this is my dcom blog

The eldest son of the Charmington royal family is always adopted. This is ostensibly to keep a strong, diverse genetic line for the royal family, but in reality it originated when Prince Herbert the First (second son of King Constantine) unexpectedly inherited the throne when his elder brother died, and he refused to divorce his spouse, Sir Henry. Instead, they adopted a son, and created the tradition primarily as a defense for their marriage. However, as King Constantine was married to own his first cousin, and their children had inherited a number of issues, the adoption actually solved more issues than it created, and the tradition continues on to this day. 

Charmingdale (home of Prince Phillip and his bride Snow White) is a very old kingdom, with very old laws, and very young rulers. Their rulers are young by design, as the kingdom expects their elders to retire once they reach late middle age. Their oldest king was fifty-two years old upon his retirement, and was succeeded by his twenty year old son. It's not quite the same as a term limit on ruling, but it functions much the same, and the former rulers of Charmingdale have a much more pleasant retirement than most other kings and queens. 

The northern kingdoms (including France, home of King Adam, formerly Prince Adam of Rouen-Metz) are typically ruled by smaller Dukes and Princes, who each govern small holdings, rather than larger kingdoms. It creates some issues when neighboring holdings are in conflict, but generally it means that each ruler stays in touch with the needs of their constituents, because their holdings are so limited in size. When Princes get uppity and start conquering each other, the problem usually fizzles out before it reaches a kingdom size, because the farmers and townsfolk don't especially like being governed by random strangers from the next holding over, and they'll rebel if their rulers don't have enough time to listen to them. 

Riding (West, East, and Upper) is mostly forest lands. It's barely governed. The Riding government is a group of elected representatives from the villages on the borders of the forest. They're regular people. They serve for typically 4-5 years before passing the position on to the next representative. 

Camelot, due to an unfortunate technicality with fairy tale logic, doesn't have a succession plan for their royals. They literally have a Once And Future King. That's him. He's their only one. He's going to rule forever. He'll never die. He literally just Won't Do That. They don't need to plan for his son inheriting the throne, because he's their forever king.  They're not worried about it. 

The kingdoms around Camelot all have succession plans that involve marrying into the royal family and positioning their children to step onto the throne when King Arthur dies. They're not subtle about it. The Auradon ruling council has plans to promote Sir Gawain's son to king when it happens, to avoid a power vacuum in one of the most magically inclined sovereignties in the USA and also to avoid the neighboring kingdoms throwing an unknown stranger onto the throne. 

the direct-to-tumblr sequel to Ambiguously Bisexual Flirting Time.

"Hey, Evie?" 

It's one in the morning. 

Icy fingers ghost over Evie's exposed hand. It's already the end of September, but Auradon is so warm compared to the Isle that she'd dared to sleep without gloves on. 

"Eves?" 

She pulls her hands in tighter. She's asleep. She's sound asleep and she's just dreaming about being woken up. 

"I know you're up. How d'you know when someone's flirting?" 

Oh. Well, if there's gossip to be had, she could wake up just a little bit. 

"Hmmmm?" Evie mumbles. She'll wake up, really. It's just that her eyes feel so nice and comfortable closed like this, and it seems terribly unladylike to pry them open while they're resting so sweetly. 

The icy fingers are back, and this time they're jabbing at the gaps in between her curlers. 

"Evieeeee," Carlos whines. "Wake up. Mal's in my bed, so I neeeeeed you to get up and let me in yours." 

Evie yawns, and is rewarded with some dirty fingers in her mouth. 

She bites down. 

"OW!" 

Designed this cap-sleeved stunner for Mal’s first major press conference as a princess. Cameras flashing, reporters shouting chaos, but make it couture. This dress was made to catch the light and command the room.

Details fit for a dragon queen:

Embroidered lace at the collar, because royalty should never be boring

Hand-sewn rectangular sequins = shimmer with every step

Embroidered ribbon at the waist to cinch that silhouette just right

INVISIBLE HEELS (yes, really) clear straps so the gold ornamental dragons on the toes steal the show

She looked fierce, flawless, and totally in control. That’s the real power of a good dress: it doesn’t just change how the world sees you it reminds you who you are.

So when it came time to design this dreamy dress, I went full ethereal. Think: delicate white fabric + clear sequins with an iridescent shimmer. The result? A soft pop of rainbow that brings the magic without screaming for attention.

STYLE TIP:

The all-white look isn’t just for formal nights in the castle. You can totally rock it with a crisp white blouse and jeans, or some tailored white shorts. Mixing white and cream? Yes, please.

BONUS:

Add a bright heel or flat for a little pop of color (think fairy wings meets fashion week).

ALEXANDRO BYRD as LUIS MADRIGAL

close up

Imagine Prince Charming. We know this character so well we usually make fun of him. But briefly, discard all irony and return to the core of the character: gleaming and debonair, elegantly mannered but of fiery passion, duelist and romantic and impeccably dressed. If possessed of a vice, may be arrogant, but come on, if you’re Prince Charming, you know you’re hot stuff.

Prince Charming is usually presented as the male equivalent to the female Noble Princess- but the truth is, these characters are not the same. They may have qualities in common, but they are handled and utilized differently in stories. 

This may have a frustrating root- because of assumptions made about men and women, what a woman should be and what a man ought to aspire to- but it need not be only taken as a frustrating bug in the system. Archetypes, after all, only exist meaningfully in fiction as ingredients on the chef’s table. Some of them might nauseate, but others are perfectly good, if you just trim off some bits and mix them up with new friends.

Imagine, with no jokes or subversions, a female prince charming. Gleaming smile, court mannerisms, gold brocade and tailored historical suits with a fencing rapier and a wit just as quick, impeccable hair and understated jewelry, possibly dressing ‘down’ as a conspicuously stylish hunter or wayfarer to get some adventuring on but she’ll do just a nicely in her fancy doublet and white gloves.

And likewise, imagine without mockery, a male princess; soft-spoken, sheltered but wise, compassionate and mystical, beloved by his people, earnest and profound in his desire to help. Precious, vulnerable, and yet compelled with the bravery to move mountains and challenge boundaries, wrapped in airy and shimmering layers that give him an ethereal or ghostly sort of presence, bare or slipper-shod feet that grace the earth untarnished.

Because if the truth is we think different things about ‘a king’ as opposed to ‘a queen’, if the Empress and Emperor in tarot have different meanings, and we take that together with the truth that men and women can be, and are, anything within the bounds of human capability and even beyond that in the land of fiction- then you can get a lot of intrigue out of tropes you might think are too tired to play straight merely by reminding yourself that an evil wizard and a wicked witch are not the same archetype… and nobody said a wicked witch HAS to be a woman.