#writinglyra

That's right, guys. The project you all know and love as Project Ichor has a real, actual name! And I think it's time that you learned it. So, I've made a handy dandy presentation.

𝐖𝐓𝐖 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐓 𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐀 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒; monsters and majesty

“Woah, hush,” she soothed and reached a hand forward, though seemed to think better of it and pulled it back. “I just wanted to offer some help for the Festival, especially as you can’t be doing well while you’re hurt.”

The scene Hannah and Diana meet officially c:

12. Do they agonize about where to put stickers, or slap them on anywhere?

Asuka will slap stickers on whatever has a bare spot. Most of the stuff in her garage is covered in stickers. Even the stuff that might constitute a fire hazard.

67. Would they win a dance-off?

Absolutely not. But she would enter, and isn't that a victory of its own?

93. What’s the best way to beat them in a fight?

Happy Holidays, Megan (@thousand-page-dreams). Surprise, you're my target!

For my present, I wrote a short scene based on this excerpt you posted from your project, Glass Butterflies. I saw the potential for angst and decided to run with it. I hope you enjoy it and it's not too much of a downer.

The letterman smells like sweat, grass stains, and shampoo. And despite himself, Aaron pulls it into his frail, dark fist. It isn’t soft, anymore. Not really. But he fumbles for the initials embroidered on the breast: KC. He’s not far away. But it feels so impossible to be near him. Yesterday he saw a girl—blonde and loud and perfect—wearing her boyfriend’s jacket at the game, his steel-corded arms wrapped around her slender shoulders, and Aaron wanted to scream. The jacket was too big for her, dipping below her hips and hitting her thighs. But, in the autumn air, it looked like she was draped in his wings. Sometimes Aarons wants to carve KC’s name into the walls of his chest. Sometimes Aaron wants a world where he doesn’t have to. He leans back and tries to catch his failing breath. If KC could see him now… He’s not far away. There are stars stuck to KC’s ceiling. Constellations of plastic—spilling out in unsatisfying clumps and trails. So naive. A childish facsimile of the tapestry buried under those field lights. Aaron reaches up with the hand not creasing KC’s name as if to touch them, but he doesn’t come close. So he lets his wrist splatter onto his chest and rolls to bury his nose in KC’s scent. The girl in the jacket didn’t know what she had. Didn’t know how beautiful it was to be so effortlessly someone’s. It's unfair. Aaron doesn’t feel himself sitting up. He only feels his arms snaking their way into the sleeves. And then he’s a chrysalis, curled up on KC’s bed, staring up at a star he can imagine is a witness. He wants to stay like this forever. But KC isn’t far away. There’s something desperate in him, he thinks. He shouldn’t want this much.

“Your Royal Highnesses.” The chieftain turned first to Teodema and then to Keroesa in turn. “Clan Hea sends its blessings in honor of your union, Prince Teodema. And my wife and I send our thanks for the pleasure of these festivities.” “I receive your blessings joyously,” Teo nodded, “but you must thank my Father in regards to the hospitality.”

The Clans of Siruna

Merim, like all kingdoms in Siruna, is a highly hierarchical society. At the highest level, a monarch has absolute authority over the whole of the kingdom, but beneath them is a complex system of clans and tribes.

Every Sirunan claims descent from a specific clan, of which there are likely hundreds spread across the eleven kingdoms. Clans are, essentially, extended family groups, all claiming descent from a common ancestor or ancestors. At the head of a clan is its Chieftain, (typically) the most senior male in that clan's bloodline. Chieftain is a hereditary position with a degree of prestige, but chieftains don't hold much political power outside their clans unless their clan is particularly powerful. Mostly, chieftains handle small-scale disputes within their clans, fulfill ceremonial roles (alongside other clan elders), and represent their clans to those higher up on the hierarchical ladder.

Groups of clans mostly live together in a particular area, intermarrying and cooperating, and are, as such, further grouped together into what are called tribes, which are the most basic administrative divisions in Siruna. Tribes are led and managed by a Chief, who is the chieftain of one of the clans that make up the tribe. The Chief usually belongs to the clan with the highest "prestige", but which clan this is for any given tribe is mostly a matter of tradition. The ruling clan of a tribe does not typically change, but intra-tribe conflicts can cause dynamics to shift. The ultimate authority on which clans serve as Chiefs is the monarch, in their capacity as a prophet of the gods, so loyalty to the monarch is paramount to Chiefs to remain in power.

Most of the day-to-day governance in Siruna is done by the chiefs. They settle disputes, make trade agreements with each other, distribute resources, and muster armies. But above them is them are the royal Governors. Governor is another hereditary position, roughly equivalent to the rank of Duke in a Western aristocracy. They manage large swaths of land on behalf of the monarch and work closely with them. The particular clans serving as governors is the most variable of all the titles in the hierarchy. The monarch is free to mix and match and swap them out as they see fit, and so it is only the most loyal and powerful clans that have the honor. And many royal family members, including Keroesa's aunt Princess Ilana, marry into these families.

She followed his eyes as they turned North. Tried to see the memory he saw in the blank expanse, but could not. He was remembering his home. Remembering Taso. [...] “It doesn't look much different to here,” he said, shrugging. “Smaller, of course. And softer, maybe. There aren’t so many rocks.” Keroesa could tell, even as he trailed on, that it was very different indeed. Different in ways he couldn’t speak.

Taso

Taso is an isolated island about three hundred kilometers north of Merim. Thirty years ago, Keroesa's grandfather, in his time as King of Merim, facing economic pressure and the promise of riches, sent his armies over the sea. After a long struggle, the forces of Siruna colonized it, declaring Taso the rightful territory of the Kingdom of Merim and thus part of the sacred alliance of Siruna. Resources were extracted and Tasoan labor was exploited for the enrichment of the homeland, with little thought given for the consequence.

Suffering under this regime, the Tasoans rebelled in a devastating war that waged on for years, taking countless lives on both sides. After nearly a decade, Keroesa's father, Ifema, inherited the throne and, within his first year, definitively ended the war, surrendering all claim to the island of Taso.

Her body dripped with electrum. Thin chains of it clung to her skin, draped between her shoulders, arms, and chest. It dangled from her ears and entangled her fingers. Necklaces dug into the nape of her neck, one holding a heavy sapphire in place over her heart. Another gem hung at her forehead, suspended from the exquisite diadem she wore. As she moved she knew she glimmered in the fire and moonlight.

Jewelry

Like any monarchy, the royals of Siruna tend to flaunt their wealth and power with ostentatious jewelry. Siruna is well known for its high quality metalwork, but Merim in particular is famous for it's electrum--a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver. It is usually pale yellow in color, and is fashioned into all types of jewelry and artifacts for the elite classes, as well as coinage. The most valuable pieces of jewelry, and those most coveted by the wealthy, are the intricate long, thin chains created by the royal jewlerymakers of the capital.