. Still -- he couldn't but wish he might have spared her this pain. He would not have subjected her child to live hangings.

Strangely, he heard her echoing his own thoughts. He shook his head. "There is nothing you could have done. And -- if it comes as any comfort -- I, myself, was at such an age when I witnessed by first execution." It had been with the sword, his, a far bloodier thing. How the crowd had roared...

"It will stay with him." He nodded. "But it will rule him, only, if he allows it. That much is for him to decide. But if his courage tells us, anything, I do not think that it will."

Rian exhaled slowly. It was strange to him, at times, to find how people here thought. He understood them, didn't he? What book of Astaira had he not read? Yet that...that she should think it a sign of punishment...It was only her soft heart, he decided. That was all.

Softly, he cleared his throat. "Forgive me, my lady, but -- that is not how the Emperor sees it. To him, it was a sign of the little lord's authority in the sight of his people. A show of strength and of dominion. In that way, you see, it was an honor the emperor meant to bestow upon the little lord, and--" Rian swallowed hard. It was only the truth: "It was a challenge to me."

Sighing, Rian sat back in his seat. If she was to understand this strange cultural parlance of the Varmonts, it would require a deeper explanation. "As you know, His Majesty has placed me in control of Lorcan, but --" he licked his lips, said with some significance: "As you know, I have a rival in your son. His Majesty was not so subtly reminding both myself and all the people that he might easily be rid of me, and replace me with your child, if all does not proceed as he likes."

He paused. "Doubtless, you see that as a hope, but I fear it is not. While I have a stake in what I say, I pride myself on being truthful, Lady Lorcan. If Lord Peadar were to be named Lord Lorcan in his own right, the nod would be only nominal. The Emperor would move to place one of his own men, likely one of his relatives or brothers-in-law, in charge of the place, as a regent, and likely wed him to one of your sisters-in-law, for good measure. Lord Peadar would transfer from your custody -- into that of his new uncle. These are but shadows of things His Majesty has seen fit to execute in other countries. He would not hesitate to do the same here, if he pleased. That would have been but half the price, you see, had any of us disobeyed."

He did not say: 'It might still be, should any of us step out of line...'

Rian forced a sad smile. "So, you see, we have passed the test. And your little boy remains yours. It was a terrible thing, to be sure, but it is past now, and considering what harm might have been..." he shook his head. He wasn't sure that, what were meant to be words of encouragement, had helped by any stretch of the imagination.

Finn is definitely a sassy!drunk and will tell you like it is, straightup, when he is in his cups and ... sorry, but living with him means that Rian knows exactly what Finn thinks of him and ... it's not great!!

Finn has always disliked Rian and his branch of the family, but when he found that Rian aided Roderick in the Astairan takeover and is now also gonna be looking over their shoulders at Lorcan???

Unacceptable!!!

I also feel like they are both weirdly insightful into each other sometimes when they do pass cutting remarks??? Like Finn is here to call out Rian for being two-faced, and I feel like Rian has probably made some comments to Finn that cut deeper than he maybe even realized (ie about Finn being lazy/contributing literally nothing ... especially as Finn probs criticizes Rian for what he did ... well, at least Rian is an active person in his own life!!!) Ofc, that doesn't hit as hard as it once did, since Finn is now in the resistance! but shhhh Rian can't know that ;DDD (still, I think, even so, Finn feels like he should probably do more than he does! But I think he comes off as even lazier than he ever was since he is now worn out from both his time drinking/gambling aND everything he has been up to with the resistance!!)

kjdslkfjkasdjf them being more insightful/cutting w eo than they even realize!!!!! i love ittttt laksdjkfljdsf finn out here risking his life and ~still its not enough SOB but no that makes total senseeeee!!! and yeah i def think rian's of the opinion that he's running off to like...get drunk or terrorize some geese or smth -- its never occurred to him that the likes of fiona and finn could ~ever pull off what they're actually pulling off rian, laughing at someone suggesting they're resistance: 'id sooner call cormac a wit' dlaskfjkdjsf ;DDDD their cover (aka their personalities) are PERFECT re rian he will never see that one coming at allllll laksjdfkljdsf and i feel like he's generally a pr overly cautious guy in a lot of respects (ofc he's also crazy reckless in other situations...the duality of man...alsdkfjklsjdf)

“Have you had a moment to congratulate my fair sister upon her engagement?” Edmund asked, his was tone easy and conversational as though it had really only been just a question. Still, he watched Rian Stafford’s face with the same interest one gives a chessboard: looking for any signs of weakness.

If Edmund had had his way, Rian would have drifted into obscurity the moment the conquest ended. The man had served his purpose. But his father had insisted on elevating Rian into temporary stewardship at Lorcan, and now Edmund was forced to endure him. A tedious consequence. Rian Stafford had always possessed far grander ambitions than his talents justified, and a grating tendency to imagine himself indispensable. Edmund might have forgiven the opportunism, but he had no patience for ambition coupled with delusion. And Rian’s delusion was beginning to center itself, with increasing frequency, upon Edmund’s sisters.

That alone made him worth watching.

Edmund had noticed it long before this morning: the way Rian’s attention lingered a moment too long on Guinevere, the faint tightening of his expression when her betrothal to Eoin was announced: the flicker of something like wounded pride. 

Had he truly entertained the notion? The thought amused Edmund. That Rian Stafford (the man who had lost his crown to a young girl!) might have imagined himself worthy of Roderick’s favorite daughter?

“I know my father considered every possible match,” Edmund continued, his tone as smooth and pleasant. “But I doubt he ever troubled himself overlong with certain options. Who could be better for her than her own kin? Than a Varmont?”

"Your Royal Highness is kind to take an interest," said Rian, linking his hands behind his back as he approached. Edmund Varmont was, in Rian's estimation, an arrogant young man, but Rian did not fault him for that. He had reason to be. Someday, he might rule the world. "I have not yet had that honor. I shall avail myself of the first opportunity...on this most...happy of days. As I'm sure Your Highness already has?"

It was easy to hang back in the throng of well-wishers and, indeed, Rian had wished to. It had hardly been lost on him that he'd made little headway with the imperial lady, on that front, but to so unceremoniously have any further efforts dashed, or else consigned entirely to the shadows, thwarted his goals, terribly. Cassandra had not half as good a claim as her elder sister -- and a great many more Varmonts would have to die to make use of it, if Rian was forced to make himself an entrant in the coming internal Varmont wars.

Yet, such a fate was by no means certain. Edmund or Arthur, or even Roderick, himself, might still come to favor Rian's candidacy as governor of all Astaira. And so he must make common cause, now, with Edmund, both as a potential future emperor, himself, and as one who -- by that very means -- held a great deal of sway with the current emperor, as well.

Rian's expression darted towards Edmund, again, as he spoke of every possible match. His jaw tightened. For a moment, he simply stared at the boy. This was no misplaced wording. He was attempting to gall him. His eyes narrowed. Rian was, by no means, unaccustomed to being laughed at, but it didn't make him loathe the feeling any less. His insides crawled, discomfort tightening in his belly. The emperor's son had decided to shame him. Rian's skin was scorching. Astaira, it seemed, had always been the place for laughter and dashed hopes.

"It is a pity the Lord Eoin boasts no brothers," said Rian, hotly. "Her Imperial Highness the Princess Cassandra might have been spared the shame of spinsterhood."

He heard himself speaking as if from far away. His teeth ached with how tightly he clenched them. He'd not meant to say so, but now it was ought, part of him felt half-triumphant. It was not an emotion to last him, long, however, as his stomach seemed to fall away from him. This was a wretched beginning and, he had no doubt, would trouble him immensely, should the words ever reach the emperor. He put a hand to his throat, breathing deeply. Flung his hand away, again. Garbhan, his mind reminded him, would have known how to recover gracefully from such a blunder. Garbhan always knew what to say. But Rian? He stood, staring blankly at the prince, mind reeling, and not a worthy thing to say. He looked fiercely away.

honestly think rian would be a loT happier if garbhan had been the firstborn, wheeling and dealing and having to interact??? w ppl???? and then rian could be his man in the shadows doing math and history and stuff alkjsdflkdsjf but sadly the one w ppl skills is not the one whose duty is to interact w ppl lajsdlfkjsdjf

i ~do feel like tho when they actually ~do work together, they can be a pr effective team bc they do have v complementary skills and weaknesses so where one ~isn't up to the task the other ~is etc but like?????? idk how often they can get enough out of their own way to pull that off????

so kate and i have also done a lotttttt of hc'ing abt the stafford family backstory so i will bc presenting a crash course on that in a hot second but first some direct ~nowadays~ business that might even drum up some potential plots if you like any of it...

MARRIAGES

rian: PLS STOP HITTING ON MY POTENTIAL FIANCEES I ALREADY HAVE ENOUGH COMPETITION IN THEIR HUSBAND AND FIANCE(S) RESPECTIVELY

lakjsdflajsdjfajsdf its ok tho bc rian has big plans for his lil bro and matrimony!!!!!

i ~do feel like (only ~partially to distract him from distracting his own ladies!!!! alsdjfkljsdf ;DDDDD jk jk i think he made this list while they were still in the ovn lakjsdfjsjdf) rian ~is looking to get garbhan hitched sometime pr soon!!! some ladies he's got lined up for their political value to their cause:

eithne malconaire -- so you might remember this one from the cassimir/rian post, but an old blood astairan family to garner the sympathy and loyalty of the ppl! (~was eithne but she got betrothed so that's out) but im guessing?? brigit will NOT be feeling that?? so aoife would've been his next choice but seeing as finn snagged her, rosie's next up (really, rian thinks bran was awfully inconsiderate having so few daughters ;DDDD like this if we're already scraping the bottom of the barrel like this!!! rosie: ...thanks lakjsdfjsdjf no but its so sad like garbhan could've been a ruling lord smdh lsjkdfajklsdjf), but yeah i ~do think ideally he'd marry closer up the line than further down it since there're no sons in this family so he's higher up the line of succession etc but yeah if brigit is deeply against it rosie'sll do aljsdfljdf so if garbhan can seduce aoife away from finn? so much the better!!! or better yet??? steal eithne away from cassimir!!!! gold star brother move right there!!!!!!! lakjsdfkjldsf

lorcan -- so this one ~which lorcan literally does not matter to rian since none of the girls are set to inherit so!!!! if he wants the middle one, rian says go for it!!!! this is another old blood family and esp if rian can't close the deal w aine (which lbr...that woman is married in her own heart so like...it aint happening, man!), garbhan coming in clutch w a lorcan alliance is GREAT!!! esp bc the lorcans managed to keep their armies pr pristine whereas the malconaire armies, for example, got hella chewed up, etc, so they could potentially bring military to the table, too! this still ranks number 2 tho bc rian still thinks there's hope for him and aine where he can get lorcan ~and calleary assistance that way, but if he does def and definitively strike out w aine, this marriage prospect might go up to the #1 position in rian's mind tbqh

calleary -- again legit doesn't matter which one for the same reasons!! they aren't old blood astairan so its not ~as good a match as above but...the callearies are wealthy w hella naval experience and allies etc...itd still be a good match! just stop flirting w one in ~front of the others ok????

after that its all a bit of a crap shoot in rian's mind but he's left garbhan a larger pool of choices than himself ig alkjsdfjdf rian: i call that generosity!! no but lbr garbhan is probs way better equipped to juggle all that ~and make actual progress w it too...rian is still barking up two wrong trees smdh

STAFFORD BACKSTORY

ok so, @forgottenarias , pls def say so if im misremembering smth or leaving smth really significant out or whatever!! i wanna do sorta the footnotes vers of events as our primer for you, here, lizzy, regarding our hc's on rian and garbhan's faction and its schism from eilia, aria, and shiv's faction, just to give you a hopefully pr straightforward foundation for this stuff

if you're interested, you can also find more in the tagged 'ooc' and 'lore' posts [ here ] and [ here ], but that ~will probs mean a lil digging unfortunately lajsdjflksdf we did a lotttt of chatting lakjsdfjksdf and much of it on disco too so even there may be missing stuff *facepalm*

also -- obv pending approval etc -- but as sort of a skeleton for what im abt to say here, i did make up an [ astairan kingslist ] covering only the past like...200years or so. ill copy that here as a reference re what im abt to say bc idk sometimes timelines make things easier (note: this one starts current -> past):

AC

1288-present – roderick varmont, b. 1245, m. 1262, m. 1264, m. 1265

1281-1288 (7 years) – eilionora stafford, b. 1267

1263-1281 (18 years) – domhnall stafford, b. 1243, m. 1264

1255-1263 (8 years) – finnian lorcan, b. 1230

1244-1255 (11 years) – dubhán stafford, b. 1215, m. 1238

1238-1244 (6 years) – ciar stafford, b. 1179, m. 1196

1236-1238 (2 years) – caoimhe ormond vii, b. 1170, m. 1192

1236 (4 months) – callum braoin, b. 1192, m. 1222

1233-1236 (3 years) – declan stafford, b. 1214, m. 1232

1233 (1 month) – conan básdorcha, b. 1216

1232-1233 (1 year) – aine ó loch lorcan, b. 1208

1228-1232 (4 years) – aoife killough, b. 1161, m. 1198

1228 (29 days) – bréanainn boyle, b. 1187

1228 (2 months) – cillian stafford, b. 1196, m. 1220

1226-1228 (2 years) – tairdelbach lorcan b. 1154, m. 1173

1226 (2 weeks) – fionn calleary ii, b. 1182, m. 1203

1225-1226 (1 year) – diarmuid stafford v, b. 1162, m. 1182

1222-1225 (3 years) – senan calleary, b. 1206

1222 (3 weeks) – feardorcha stafford, b. 1187, m. 1221

1222 (7 months) – mellán hanthom, b. 1203

1222 (9 days) – fergus ormond, b. 1180, m. 1213

1200-1222 (22 years) – brigit malconaire iii, b. 1180, m. 1209

1134-1200 (66 years) – cerball lorcan, b. 1121, m. 1138

1123-1134 (11 years) – sorcha calleary, b. 1036, m. 1073

1103-1123 (20 years) – macdara malconaire ix b. 1041, m. 1073

1101-1103 (2 years) – cathaoir tierney, b. 1053, m. 1086

1043-1101 (58 years) – darach malconaire, b. 1019, m. 1043

1011-1043 (32 years) – cormac byrne, b. 964, m. 1002

1000-1011 (11 years) – caoimhe lorcan, b. 967, m. 169

so stafford history hc bullet points:

while obv anyone in astaira is eligible to rule, right down to pate the pig boy, for whatever reason the staffords have boasted the largest number of kings in their family line across the board, including the semi-legendary first king of astaira, who first united the land in the age of the heroes etc, and as a result historically the house has felt sort of a family legacy of responsibility for the crown and wellbeing of astaira etc

just like in the ovn, the plague hit astaira c. 1220, lasting until c. 1245, and wiping out thousands of souls. as such, in the midst of piling bodies in the streets and creating hasty burials all while desperately tryna care for your sick dying loved ones, bc of astaira's unique election system, the crown experienced horribly instability as astairans were drug out again and again and again to spend weeks electing someone only for them to drop dead months later obliging everyone to stat all over again

issues in astaira ground to a halt at the v worst time possible and some amongst the staffords developed a desperate plan: eliminate elections and crown the eldest stafford and his heirs as perpetual heirs of astaira ever after, the way ~other kingdoms work

this all came to a head at the election that ultimately saw dom crowned, brother vs brother, w dom opposing what he saw as a coup against the ultimate authority of astaira (the ppl) and rian and garbhan's dad (who we've been calling riacan just bc he seems like the kind of dude to effectively name his son after himself esp since he named one son 'king' and the other 'little rough one' lajslfjksdf but yeah obv just a ~working title~ for him but ill use it here just for ease/to hopefully keep it less confusing) and ~riacan representing what he saw as stability and salvation for the realm

obv we know who won in the end...

so yeah that's the general bullet points and what rian, at least, sees himself as fight for!! its for the good of astaira!!! why can't his foolish cousins just see this indisputable truth smdh lkasdjfkjdf

it should also be noted that there were other factors involved w the riacan vs dom situation, such as fierce sibling rivalry and the fact that lena (eilia and aria's mother,) was promised to the future king of astaira, whoever that might be (should he prove male -- her brother was promised should the next ruler be a queen) and riacan, during his time as ambassador for his father to orinthia, had fallen madly in love w her, etc, so like...a lot here!!!

there's also a whooooole thing w garbhan's aunt, princess réalta stafford (sister to dom and riacan), the woman whom roderick had been promised to by his father and whom roderick jilted to wed elaine right before the plague killed his own father. realta went on to be ambassador to the ovn on dom's behalf, countering riacan's bad press there, and ultimately met a bad end in a jail cell there which almost caused a war, hugely impacted aria's growing up (that's another whole thing) etc so like...that's a whole thing, too! but i already threw a ton at you and for now ill leave that bit off but i did want to mention that it ~existed at least alksdjfsjkdf

STAFFORD LEGITIMACY STUFFS

there may also have been rumors in the ovn, while rian and garbhan were growing up there, regarding both the stafford girls illegitmacy (which did come home to roost) as well as some regarding the stafford boys (secretly spread by riacan's implacable rival, lord sun -- who may ~also -- w amira -- be behind realta's mysterious fate shhh ;D and which roderick will almost certainly choose to unleash should the boys ever act against him etc and which he's always held over their heads w exactly that threat in mind) which suggest that riacan may have secretly wed lena all those years ago in orinthia, thus invalidating both riacan and lena's later marriages (the current stafford illegitimacy claim hinges on the idea that dom was secretly married to aine of kil-kennar prior to his marriage to lena so it doesn't impact the validity of riacan's marriage...) which two marriages, together, resulted in the births of all five of the current staffords...you can read more abt all that in [ this ] thread so yeah!!

ik that was a tonnnnn of stuff i just threw at you so def lmk if 1) you like any of this!!!! obv this is all v much pending re your thoughts on how canon-viable any of this is, and is v much still in the hc'ing stage!!!!! but also ofc also 2) idk how ~clear this even was so like pls def lmk if ur like wtf is even going on/you have any questions alksjdfalkjsdljfkjksdf

But also you are SO right I feel like these two are very incompetent as a ruler/leader on their own but together they make a very well rounded and talented person ... if they would only actually work together they probably could have covered more ground with Roderick than they have w/ Garbhan effectively leaving Rian on his own!

ngl I feel like part of Garbhan hates every single one of these future potential brides Rian has picked out for him literally just because they are RIAN'S plans but also when Rian is like "you should marry Eabha Calleary", Garbhan is just like GOD. EW. nO. *slams door ... comes back 10 seconds later* I MEAN IF I LITERALLY HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE I GUESS BUT WHY ARE YOU RUINING MY LIFE?!? ;DDD

No, but for real he would be very conflicted about the arranged marriages he would actually be okay with because he doesn't deserve them so it's a whole thing and he'd be kinda hot and cold with the idea depending on the day so that's fun for Rian to navigate but ultimately I feel like Garbhan is like "hey you gotta get married first ... and the day YOU can score a lady is the day I'll agree to marry whoever you want .... I'll wait ... " ;D

(unless, of course, Garbhan could somehow score Guin, Cassandra, or Aine out from under Rian which, lbr, won't happen but he'd jump on that opportunity so fast just to spite his brother <3)

But don't think that any of this chaotic behavior means that Garbhan doesn't care about Rian -- because he dOES and as I was saying to Kate, I think that Garbhan was (secretly) seriously considering just staying Astaira after the kingsmoot that Rian lost because he just saw a much better quality of life in Astaira than back at the OVN with Roderick and gang as a disgraced younger brother of the guy who couldn't win his crown back BUT he ultimately gave all of that up because of his brother and he didn't want to abandon hIM!

I also love all of this and it also helps to further explain why rian is willing to dIE on this hill that his family should be the ruling family?!? And how the elections caused so much uncertainty during an already uncertain (and dangerous time honestly to have so many people constantly making the journey to sort out the next kingsmoot one after than other!). And I do think that Garbhan understands why his brother feels so strongly this way, but I do also think he kinda doesn't agree with it but that's also the 1 thing he won't say out loud because it runs so deep (even Garbhan has limits!)

BAHAHAHAHA not rian's enthusiasm being what (potentially) came between garbhan and eabha BAHAHAHAH that tracks he's so bad at courting he breaks up ~other ppl's relationships just by supporting them...jk jk speaking of which like ik @forgotteneabha was at some point keen since he's listed in her bio as a former interest, and like not to get into the details of all that too much here ofc but i did wonder was it ever a full courtship or was it more a situationship kinda deal, or even just one-sided w them falling for eo at different times, etc? bc basically if rian knew abt it he was def soooo pumped that garbhan was pursuing her!!!!! even theoretically! at least...depending on timing? bc like it sounds like they have two options, more or less, for being in the same place at the same time more or less: 1) at the kingsmoot, 2) when they both running around various countries going either ALL HAIL RODERICK or ALL BOO RODERICK lkJDSLKJAFJSDAF tho him being so pro roderick may also have been what curtailed eabha's interest in him frankly but anyway!!! if they were sort of a thing while the war w astaira was heatingup rian was probs SWEATING bc roderick probs wasn't too keen on that so aldskjfjkldsf yeah alkjsdfjdsf that'd be the one time rian would be like SO DEF KEEP IT UP BUT PLS KEEP IT QUIET alsjdflkjsdf

GARBHAN GIVING UP HIS QUALITY OF LIFE FOR RIAN SOBBBBB also!!!!! this raises the question of like -- do you think garbhan ~ran for king~ or whatever during rian's run, or was he solely there to help drum up support for his brother? a nd, if he did run, did rian know in advance that he was going to do that? if he ran and sprang it on rian, he'd def feel it was a betrayal, if they talked it over beforehand he wouldn't ~like it but he could def be talked round, and if he didn't run well rian def expected that and thought it was as it should be so like he's not getting ~brownie points for not running tbqh he's just doing thr right thing(tm) in rian's eyes lajksdflkjdsjf

the way i wrote the above in dec '25...anyway...nm that we're almost in summer now...

ok but rian suggesting eabha being what broke eabha and garbhan up au ;DDDDD jk jk lkajdskfjdsf (tho im sure it didn't help! lkajsdflkjdsf)

ok but smth else i should mention here is that, like -- @forgottenarias and i hc'd that i think would kinda dovetail pr nicely w garbhan's struggles here, potentially? i referenced it in [ this ] comment, but the jist is that we were thinking that riacan and lena (eilia, aria, and shiv's mom) were desperately in love, but as a princess, lena (or one of her brothers in the instance that it should be a woman who came to the throne) was betrothed by her father to whomever should win the crown of astaira, in order to secure an alliance there. we were thinking that this was -- one of many! -- of the reasons that riacan so passionately sought the throne. as we know, however, it was domhnall who became king, and thus had to give up his own love (aine of kil-kennar -- yeah...arthur executed the love of the life of the fahter of the woman whose the love of ~his life...not confusing or weird for anyone at all! ;D lkajsdkfljdsf arthur when they start to learn abt dom and aine: 'oh yeah i get it, aria -- this whole multiple moms thing is a lot to navigate some days huh?' aria probs: 'that is NOT what this was!' lkasjdkfjdsf ;DDDD) in order to wed lena and uphold the alliance w orinthia. meanwhile, before their marriage, riacan attempted to make off w her, but ultimately failed.

he spent the rest of his life, probs never seeing her again, bemoaning what ~might have been~ and esp after their mom died making a big fuss abt how lena should have been his. but yeah i was thinking that he never really loved their mom and it kinda made everyone miserable bc he was miserable and just...yeah. bitter guy having a bitter life kinda vibes? obv that's v changable and re the comment its 100% just ~rian's pov on what happened so like...might not be true at all!! so i went ahead and included it bc i def do think that's what ~rian thinks happened, even if he's completely wrong lkajdskljfsdf but yeah! given what you were saying abt garbhan's hot and cold pov on arranged marriages, i thought -- if we do go w that -- it might dovetail quite nicely!

not him feeling he doesn't deserve any of them SOB dlkjfaklsjdf ILL WAIT BAHAHAHAH lskdjfklsjdklfjad *both of them die bachelors* lkajsdfkljsdkf i feel like rian would try to insist bc, like, i ~do think its not exactly a mystery to ~either of them which one of them is better w the ladies than the other lkjadsklfjkdsf but like???? would garbhan listen????? feels doubtful lakdjfkljdsf but yeah i do feel like if he nailed down who he wanted garbhan to get w he'd try *facepalm* and i ~do think he's like 'regardless you should STOP flirting w ~my ladies and START flirting w yours!!!!!' and obv there're no hitches in that plan whatsoever and im sure it all goes completely smoothly and garbhan immediately gets married ;DDDDD no but lkajsdfkjdsf i don't feel like rian tries to pull rank on garbhan v often (if at all really) but every now and then he tries and yeah???? not sure how that would go???? like man you literally ~aren't his king???? rian: 'my name means king. his means little rough one. obv im the one we should be listening to' jk jk lkasdjafjkdf

no but fr i think largely he ~does respect garbhan's will and choice when he actually makes up his mind -- he just has a hernia tryna get him ~to that point but like...he def wants garbhan to be happy!!!! he just thinks ~he's right bc its not really ~him being right its their ~dad being riht and obv ~that guy~ knew how to live a good life *trauma flashback to dad aka the bitterest man in the world* dslkjafkjsdf but yeah rian's v much guilty of blindly following the leader bc i think that's exactly how he was raised frankly lkajsdfkljdsf

anyway, real talk, if garbhan ~did manage to score one of those ladies, i feel like rian would sit down w himself and have a real debate. like don't get me wrong at first he'd be hot af abt it!!!!!! not cool man!!!!! but eventually the rational part of him would be like 'ok but we ~do now have a v important chess piece on the hook and like...sure that was meant to back up ~my claim but...garbhan's still my man right? soooo its still a win, right?' dsklfjakjdsf idk if it really is or not but yeah can potentially see him getting there...if its aine lorcan tho its waaaaay more complicated bc there're ~emotions~ involved and obv rian is great w emotions lkjasdlkfjdsjf

garbhan giving up the objectively waaaaaay better life he woulda had in astaira to stay w this loser SOBBBBBBB do you think rian's at all aware of that btw? im guessing he at least saw that garbhan was taken w the place/way of life (which he probs largely thought at the time was a good thing bc obv we will be staying here and ruling!!!! <3 until they ~weren't...laksdjfkljsdf), but do you think he knew that he thought abt staying? or even if he does know ~that, do you think he knows that his reasoning for ultimately leaving astaira was to stay w his literal loser brother? bc that'd def make a profound impact on rian if he knew esp bc he ~was otherwise walking away having lost everything he'd been raised to do/his whole life's purpose and, in his mind anyway, in great shame and...yeah!!

oooooh loooooove that garbhan secretly doesn't agree w the whole family policy!!!!!! but its the one thing he won't say out loud!!!!!! i think, if he ever did, it would completely blow rian's mind like...is that even an ~option????? but also like...utter betrayal!!!!!! but also...i thought we were in this together, like...he'd have soooooo many thoughts and feelings abt it...which is great bc rian does exceptionally well w those laksdjfkljdsf SCREAM but yeah probs for the best he's kept that one to himself like idek how rian would handle that -- probs try to convince himself that garbhan's just pulling his leg to annoy him somehow after he recovered from the shock/heartbreak of it bc like...obv he can't mean ~that!!!! alksdjflkjdsfjk

Cassandra Varmont would never marry Rian Stafford.

She had discovered that he wanted to, after she overheard a conversation between her parent. She had certainly not meant to hear it, but once she had heard her own name on their lips it was no longer in her power to slip away. It was clear to Cassandra that her mother was very much against the match, but it seemed to be something her father was seriously considering.

While deep down, Cassandra, herself, was not opposed to an engagement (what is life without a little drama, after all!), she certainly never wished to be his wife. He was old and boring and his fashion sense seemed to suggest he was only aware of one color.

She pitied the poor woman who would, one day, marry him. She would be sure to send the spools and spools of the most colorful fabrics as a wedding gift -- in the hopes that Rían would take the hint that he should adjust his wardrobe. If he didn't, at least his wife should be splendidly clothed, for she was sure to have little other joys in her marriage to him.

Cassandra was determined not to encourage him, although he did seem as though he meant to do his best to court her the next time he saw her. He had been Alaric's guest at dinner and Cassndra had suspected it had not been an accident that they were seated next to each other.

Cassandra had done her very best to ignore him and chatted, instead, very happily with her brothers, but when the conversation turned to tournaments and swords and armor, she found herself rather out of her depth and sitting in silence.

Now I shall have to talk to him, she thought, repressing a groan and, instead, took a sip of her wine.

It was perhaps fortunate, however, that, heretofore, all such plans had gone forward without any particular need of conversation between the proposed pair -- conversation had never been Rian's strong suit. Now, however, the moment had arrived, and Rian meant to do his best. He'd practiced in his mirror that morning. Cassandra was of a decidedly...chipper disposition, quite opposite to himself, and he stretched his imagination attempting to think what she might find interesting.

"Your gown is so stunning," he'd told his mirror. "No," he'd added. "It's quite stunning. So stunning. Quite stunning?" Exapserated, he'd passed a hand over his face. Neither variant seemed very likely to sweep the young, star-eyed princess off her feet. "You damned fool," he'd told the man in the mirror and stalked away.

It was true, he'd thought with some degree of self-directed irony, when he at last saw her: her gown was indeed stunning, as was the young woman wearing it, her smiles lighting up the room, laughter bringing a warm smile to the faces of all those who heard it. Even Rian felt something like tugging at the corner of his lips and, sighing, he stared down into his soup, her brother, Arthur's, raucous voice overtaking all as he described yet another feat in the lists. If that was the sort of talk Cassandra best liked, Rian was sure to disappoint her. And her attention did seem rapt.

Hearing her address him, Rian's head swiveled. So far, none of his efforts -- bringing her refreshment at every possible interval, politely asking after her health, even attempting to engage her in a debate about proposed tax reforms, nothing had seemed to please her, and every compliment had fallen just as flat as it had when he'd addressed his own reflection. He had thought she'd quite despaired of him.

By some calamity, just as Cassandra had begun to speak, Arthur's story had come to an end, causing the table to fall silent.

"I--" he scrambled, eager to answer her, but utterly unsure how to. He frowned.

"Oh, come on, man," laughed Arthur. "She's a princess, you're meant to flirt! Just tell her you'd not met the right girl till tonight!" The table went up in laughter, and the prince returned to entertaining the guests with his adventures, allowing the two to speak in some semblance of peace once more.

Rian had flushed at the prince's words. He shook his head, looking to Cassandra. "I don't believe in love at first sight," he told her, flatly.

What he'd meant to say was that that was not truly romantic, not to him: to him, it was idea of building trust and passion in one person, against all odds, that was the essence of true romance. Life was eternally hurling a thousands reasons not to believe, not to love. Defying the odds together and choosing together, every day, to wake and say 'you're worth it all,' that was his idea of romance. But somehow that part didn't make it past his lips.

But it hadn't been Cassandra who'd brought up love at first sight: it'd been Arthur. And Arthur wasn't even listening, anymore. And he was not the one Rian was attempting to sway to love, either. Cassandra wished to know why he was not wed. Clearing his throat, he returned to her chosen topic.

"I have not wed, Your Imperial Highness," he began. "Because I have had neither the time nor the resources to do so in a manner that befits my station and my House until your father, His Imperial Majesty, was good enough to restore me to an appropirate station, here in Astaira. But, as I trust I have proven myself a worthy stewart, I begin to contemplate the possibility."

So instead of laughing, she shot her brother a sharp glare, her cheeks warming as she imagined just how mortifying a public proposal from Rian was likely to be.

That embarrassment barely had time to settle before Rian’s response horrified her outright. “You don’t believe in love at first sight?” Cassandra gasped. “You’ve never spotted a woman across the room and felt something instantly? Never looked into her eyes and known she was worth moving heaven and earth for?”

Gods, she thought, scandalized, no wonder the insufferable man has never married.

“Have you never been in love?” The question was perhaps forward, but Cassandra was too appalled to care. His explanation: so dull, so practical, only deepened her disbelief. No time? No resources? Love, in her mind, was meant to transcend all such trifles.

“Oh, yes, I will be married one day,” she declared dreamily. “I can think of no better way to spend one’s life than with the person you love most in the world.” And of course, her thoughts drifted immediately to Lord Ormond. Since meeting him, it had never once occurred to her that he might not be the one; all the other lords and foreign princes she had once been certain she adored had faded away without a second thought.

Her outburst stunned him and, eyes growing wide, for a moment he stared at her, aghast that any young woman should say such a thing to him -- an Astairan, perhaps -- here, they were not brought up with the degree of civilized decorum the culture of the empire offered -- but a princess? The daughter of Roderick Varmont? Coloring, mouth slightly open in shock, he stared dully down at his plateful of venison. His brain was in a rush with thise, jumbled and presenting too many disparate references to have any hope of coherency. Hoping to buy himself time, he gulped down some water as if it were his thirst, and not his confusion, which had caused the delay.

Yet, her words did bring one lady to mind, a fact which deepened his flush still further. He was more grateful than ever for the cooling effect of the spring water. Yet, even in her case, it had not been something so shallow as mere physical attraction -- though, he could not deny that that element also existed -- which made her irresistible to him, no. It was her character, her laughter, her goodness -- all those thousand little things one could never know without first coming to know the other person.

"Not at first glance, no," he said, softly, turning to look at her, again. "I could never love a stranger." True intimacy of spirit, alone, will do for me, he thought. But he did not say it. Instead he said: "One could as soon love a shoe -- no real acquaintance or personality, there, either."

His gaze sharpened and he swallowed hard. That question was still more complicated, particularly from a woman who was soon, potentially, to become his betrothed. He was in love, already, that moment. With someone else. Someone who would never love him back, anyway. He looked into his plate, glumly pushed the venison around it. "Yes," he admitted in a very low tone. "But marriage isn't about love, Your Highness, is it? It's about duty."

Her next words astounded him, in such bleak contrast to his own perspective, that for a moment he simply stared at her with blank astonishment. How could anyone -- and an emperor's daughter with three mothers, no less -- believe that? How many nights had his mother wept herself to sleep? How often had his father bemoaned the terrible fate of the tragic Léna of Orinthia, who -- despite the passion shared between herself and Rian's own father, was nevertheless forced to wed his little brother, instead, simply because he had won the crown of Astaira, and Riacan had not? He glanced down, jaw clenching. He did not like to be the one to dispel her of her sweet childhood dreams. But he did not wish to leave her unanswered either.

"My father loved but one woman, Your Highness, all his life long. A most beautiful princess, with hair dark as a raven's wing and eyes bright as starlight. He spoke of the quality of her laughter, often, warm and vaulting like a nightingale's song. He loved her more dearly than any in all the world -- but she was stolen away by another." He nodded softly. "She did her duty. She bore a husband she did not love three children, after their attempt to run away together was foiled, for good and all. My father had no other options. Like her, he chose his duty, he begat his children. But he never loved my mother."

I'm not really sure what to do with it yet, but I do think that these two are in a similar situation where they both are Astairan (or y'know 1/2 Astairan) but grew up away from it and the culture only to be reunited with their cousins after arriving in town w/ the conqueror, himself!!

I also feel like there is a sense of not knowing their ~place~ in all of this, too? Like with Rian, he really doesn't belong anywhere and Ciara kind of feels like she's got one foot firmly set in both camps like she belongs with both but knows if anyone should discover she feels that way, then she won't be accepted in either!!

the reason i say that is kinda...there could ~also be a plotline w astairans tryna throne ciara or eoin, bc they're at least of astairan origin but also varmont so the empire ~might be cool w it, and like...frankly i don't think roderick would even see ~that threat coming honestly! but yeah esp given that ciara's doing sm to help astaira, and iirc? she's the elder of the two siblings, she might be ~another female candidate (roderick is screaming ;D) for the throne (at least in astaira...), in addition to guin, bc i can see ~another angle being that astairans realize they can't fully overthrow roderick, but they can maybe be semi-indepedent ~under him, like w a ruler of their own that answers to roderick, kinda thing? tbh i don't think roderick would go for that! but i can potentially see ppl tryna push for it! (ronan: '...im so torn rn' in a ciara vs eilia, elected ruler, scenario lakjsdfkjsdf but i can potentially see him getting on board!)

anyway, my thought re: ~rian is basically that he may have yet ~another cousin (tho id guess ciara'd be much more distant than eilia, aria, and shiv?), if she's of stafford descent, who could come out as a rival claimant asp here perhaps? or yknow just a random fellow astairan! but also, it might make even more sense why his dad went to the o.v.n., if he's got a (distant) cousin living there? but honestly it makes sense, anyway, given how powerful and power-hungry they are, so that's def not necessary, but could be a thing if we wanted!

another alternative, if we want them cousins, but want it to be less of a big plot thing, is that rian's mom was like a cousin of bartholomew's? potentially on his mom's side, if we don't want the staffords boys to be of house varmont, etc. but also, they def do not need to be cousins, at all, if that's not working for us!!

in any case, i do think rian probs did gravitate towards eoin and ciara, growing up varmont, since they were ~astairan and he's got this whole not!astairan astairan identity thing looming in his head so having easy access to other ppl who're in a semi-similar situation, i just see him seeking them out whenever he can! bc honestly i 100000% agree w EVERYTHING you said above!!!!!!! and i do think, for rian anyway, he'd feel a certain level of comfort in that yknow? 'ITS NOT THAT I DONT BELONG ANYWHERE...ITS THAT ~WE DON'T BELONG ANYWHERE!!!!!!' eoin and ciara, probs: '...thanks...' no, but i do think itd be comforting for him yknow!! garbhan and i aren't alone in this! tho, yeah, i agree that idk that rian would ~ever ~voice that bc i def think he's like WHAT DO YOU MEAN! I COULD NOT POSSIBLY BE MORE ASTAIRAN THAN I AM!!!!! *sweats* thing going lakjsdfakljsdf but yeah!

i can also see where, back in the day, if either they 1) aren't related or 2) are distantly enough related that they can still get married, there may have been talks of ciara and either rian or garbhan getting hitched? obv, if we go w this, it didn't work out (and rian's got bigger varmont fish to fry hellllloooooo miss guin! alksdjfkljsdf ;DDDD enjoy that pipe dream, man!) but yeah tis a thought!

Either way, yeah I know we did discuss the possibility of Ciara/Garbhan having been almost a thing somewhere and while I feel like Ciara was better, overall, better friends with Garbhan she would not have wanted to marry him and was probably glad when that didn't work out (now she's got Godfrey and he's clearly not gonna be a problem, ever ;DD)

ANYWAY, I feel like they've definitely been friends for awhile now, then, and like ... Ciara probably thinks of Rian like a boring older brother who definitely makes a lot of questionable decisions/she doesn't always agree with, but she does care about him and ngl she also feels sorry for him? Like she understands his position and feels that he has it wayyy worse than her.

Also, I gather that they have known each other for long enough that she definitely teases him ... a lot (affectionately!) and like honestly she's not nearly so bad nor so mean as Garbhan, but do they gang up on him sometimes? absolutely.

ciara and her problematic men alkjdsfljdsf me like how did she go from bad to WORSE dlskfjalskdjfakjsdf SCREAM but omg yessssss idk how long we think those talks drug on, but i can potentially see where maybe rian started to look at ciara as, like, his future little sister/an extended part of his fam and like...obv it didn't work out but like...that didn't stop them being friends!!

but yessssss omg there's smth so beautifully tragic abt what you said in ur og comment abt their shared circumstances, and i agree!!!!! i feel like rian def feels that way too and, in fact, i think he's lowkey based his entire personality around it, bc like...he was an astairan refugee in the ovn, and i def feel like he suffered a lot of xenophobia and stuff growing up there like that, and i think he felt that anyone who looked at him was just seeing him as ~other and i think he lowkey internalized that and yeah!! yikeseth!! so he does this weird internal dance at once tryna prove he's the most astairan astairan to ever astairan but also that he is ovn-ian to the core, no one could be more pure ovn-ian and like...bruh ldksfjadsjkf but yeah that's where our boy is i fear alkdjflkjsdf but yeah i feel like, besides obv garbhan, once they got there, the only ppl who could really relate were the calainons ciara and eoin (the calainons could too in their way but they were a ~lil more insultated given their nearness to the throne, and i think both of them were like 'don't other us, other ~them!' *points at eo* well...not tristan but...alksdjflksjdf)

as you im sure know by now...rian does not have the uhhhh ~broadest sense of humor so sadly i feel like 50% of the time she teases him and he just stares, but!! UNLIKE w garbhan lakjdlkfjdf i feel like there is a full 50% of the time that he cracks smth that might almost be a smile and briefly shakes his head al;ksdjflkjdsf and that's how you know it was crazy funny al;ksjdflkjdf omg them ganging up on him BAHAHAH i feel like he gives them either the most long-suffering or annoyed face in the world and just keeps doing what he was doing and like...if that aint a huge display of emotion/affection...idk what is!!!! laksjdfkljdf

Odile @ Rian: "Oh, you are a little in love with Guinevere Varmont who doesn't give you the time of day and just sees you as a friend? How would you like to spend some time with me, the counterfeit Guinevere who COULD love you?" lmaaaoo

But in all honesty I do see Odile looking at Rian with her very sharp and calculating eyes and being like - I can absolutely see where I could wrap this sad sack man around my finger and get pretty close to a crown and a throne.

Does mean that as of rn at least, I do think Rian is one of Odile's main targets while "Emile" is going mainly after Cassandra and Sonya!

Idk how much you think Odile would actually succeed as she flips her mask to a very soft, sweet, caring but cunning woman, and I could see her telling him her "secret" of being of Varmont heritage as part of the like - "the other Varmonts don't appreciate you like I do, be with me, marry me, and we can garner you the power you deserve!!!"

ok but now im laughing bc on one hand odile is flirting w him and on the other he's probs arguing w emile bc he knows roderick is considering rian for cassandra's hand and BAHAHAHAHAH what a mess aljsdkflkjsdjf idiots <3

oooooh yeah if she's like 'btw emile is the true heir to the throne and roderick's a usurper' if she could produce ~proof (or yknow...'proof' ;D but he'd have to believe it's real) of that marriage and heritage etc that would ~def get his attention if emile was like 'yo ill make you king when im emperor' or whatever alkjsdflkjsdfj

amazingly, rian is a person who will be happy to hear that cassimir is marrying eithne, bc that means he's no longer a rival for guin's hand! lajksdfkljdsfjk and he frankly doesn't really care about eithne nearly as much as he cares abt his chance to right some of the wrongs he did in supporting roderick by marrying his daughter lakjsdfkljdsjfk

i feel like these two could potentially be interesting counter balances for one another!!!! they're two ppl who simultaneously are and are ~not astairan, and they're two ppl who truly feel they're the guy who ought to be in charge of it (tho that last's smth they do share w roderick ;ajsldkjfklsdf what a trio!!!)

all this being said tho i don't think rian thinks much of cassimir tbqh hahaha he just sees him as some dude who lets valentina do all the work when he ought to be taking care of her esp bc she's so clearly incompetent and he's running one of astaira's jewels into the ground this way!! and sure cassimir's not allowed to touch the ruling part till he marries or whatever but rian is like 'surely you can imagine some way around that' etc like!! rian's like 'i got kicked out of my kingsmoot but i came back! you can do it too!' basically lakjsdfkjdsf (rian is NOT stopping to think abt how his method of come back was objectively HORRIBLE in this context!!!!! lakjsdfkjsdf)

but all this being said, i do think he's tryna cultivate a relatinship w him for a couple reasons!!!!

he means to make a run for the throne one way or another (steward, emperor, king, whatever it takes!) and he wants support when he does that

even just as stewart of lorcan, he wants working relationships w the local lords in order to help facilitate things there etc

he's aware of the lorcan/malconaire ties and believes this can serve both the above goals

But I completely agree!! They have a lot of similarities both having one foot in this country and one in another but both also feeling so entitled to rule and have a place here.

I feel like Cassimir has a lot of complicated feelings re: Rian tbh? Like, Cassimir definitely still thinks that the way Astaira selects rulers is crazy (also I'm just now realizing that perhaps one of the stipulations of throwing your hat into the ring for king/queen is that you must be born here?? otherwise, I feel like cassimir would have tried to be king, too, when eilia took over) and he def wanted Rian to be king b/c Eilia is a girl!

I do think it softened the blow a bit when his mom started talking about how Cassimir could then marry Eilia and be king himself, but when he started to have serious feelings about wanting to marry eithne, that held less sawy over him and he ultimately believed that they all would have been better with rian in charge!

Now, though, he's happy enough with the Varmonts in charge. Like, not thrilled, but just accepting and he also feels like he has an in with the family, having captured the hearts of both Cassandra and Guinevere #facepalm and that he will be able to get things he wants because of that, so he's not about to try to start any kind of revolution in Rian's name or anything.

And while I think he would have at least tried to be Rian's friend, upon his return (he does think RIan was smart to throw his loyalties in with Roderick -- clearly he knows how to pick a winner!) he was also instantly upset that Rian was chosen as the steward of Lorcan, when Cassimir believes it should be him. And, although it isn't anything personal, he does want to see Rian removed from that post, so he can swoop in and take it for himself.

HE KNOWS HOW TO PICK A WINNER HELPPPP lkjdsflkasjdfjk

having captured guin adn cass's hearts alkjsdfkljsdjkfdf god im obsessed w cassimir's delusions <3333 pure magic lajksdfkljsdf

ok so largely i was just agreeing w everything you said heehee so yeah not a ~ton to add here except that i feel like, if rian does know that cassimir supported him once, he ~might think he'd do it again? and i do think he's probs aware of how important malconaire is to the astairan consciousness as one of the oldest and noblest (like...spiritually not just in a ~peerage sense hahahah) great houses of astaira etc, so i can potentially see where rian might be thinking that a marriage to one of the og girls might be a good move for garbhan in terms of drumming up support for rian's claim etc, and so yeah that might be smth he might wanna broach w cassimir, too! i don't think he's married to that since, obv, the malconaire vassals and armies got pr chewed up by edmund, but armed forces are def smth that either a varmont or lorcan marriage might bring to the table whereas a malconaire marriage might bring the support of the ppl etc so yeah!! idk!!

Tbh, I actually do think he would have told Rian that he was rooting for him?? And he probably thought that Astaira wouldn't be dumb enough to elect basically a girl-child when Rian is right here??? And ~his granddad was king so???? I feel like he would have been v vocal about his support both because he thought that Rian would win and also because he would want it known to the future king that he was on his side!!!

If they ever had any kind of good relationship, it was probably then tbh alsfjlflaskjdflj (especially since Rian probably never got to know Cassimir much beyond just this guy who is here supporting him!)

I can also see him still saying things like "you should have been king" if/when the opportunity presents itself and I do think that Cassimir honestly would feel that the Varmonts wouldn't have taken Astaira if a man had been at the helm.

However, this does not mean that he is up for Rian being king, at all, now, and if Rian ever did come to Cassimir to try to feel out if he'd support him or not, I feel like Cassimir would be eager to agree to his face but would sorta keep that information to himself until he knew best when to use it??? I feel like it would backfire, but Cassimir would probably try to use the info that Rian might meant to stake a claim against Roderick to try to get something from the emperor (and he might be thinking even more than lorcan at this point but definitely at least that!)

i love the idea of you having to be born there to be a candidate!!! i can see where, astaira being what it is, adoption might come w extra benefits beyond just being a stepchild etc? maybe undoes some of that to an extent, like it formally makes them ~full/natural~ citizens, or whatever??? like, even if you can't run, you can at least vote or whatever?? esp bc i think valentina probs did eventually realize that eilia didn't seem to be buying what cassimir was selling re: a potential marriage there ('stupid girl, unable to see what's before her in all her hubris! my son will show her!') bc im sure there's a way of like ~repealing an election or whatever if evidence (or "evidence" in this case im sure lkasjfkljsf) is found that its somehow invalid or whatever laksjdfkjsdf so she may have been lowkey plotting to 1) make her son lord of malconaire and 2) king of astaira in his own right lkajsdfkjsdf or at the v least to install someone as ruler who would be an ally to him (king cormac the useless incoming when cassimir marries eabha thus becoming dual lord of malconaire-hanthom, or smth au laksjdfklsdjfjkdsf SCREAM jk jk...kinda... ;DDDD)

so when she began to think that maybe that royal marriage wouldn't come off, she started to put in the work to ensure that eilia wouldn't always be queen, either, basically (not me lowkey like what if roderick making the staffords bastards was unwittingly based on groundwork set up by valentina alkjsdfklsjdf bc, like roderick, valentina does not fully understand astairan culture and was like this will do it roderick: thanks for ur service even tho i dont necessarily known im proceeding from ~ur work...bc we do know valentina makes a damn good forgery ;D valentina: hey! ~i was gonna profit off that! not me like does @forgottenroderick actually potentially ~believe they ~are truly bastards, given this???? either way he's happy to undo it as soon as they cooperate ;DDDD) ANYWAY SHHH VALENTINA WAIT UR TURN!!! ~this is abt rian!!1 l;kajsdflkjsdjf besides!! all that is neither here nor there bc #roderick but yeah!

oooooh ok so if cassimir told him in the past that he supported his bid (whether he was able to vote or not etc), and is still saying things like 'you should've been king' even now that #roderick i feel like rian may actually believe that cassimir is one of his most hardcore supporters???? laksdjflkjsdfsdf lk #facepalm (rian, what does it say abt ur cause when ur most die-hard supporter is marrying his own sister THINK MAN THINK klasjdfkljsdf ;DDD jk jk)

tbqh i don't think rian ~likes cassimir (tbf....rian does not like ~most ppl tho lbr lakjdsfkljsdf), but he ~is grateful for his continued support! and, given that cassimir ~also courted guin, i can def see him asking for like any pointers there which *facepalm* but anyway alkjsdfkljdsf (and im laugh bc that presumption to court guin alone would def make roderick angry! even tho he's legit considering rian for cassandra at probs abt this same time! roderick pls get a grip!!) but anyway i feel like perhaps that could come up while rian is feeling cassimir out abt a potential match between one of his stepsisters and garbhan. since he probs doesn't know abt the engagement yet? is that still secret? im guessing he is probs thinking eithne ngl (valentina loudly in the bg: YES PLS MARRY EITHNE SHE IS UNWED MARRY HER THIS INSTANT jk jk ;D) but itd probs quickly become brigit (or maybe even aoife when rian meets brigit ;D only ~kinda kidding honestly lkajsdfkljdsf) given she ~is engaged, id guess? (tho that's slightly less ideal bc he ~had hoped to make his bro a ruling lord in the right of his wife but maybe he can have lorcan once rian has moved on to stafford himself and honor would still be satisfied since brigit herself is of the blood of lorcan, right? lkajsdfkljdsf a perfect plan!! zero flaws!! ;D)

rian ~is a cautious guy (probs overly so ngl but anyway!! it would def be a problem in his reign if he ever did somehow get there l;aksjdfkljsdf he has anxiety ok!!! laskjdflkjasdf ;DDDDDD) so hed def couch everything in terms that are v sneaky at first ngl (too sneaky potentially in the beginning! like i can legit see him thinking cassimir's agreeing to smth when cassimir really ~is just agreeing that yes those curtains are indeed green...and probs lowkey wondering why that's worth remarking upon at all tbqh ;D *facepalm*) but if cassimir kept proving receptive and everything kept going well like the garbhan/brigit otp etc etc ;D i can absolutely see him eventually confiding in him!!! lkajsdfkljdsf *facepalm* and i can absolutely see that backfiring for everyone involved re: roderick esp w the whole malconaire witch situation potentially being embroiled w all that asp etc lakdsjfkljdsf

also I'm screaming!!! that Valentina might have been behind the bastardization of the staffords plot/laid the groundwork for it anyway and Roderick is the one to benefit from it lmao! Also, ngl I can see where, before Roderick was a thing, that the idea WAS to somehow get them off the throne if it was clear that Eilia wouldn't marry Cassimir and try to (somehow hahahaha) get someone like Cormac elected lmao or even like Eabha so Cassimir could marry her (although we all know that Cormac is CLEARLY the one that can be motivated/manipulated so v easily by Valetnina and Cassimir that having him be king means that Cassimir is basically king ... however convincing Astaira to vote for Cormac is another thing .... god was there a time where Valentina was spreading Cormac!propaganda everywhere???

I'm crying about Rian thinking that Cassimir is one of his hardcore supporters alsdjflsdjflfj I mean ... he just might be even though he'd betray him at a moment's notice because does Rian have any supporters??? ;DDD (garbhan: me, reluctantly)

I'm also crying about Rian literally picking Cassimir for tips on how to court Guin ..... and the way Cassimir would so confidently tell him the wrong things (although not on purpose because I think Cassimir also thinks Rian marrying Guin is a good thing for him because Rian likes and trusts him and Guin is ~clearly~ in love with him, so if Guin could get the throne, Cassimir feels like he would be in a good place .... #facepalm).

anyway, he's thinking that like cassimir could be king of alytar, godfrey could be king of kolchis, and ~he, ofc, would get astaira!!!!!!! like i said, godfrey is DEF not abt that bc obv astaira is for edmund as is kolchis and hell yeah alytar and the rest of the empire too!!!!!!! tho he's def not above using all this if it ever ~does go forward and it comes his way but anyway!!!!!! if cassimir were interested in being a king, well, that'd suit rian just fine!! laksjdflkjsdf and lord knows that cassimir has enough sisters to marry around and help seal common cause between these three (what a chaotic group here lakdjsflkjsdf)

i ~do think he'd be more likely to approach cassimir first than godfrey bc he's known him longer and obv he has more to gain wehreas godfrey is basically already running kolchis and is literally extremely tied int to the imperial family so he ~is the most likely to be like HELL NO MAN WTF whereas cassimir just seems to lose and just ~keep losing like roderick took the riverbend from him and gave it to edmund (iirc?), his mom ran malconaire into the ground before he ever got his hands on it, and that's not even talking abt how edmund full on massacred it even before ~that like laksdjfkjldf no wonder dude wants untouched lorcan!

but yeah idk if cassimir has ever showed any interest whatsoever in alytar, bc if he ~hasn't im sure rian would've noticed and that'd def be a stumbling block, too. rian would def wanna reach out to other ~current rulers too from outside the empire, such as orinthia and faulia and lienor, etc, and any other rulers from within the empire too (besides the stafford girls, ofc! obv rian already has the stafford thing covered and its not like eilia once won a contest of favor all across the kingdom or anything that would def prove helpful to a popular uprising or anything like that... ;DDDD) who might've managed to survive roderick's extermination policy, but yeah!!

ok now back to our regularly scheduled plotting!!

CORMAC AS KINGGGGGGG OMGGGGGGGG thats a world i WANT to see -- cormac out here writing major policy on how everyone must dress and then someone asks him a foreign diplomacy question and he's like '...was that english or...????? idk just give them what they want and make them go away' and that's how he gave over half his kingdom to roderick wo a fight just so long as they abide by the fashion rules he set laksdjfljkdsf (actually tho he'd ~def be like 'that's a cassimir question now lets get back to dicussing hairdressing policy') no but VALENTINA MAKING CORMAC PROPAGANDA omgggggg can you IMAGINEEEEEE lasdkjfkljsdfjsdf honestly if cassimir even said one (1) nice thing abt him in this process in cormac's hearing you know he was FLOATING on that praise for MONTHS lakjsdflkjsdjf not me like was the kingsmoot eilia, rian, and freaking ~CORMAC what a group lakjsdflkjsdkjf jk jk im sure there were ~many rigorously qualified npcs etc and i ~do know that this would've been a ~later kingsmoot after dethroning eilia, but i just had to picture that au for a second lakjdsfklsdf eilia in that reality: i could win this thing in my sleep

i ~do think eabha would've been a smarter candidate for them to pull outta the drawer but getting her to agree to run like??? she was born to hanthom and calleary so she'll do that its her duty but the whole country??? and even if they ~did convince her of that, you would ~not see her agreeing to cassimir and valentina's polies unless she happened to agree (tho that in itself might make her reconsider ;DDDDD jk jk) BUT i ~do think valentina does sometimes overestimate her own ability to ~convince others~ and yeah so i can potentially see her pushing eabha into this and then drama ensues hahaha but yeah cormac would do anything they wanted but yeah would ~anyone vote for him like????? dslkfjaklsjdfjdf either way tho i ~do think in this case, valentina would push cassimir to wed eabha bc lbr cormac aint having kids and that basically makes cormac's heirs princes and princesses, right? at least in valentina's mind it does...and it ~def does if she's queen, and yeah she'd ~def try and groom the hell outta their eldest son to rule after!!!! so yeah either way this is probs the main reason valentina got behind the cassimir/eabha engagement, back in the day tbqh hahaha

GARBHAN RELUCTANTLY BAHAHAHAHA but yeahhhh i think that ~is the grand total right there frankly lakjsdflkjsdfdsf rian tryna fight the world but unfortunately the world doesn't even realize it laksdjfkljdsjf its rough out there buddy alsjdfkjsdf but yeah esp w rian thinking that cassimir is a hardcore supporter, i can def see him wanting to bring cassimir in on his various ~initiatives, not realizing that man will literally betray him first chance he gets alksdjflkjsdf oops

CASSIMIR CONFIDENTLY TELLING RIAN THE WRONG WAYS TO COURT GUIN LAKSDJFKLJSDKFLJKSDJF SCREAM rian: 'thanks buddy i fully trust that this will work!!!' and when it doesn't he probs thinks its just his own poor ppl skills (which lbr def didn't help alksdjflkjsdfj)

honestly think rian would be a loT happier if garbhan had been the firstborn, wheeling and dealing and having to interact??? w ppl???? and then rian could be his man in the shadows doing math and history and stuff alkjsdflkdsjf but sadly the one w ppl skills is not the one whose duty is to interact w ppl lajsdlfkjsdjf

i ~do feel like tho when they actually ~do work together, they can be a pr effective team bc they do have v complementary skills and weaknesses so where one ~isn't up to the task the other ~is etc but like?????? idk how often they can get enough out of their own way to pull that off????

so kate and i have also done a lotttttt of hc'ing abt the stafford family backstory so i will bc presenting a crash course on that in a hot second but first some direct ~nowadays~ business that might even drum up some potential plots if you like any of it...

MARRIAGES

rian: PLS STOP HITTING ON MY POTENTIAL FIANCEES I ALREADY HAVE ENOUGH COMPETITION IN THEIR HUSBAND AND FIANCE(S) RESPECTIVELY

lakjsdflajsdjfajsdf its ok tho bc rian has big plans for his lil bro and matrimony!!!!!

i ~do feel like (only ~partially to distract him from distracting his own ladies!!!! alsdjfkljsdf ;DDDDD jk jk i think he made this list while they were still in the ovn lakjsdfjsjdf) rian ~is looking to get garbhan hitched sometime pr soon!!! some ladies he's got lined up for their political value to their cause:

eithne malconaire -- so you might remember this one from the cassimir/rian post, but an old blood astairan family to garner the sympathy and loyalty of the ppl! (~was eithne but she got betrothed so that's out) but im guessing?? brigit will NOT be feeling that?? so aoife would've been his next choice but seeing as finn snagged her, rosie's next up (really, rian thinks bran was awfully inconsiderate having so few daughters ;DDDD like this if we're already scraping the bottom of the barrel like this!!! rosie: ...thanks lakjsdfjsdjf no but its so sad like garbhan could've been a ruling lord smdh lsjkdfajklsdjf), but yeah i ~do think ideally he'd marry closer up the line than further down it since there're no sons in this family so he's higher up the line of succession etc but yeah if brigit is deeply against it rosie'sll do aljsdfljdf so if garbhan can seduce aoife away from finn? so much the better!!! or better yet??? steal eithne away from cassimir!!!! gold star brother move right there!!!!!!! lakjsdfkjldsf

lorcan -- so this one ~which lorcan literally does not matter to rian since none of the girls are set to inherit so!!!! if he wants the middle one, rian says go for it!!!! this is another old blood family and esp if rian can't close the deal w aine (which lbr...that woman is married in her own heart so like...it aint happening, man!), garbhan coming in clutch w a lorcan alliance is GREAT!!! esp bc the lorcans managed to keep their armies pr pristine whereas the malconaire armies, for example, got hella chewed up, etc, so they could potentially bring military to the table, too! this still ranks number 2 tho bc rian still thinks there's hope for him and aine where he can get lorcan ~and calleary assistance that way, but if he does def and definitively strike out w aine, this marriage prospect might go up to the #1 position in rian's mind tbqh

calleary -- again legit doesn't matter which one for the same reasons!! they aren't old blood astairan so its not ~as good a match as above but...the callearies are wealthy w hella naval experience and allies etc...itd still be a good match! just stop flirting w one in ~front of the others ok????

after that its all a bit of a crap shoot in rian's mind but he's left garbhan a larger pool of choices than himself ig alkjsdfjdf rian: i call that generosity!! no but lbr garbhan is probs way better equipped to juggle all that ~and make actual progress w it too...rian is still barking up two wrong trees smdh

STAFFORD BACKSTORY

ok so, @forgottenarias , pls def say so if im misremembering smth or leaving smth really significant out or whatever!! i wanna do sorta the footnotes vers of events as our primer for you, here, lizzy, regarding our hc's on rian and garbhan's faction and its schism from eilia, aria, and shiv's faction, just to give you a hopefully pr straightforward foundation for this stuff

if you're interested, you can also find more in the tagged 'ooc' and 'lore' posts [ here ] and [ here ], but that ~will probs mean a lil digging unfortunately lajsdjflksdf we did a lotttt of chatting lakjsdfjksdf and much of it on disco too so even there may be missing stuff *facepalm*

also -- obv pending approval etc -- but as sort of a skeleton for what im abt to say here, i did make up an [ astairan kingslist ] covering only the past like...200years or so. ill copy that here as a reference re what im abt to say bc idk sometimes timelines make things easier (note: this one starts current -> past):

AC

1288-present – roderick varmont, b. 1245, m. 1262, m. 1264, m. 1265

1281-1288 (7 years) – eilionora stafford, b. 1267

1263-1281 (18 years) – domhnall stafford, b. 1243, m. 1264

1255-1263 (8 years) – finnian lorcan, b. 1230

1244-1255 (11 years) – dubhán stafford, b. 1215, m. 1238

1238-1244 (6 years) – ciar stafford, b. 1179, m. 1196

1236-1238 (2 years) – caoimhe ormond vii, b. 1170, m. 1192

1236 (4 months) – callum braoin, b. 1192, m. 1222

1233-1236 (3 years) – declan stafford, b. 1214, m. 1232

1233 (1 month) – conan básdorcha, b. 1216

1232-1233 (1 year) – aine ó loch lorcan, b. 1208

1228-1232 (4 years) – aoife killough, b. 1161, m. 1198

1228 (29 days) – bréanainn boyle, b. 1187

1228 (2 months) – cillian stafford, b. 1196, m. 1220

1226-1228 (2 years) – tairdelbach lorcan b. 1154, m. 1173

1226 (2 weeks) – fionn calleary ii, b. 1182, m. 1203

1225-1226 (1 year) – diarmuid stafford v, b. 1162, m. 1182

1222-1225 (3 years) – senan calleary, b. 1206

1222 (3 weeks) – feardorcha stafford, b. 1187, m. 1221

1222 (7 months) – mellán hanthom, b. 1203

1222 (9 days) – fergus ormond, b. 1180, m. 1213

1200-1222 (22 years) – brigit malconaire iii, b. 1180, m. 1209

1134-1200 (66 years) – cerball lorcan, b. 1121, m. 1138

1123-1134 (11 years) – sorcha calleary, b. 1036, m. 1073

1103-1123 (20 years) – macdara malconaire ix b. 1041, m. 1073

1101-1103 (2 years) – cathaoir tierney, b. 1053, m. 1086

1043-1101 (58 years) – darach malconaire, b. 1019, m. 1043

1011-1043 (32 years) – cormac byrne, b. 964, m. 1002

1000-1011 (11 years) – caoimhe lorcan, b. 967, m. 169

so stafford history hc bullet points:

while obv anyone in astaira is eligible to rule, right down to pate the pig boy, for whatever reason the staffords have boasted the largest number of kings in their family line across the board, including the semi-legendary first king of astaira, who first united the land in the age of the heroes etc, and as a result historically the house has felt sort of a family legacy of responsibility for the crown and wellbeing of astaira etc

just like in the ovn, the plague hit astaira c. 1220, lasting until c. 1245, and wiping out thousands of souls. as such, in the midst of piling bodies in the streets and creating hasty burials all while desperately tryna care for your sick dying loved ones, bc of astaira's unique election system, the crown experienced horribly instability as astairans were drug out again and again and again to spend weeks electing someone only for them to drop dead months later obliging everyone to stat all over again

issues in astaira ground to a halt at the v worst time possible and some amongst the staffords developed a desperate plan: eliminate elections and crown the eldest stafford and his heirs as perpetual heirs of astaira ever after, the way ~other kingdoms work

this all came to a head at the election that ultimately saw dom crowned, brother vs brother, w dom opposing what he saw as a coup against the ultimate authority of astaira (the ppl) and rian and garbhan's dad (who we've been calling riacan just bc he seems like the kind of dude to effectively name his son after himself esp since he named one son 'king' and the other 'little rough one' lajslfjksdf but yeah obv just a ~working title~ for him but ill use it here just for ease/to hopefully keep it less confusing) and ~riacan representing what he saw as stability and salvation for the realm

obv we know who won in the end...

so yeah that's the general bullet points and what rian, at least, sees himself as fight for!! its for the good of astaira!!! why can't his foolish cousins just see this indisputable truth smdh lkasdjfkjdf

it should also be noted that there were other factors involved w the riacan vs dom situation, such as fierce sibling rivalry and the fact that lena (eilia and aria's mother,) was promised to the future king of astaira, whoever that might be (should he prove male -- her brother was promised should the next ruler be a queen) and riacan, during his time as ambassador for his father to orinthia, had fallen madly in love w her, etc, so like...a lot here!!!

there's also a whooooole thing w garbhan's aunt, princess réalta stafford (sister to dom and riacan), the woman whom roderick had been promised to by his father and whom roderick jilted to wed elaine right before the plague killed his own father. realta went on to be ambassador to the ovn on dom's behalf, countering riacan's bad press there, and ultimately met a bad end in a jail cell there which almost caused a war, hugely impacted aria's growing up (that's another whole thing) etc so like...that's a whole thing, too! but i already threw a ton at you and for now ill leave that bit off but i did want to mention that it ~existed at least alksdjfsjkdf

STAFFORD LEGITIMACY STUFFS

there may also have been rumors in the ovn, while rian and garbhan were growing up there, regarding both the stafford girls illegitmacy (which did come home to roost) as well as some regarding the stafford boys (secretly spread by riacan's implacable rival, lord sun -- who may ~also -- w amira -- be behind realta's mysterious fate shhh ;D and which roderick will almost certainly choose to unleash should the boys ever act against him etc and which he's always held over their heads w exactly that threat in mind) which suggest that riacan may have secretly wed lena all those years ago in orinthia, thus invalidating both riacan and lena's later marriages (the current stafford illegitimacy claim hinges on the idea that dom was secretly married to aine of kil-kennar prior to his marriage to lena so it doesn't impact the validity of riacan's marriage...) which two marriages, together, resulted in the births of all five of the current staffords...you can read more abt all that in [ this ] thread so yeah!!

ik that was a tonnnnn of stuff i just threw at you so def lmk if 1) you like any of this!!!! obv this is all v much pending re your thoughts on how canon-viable any of this is, and is v much still in the hc'ing stage!!!!! but also ofc also 2) idk how ~clear this even was so like pls def lmk if ur like wtf is even going on/you have any questions alksjdfalkjsdljfkjksdf

It seemed that the Emperor was, indeed, considering Rian as a potential spouse for one of his daughters, but...it seemed, too, that the princess in question was not the one Rian would have selected for himself. Sweet and pretty as Princess Cassandra undeniably was, her sister held greater charms for him, Guinevere's mind more attuned to those matters which held his own interest, and her aims, so far as he could tell, more similar to his own in that she seemed to wish to do well by those who looked to her, seemed to understand the bonds of familial duty, seemed to hope for a better future than the one which even now appeared to confront them all. Guinevere also sported a far greater claim to her father's throne. Every single sibling, every uncle, and each male cousin Cassandra had -- not to mention Guinevere, herself -- would have to die in order for anyone to take seriously Canssandray's candidacy for imperial ruler. Guinevere, though? Why, by Astairan standards, she had as great a claim as any of her brothers...Yet, great as this attraction undeniably was, it was hardly the only one Guinevere held for him...Her beauty and her brain were, after all, everywhere lauded, the empire wide.

Still, this was perhaps unfortunate. Rian was a direct man. He'd never done well with soft, silvery insinuation nor politicking. He preferred books to parties; theory to action. Rian was a scholar born, he might have, in truth, been happier as a magister at one of the great universities, but that had not been his fate. He was, instead, all but the last heir to a flagging dream, and it fell to him to seize the Stafford rights and bring them back into this age. There was no one better able to help him claim his goal, in truth, than Guinevere, she with her grace and beauty and, yes, her claim, could do much to forward his ancestor's dream which he could not, and which Eilionora had attempted to hurl away, and Roderick now turned to stifle. And Rian would, in truth, much rather take Guinevere's hand than raise his sword in defiance of Roderick -- and these, it seemed, were the only choices left to him.

Yes, Guinevere Varmont was the perfect match, it seemed, in every way. The only obstacle? Rian's entire personality.

He stood, even now, brooding in the shadows, clad all in black, only his Stafford-bright eyes catching the glimmering candlelight to glow like two blue stars in the twilight-dark night.

One of Roderick's family dinners had just concluded and, as Roderick and his wives and children and other guests trickled off into the next room for the final round of entertainments, Rian reached out from the dark and caught Guinevere's wrist. He waited, silent, till the last of the others had withdrawn. Her eyes met his. His heart beat strangely, rattling throat and belly and, with a tight swallow, he released her, suddenly self-aware, suddenly conscious of the feather-soft press of her skin against his own sword-calloused fingertips.

His smile was slow, apologetic. "Forgive me, Your Imperial Highness. It is only --"

"Likewise, Your Highness," bit out Rían, flexing his fingers.

Mentally, consciously avoiding the instinct to chafe at his arm where she'd struck him, Rían berated himself for his careless action. He ought never have attempted anything that might have been seen in the slightest as romantic in any case. It was hardly his forte and, he had to admit, the sharp slap of pain had made him less inclined towards being reasonable, and something closer to angry. Exhaling a long breath, he attempted to cool the heat of his cheeks by stepping to the table and renewing his addresses to his cup with its ice wine. The goblet, at least, did not shy from his advances, he thought with a twinge of irony.

"No," he said, perhaps more gruffly than he ought -- praying Prince Arthur had not seen. He knew he would never hear the end of it, if he had! But this was hardly charming! Not that Rían Stafford, of all people, knew how to charm anyone. That much was now abundantly clear, had it not been before now.

Exhaling, he shook his head. "I am unhurt, Your Highness. You are -- kind to inquire." The strike had not hurt quite so much as the blow to his pride, he had to admit to himself, and he sighed, wishing he could simply retreat out into the night and forget this entire event. But he still had to woo her...didn't he? But how now? He could not imagine she had found any part of this even faintly attractive. He almost laughed at the idea. It was all so very absurd!

Seeming to recall his earlier words, she frowned in what he could only interpret as confusion, no look of attachment or beseechment, no expression of wistful hope...nothing but dry and utterly unbeguiled consternation.

"I--" he did not know how to answer her. He feared perhaps he could not. "I only meant to say that..." What? What was he meant to say now? If he'd had some clever line intended before she struck him, he could no longer recall what it might have been. Rían wished blankly for his room and a cozy fire with a book and a spot of tea. But instead he were here. And Guinevere could not have been less interested in wedding him had he simply been a book...Who knows, he thought with a twist of wry humor, the book might have proven more appealing.

But there was something, he remembered. Something that had concerned him. It hadn't been what he'd meant to say, but with nothing clever coming to mind, it would have to do.