It's 6:30 am and I am on the train to work, having major Sophie feels. I love her depiction in the 2009 two-part series because it does not paint her as a villain. Yes, she acts antagonisticaly to Elisabeth but she herself states why she does it, playing the part history has decided for her, being what Elisabeth never could be. From a modern point of view she makes a lot of mistakes but she believes herself to be right, not out of malice or ego, but because she believes what she does is the good thing for her family and her country. She lives and breaths for the House of Habsburg and the values they have upheld for hundreds of years (no matter how terrible these might be from a liberal or modern pov). And I admire that.

Wanted! Habsburg Rpers

Interesting historical characters people should consider picking up aka Flora and I will love you forever and probably bribe you if you bring us: 

Franz Josef I, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, 18. August 1830 - 21. November 1916

Count Gyula Andrassy, Prime Minister of Hungary and Foreign Minister of Austria-Hungary, 8. March 1823 - 18 February 1890

Ida Ferenczy, lady in waiting to Empress Elizabeth, 7. April 1839 - 28 June 1928

Princess Sophie of Bavaria, 27 January 1805 - 28 May 1872

Archduke Franz Salvator of Austria, 21 August 1866 - 20 April 1939

Joseph Radetzky von Radetz, Bohemian nobleman and Austrian Field Marshal, 2. November 1766 - 5 January 1858

Anna Sacher, famous hotelier in Vienna,  2 January 1859 - 25 February 1930

Empress Elisabeth - Sisi, December 24 1837 - 10 September 1898 

Archduchess Gisela of Austria, 12 July 1856 - 27 July 1932

Princess Stéphanie of Belgium, 21 May 1864 - 23 August 1945

Maximilian I of Mexico, Archduke of Austria-Hungary and only Emperor of the Second Mexican Empire, 6 July 1832 - 19 June 1867

Carlota of Mexico / Charlotte of Belgium, princess of Belgium and Empress of Mexico, 7 June 1840 - 19 January 1927

Mizzi Kaspar, royal mistress to Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, 28 September 1864 - 29 January 1907

Archduke Franz Ferdinand, 18 December 1863 - 28 June 1914

Duchess Helene in Bavaria, 4 April 1834 - 16 May 1890

Princess Louise of Belgium, 18 February 1858 - 1 March 1924

Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, 4 February 1508 - 12 January 1519

If you have questions about any or all of these characters feel free to message me and I shall throw some information your way. Gimme all the k.u.k people pretty please

Someone should write Ida Ferenczy because she’s such a good hearted soul and a true friend. I just. ugh.

Favorite OTPs [20/?]: Gwen and Gideon (Precious Stone Trilogy)

“Ready?” “Ready when you are.”

@meinliied​ für baby!Rudolf

The voice of his wife still lingered within his ears, pleading, begging, asking him to stay. Sometimes he wondered how it could be, how the day that marked the beginning of his life - of his love - simultaneously marked the end of hers. Even after so many years she was still a bird caged inside these walls and there was nothing --- his fist slammed onto the table with a force that send his papers rustling. The old paperweight shivered as the Emperor forced his own thoughts, his own heart into silence. He was not raised for doubt. He was stronger than this.  There was no use in lingering any longer, in wondering how many of their silent servants had witnessed the discussion prior to this moment, had seen Sisi storm out of his study in the Hofburg. There was no use in delaying the inevitable.  Now that the French had betrayed him and the provinces in Northern Italy called for freedom he needed to appear stronger than ever. An eagle in flight, a leader to his soldiers. They called for him, marching towards Solferino. He could hear them whispering his his blood. He was born for this. And there was no space left for any doubt.  With one swift motion the Emperor grabbed his coat and threw it over his uniform, one hand on his sabre he turned to leave and suddenly saw himself face to face with an intruder. Franz Josef stopped, thunderstruck. He had not expected to see his young son here, one hand on the doorknob, eyes pleading. He looked so much like his mother, he looked so much like the Emperor himself. And there was nothing a father, off to war, could say in this moment that did not sound like a last goodbye. His eyes drifted over the head of hair into the hallway behind Rudolf. Where were his governesses? The servants? His mother?  “You are not supposed to be here, Rudolf”, it was a reprimand yet he could not chase all softness out of his voice. He could be harsh with Sisi, he could be demanding, but not when such small eyes looked up at him. Not with his heart already in turmoil. “What are you doing here? Your mother has returned to the palace already” Had Sisi left him behind? Unthinkable. Maybe his wife was not aware of Rudolf’s whereabouts either.

Plotting Call! 

Give this post a like if you are interested in plotting something with me and Valerie and I shall come to your IM with an idea. 

Are there active Romanov or RubyRed Rpers out there? Asking for a friend me.

scandalousladyw·:

 ❝ i apologise, i am not usually such a mess.❞ seymour said, dabbing the tears that had gathered in the corners of her eyes. she sniffed a little and straightened her dress, hoping to repair her dishevelled look so she did not embarrass herself too much in front of the other woman.

starter | @diexeinzige

“There surely is no need to apologize”, Marie Valerie dipped her head in greeting as she stepped closer. Concern flashed in the young girl’s eyes but she quickly hid it behind etiquette and politeness. There was no reason to bring further attention to personal matters and embarass the woman in front of her, was there? “Should you be in need of anything though, you know you only need to ask. Bad Ischl is a place of rest and laughter”

meinliied·:

There was no point in arguing with his younger sister, he realized that quickly. But the threat to leave her out here alone seemed to show more success, Rudolf could see that in Valerie’s face. Well, he could work with that. Hiding a grin beneath a pensive expression, he looked at the trees and back at her. “There are ghosts in these forests you know? And wolves of course, surely you have heared of that already.” An effective pause followed and then Rudolf let his hands slip into the pockets of his uniform and shrugged. “What am I supposed to do, if you insist on straying away from me and misbehave?” He almost added, that these were the kinds of children the ghost loved to feed on most, but decided that this was perhaps too much. Yet to give his words more weight, he stayed back, as if he was honestly considering to leave ( the idea was indeed tempting ).

His gaze wandered to his sister’s ruined clothes and a heavy sigh escaped him. It was too late to save that, he’d have to live with the consequences when they returned. “My advice would be to walk with me, if you want to be save. And you should consider not making that much noise, because with all that splashing they can find you easily.” The last part had been added purely for his own benefit, since it offered at least the slight chance, that Valerie would not talk that much.

Shestopped in her tracks, arms outstretched as she had been balancingbetween one particular big puddle and the save pathway. Ghosts? Hewas making fun of her, was he not? Rudolf had never told her a lielike that before. It was not proper for the heir to lie. And thewolves. Botz had spoken of the wolves! Had there not been a story inwhich a young girl like her strayed too far from the path... SlowlyValerie turned around, eyes fixed on her brother's expression andbrows tightly knitted together. Was he telling the truth? Why did henot follow her? „Ido not believe you“, she stated, her words sounding braver than shefelt like. But surely their parents would not allow for them to walkthese woods alone if there were such dangerous things waiting asghosts. She hated ghosts. Sometimes she could hear them in thecreaking wood of the Hofburg, in the old walls, whispering,scheming... She wanted to cross her arms in front of her chest oncemore but a sudden sound to her right made Valerie stop. Was that atwig breaking? Someone walking towards them? Shock and fear appearedon her face as she rushed forward, running towards her brother andaway from these strange noises as fast as her little feet could takeher. She scooted around him, hiding behind Rudolf's legs, a tiny handoutstretched to grip the edge of his uniform. „If I promise to beextra quiet“, she whispered, „Will you look after me?“ Therewas fear now, openly dancing upon her words. And she looked towardsher brother with pleading eyes. He would regret lying to her, wouldhe not?

@aelernil​ con. [x] “It terifies me”

“A lot of things can terrify us.” A fact he knows too damn well. Every human can feel it. Its part of our nature. That doesn’t mean anything bad. “Should I ask about—-?”

She shook her head, turning away from him. It had not been proper to speak those words in the first place, yet there had been a part of Valerie all too eager to strike up a conversation with the king in front of her. The ruler of Dale was so different than Papa, this city smelled and breathed and lived in a different way than Vienna. And even after all her travels with Maman Valerie could not quite wrap her head around all these new sights and impressions. Yet the way home and what may await here there... It was even more terrifying than the thought of having to spend an eternity away from Vienna, from her family. „I must apologise“, her eyes finally flickered back to the King as the Archduchess forced herself to smile, „It was not my attention to disturb your peace with such words, your majesty. Of course you are right, and I simply must learn to live with it.“ She hugged her arms tightly around her petite frame.

via Imgfave for iPhone

@meinliied·

If their mother hadn’t asked him to look after her, the Crown Prince would have never agreed to this. There were only a few things in this world that he imagined to be worse than running after his litle sister and keep her out of trouble. Yet still, even if he did regret it now, Rudolf simply hadn’t been able to deny their mother this wish. 

So he found himself here on this meadow, eyes meeting those of the younger girl in a mixture of quiet pleading and daring her to continue, to get herself covered in dirt. Afterwards Valerie would see how unpleasant that experience was. Only one moment later the graveness of that mistake hit him. He would bear the blame for the sullied clothes, he would be scolded. But those thoughts came too late. A loud splash and the inevitable had already happened. What followed was only a heartbeat of deep, stunned silence, like the calm before a storm. 

Rudolf took another step into her direction, fully planting himself infront of Valerie. “If you want me to leave you here in the middle of nowhere, this is exactly how you achieve that”, he growled

He would not do that, would he? Leave her behind so easily? For amoment doubt filled her mind, but Valerie was determined to not givein so easily. Maman would be very angry where she to be left behind.And Papa! Unthinkable. “And what shall you say? If they askyou where I am?” She mimicked his expression, tiny hands placed onher hips, while the water still soaked her toes. It smelled a littleicky, she realised that now. And it was colder than expected.  Valerie did not want to stay behind, she feared this woods all onher own. What if one of the wolves Botz had told her about found her?Ate her alive? She shuddered, shook her head before turning away fromher brother. Stepping through the mud and the rain water. “Youwould not do that to me, would you? Leave me here alone to die” The little princess expected her brother to follow, but she didnot look over her shoulder to make sure of that. She simply continuedon, delighted by the splish and splash her feet made. Last nightsstorm had been scary but it had left the grounds of the garden andthe surrounding nature soaked with fresh rain water. It was surely anexperience. „Are you coming or not?“

meinliied·:

He had spend the morning in a conference room, which was just as exiting as it sounded. As always Rudolf had been silenced, forced to sit back and watch. His proposals for expansions he’d spend the last nights preparing had been dismissed without further consideration. Well, it shouldn’t surprise him anymore. That procedure would continue later and so Rudolf had hurried out of the building and into the bustling city. As per usual he’d pulled the hood of his jacket over his hair to avoid unnecessary attention. Walking through the streets sometimes felt strangely familiar, like he’d spent more than just one lifetime here. A ridiculous thought, surely.

 If he wanted to get through the rest of the day, he definitely needed a coffee. The choice fell on the next shop he saw, one he’d also been to before. With his mind still in the meeting, Rudolf entered and found himself running into a woman immediately. It took him another moment to actually notice the queue through the whole room and that everyone seemed rather pissed already. Great, exactly what he needed. “Sorry”, he muttered. But for some reason he couldn’t stop the instinctive reaction to roll his eyes at her whole rant. “Calm down, it’s not like I did it on purpose.” 

She mirrored his reaction with her own eye-roll. There was noreason for her to calm down, she had already reacted in a rather calmway. At least Marie saw it that way. She bit her tongue, swallowingdown a bitter remark. There was no need to antagonize him evenfurther, though she had to remind herself of as much. After spendingher entire day being nice to patients, keeping a smile fixed to herface, it was sometimes hard to keep that attitude outside of work.Some might say even impossible. Marie gave one look at his fancycloses before stepping aside, her right hand waving in an invitinggesture. „Well, you can have my spot in the queue if you're in a hurry. Ihave nowhere to get back to. But as I said, it does not seem likethere is going to be any movement here anyway“, her tone wasneutral, all though she was seething inside. He could have at leastapologized as if he meant it, „And don't worry, I wasn't hurt oranything“ Marie's tone was dripping with sarcasm, „I am used tobeing tossed around on Mondays anyway“ She thought about steppingaround him and leaving right that very moment. Her first intention toget an iced coffee, her favourite was Frozen Caramel and the onlyreal caffeine she was able to drink, in an attempt to make today'sheat more bearable seemed fruitless if it meant staying in the warmshop any longer. But something made her stay, somehow this strangerseemed so strangely familiar and Marie searched his hooded face. Shefelt as if she knew him from somewhere but she could not quite placeit yet. Her brows furrowed, „Have we met before?“

apurekindness·:

“Valerie,” she repeated, “that’s a lovely name.” Adjusting the basket on her arm, she offered her new friend a bright smile - she didn’t know many young women of her own age, and it would be lovely to have some company for once. 

“Well, we can start here in this pasture. Many of the flowers and herbs I need like the full sunshine that you get in a meadow, but we can head into the forests over there later,” she nodded to the line of trees to the south of them. “Here!” she suddenly stopped and bent down to her knees, gesturing to several three-leafed plants. “This clover can be useful to treat sickness.” 

It was a freedom she would need to get used to, to be able to go where they wanted. It was unthinkable for Valerie. When she was traveling with her mother such things had to be planned. There was never an easy and quick stop, space for simply going where their mood or their desires took them. Protocol loomed above them, and besides Papa would think the forest too dangerous for her to begin with, not without guards, not on her own. So this adventure was already more than she had hoped for and the smile continued to stay on Valerie’s face as she at least tried to pay attention to the other’s words.  Flowers liked the sun. Some at least. And clover was good for sickness... She bent down besides Kiara, examining the small petals. “I was not aware of such. Sickness you say? I was once told that they brought luck, clover petals, but only if you found one that had more than three leaves” Botz had told her as much. Oh, how she missed that woman. Valerie let herself down to her knees, not caring for the dress that billowed around her. “Maybe we will be lucky and find one. Do you have to eat it when you are sick? Or drink it as a tea?” Botz had always made her tea when she was little. One hand gently caressed the green petals around them. If she found one, she’d bring it home to her papa, or maybe give it to her brother.

Marie Valerie is usually a very well behaved little princess, she had to be, if she wanted to join her mother on any travels. In comparison to Rudolf and Gisela her upbringing was not as strict and dictated by the Hofprotokoll, but she felt the restrictions and limitations around her family just as much. 

Starter Call!

I have one reply in the queue and one half-finished in my drafts, so apparently I am almost draftless. Time for a starter call! Hit the ♥ to get a Marie Valerie thrown at you. Verses and lengths may vary and I might come to you for plotting beforehand.

@meinliied​ for the AU we talked about

It was midday on a Monday and Marie was already done with the entire week, ready to pack it up and leave it all behind. After a more than stressful weekend her early morning shift had been nothing less than terrible with one emergency after the other and - worst of all - technical difficulties. Thank you for that, heat wave. She hated that, being unable to help, to treat her patients properly, because some dude somewhere could not come and repair their basic equipment. If only the hospital were ready to pay some higher bills... But in the end her nerves had been the only thing hurt in the process and she reminded herself again and again that the anger in her stomach would surely subside. “Why don’t you become a nurse?”, her mom had said all these years ago, “It’s gonna be fun. Yeah, sure. If it continued like this she’d end up sterilizing needles with fire, burning wounds with alcohol like they did in the trenches... Where did that thought come from? Marie sighed exasperated at the queue of her favourite coffeeshop. She had been standing here for five minutes already and it seemed nothing was moving forward. Great, even more technical difficulties. Just what she had needed. Somewhere in the front an older woman got real cranky and real rude. She felt bad for the poor employees, probably on line with tech support already. Marie was about to step up and intervene when the door bell behind her chimed and she felt someone crash right into her back. She stumbled forward, catching herself in the last moment, “Oi, why not be a little more careful?”, Marie turned towards the stranger, her eyebrows closely knit together, “There’s no rush here right now anyway. If you need to hurry you can hurry right back out of here”