Talk To Glowfic Characters

[alicornucopia]

So we've started answering comments in "How To Read Effulgence" in character, and that's not really the ideal platform for those conversations. This is! You may address characters here and we may opt to answer in character. You will get a kind of loosely "backstage" out-of-continuity version of the character (in continuity proper, you cannot talk to them, since you aren't there) and if you want them at a specific (past relative to where we're writing) point in time, feel free to specify (e.g. "Addy in 1932", "Shell in her box", "the Joker while committed", "Minus right after he woke up from turning", "the alethiometer on the subject of 1207").

Any glowfic author may use this thread to receive questions.

You may also be interested in Make My Characters Talk To Each Other.

Comments

[she_sells_seashells]

I often don't have enough information to tell for sure, but apart from Golden no one's an obvious candidate. Maybe Glass, since she was at least a princess before meeting the peal and I did get called "Highness" instead of "Majesty" a couple of times. I'm positive that we haven't met everybody, though - none of us meet some of the descriptions.

[daniel_h]

We know five or six Bells who are reasonably likely to be/have been royalty pre-pealling. Eve, Loki, do you think one of your subject could have made it to Milliways and then confused you and Shell Bell? Kiri, do you think Loel could become King despite his best efforts to remain anonymous; if so, same question. Cymbeline, Rapunzel, do you think one of your subjects could have recognized a family-like similarity between you and Shell Bell in Milliways, and guessed at a royal title? Clarity, even if you do become royalty before pealing, there’s probably no way… wait, do you know of any magical mirrors in Canterlot castle, or any old ones which are several times the height of the average adult pony?

[deepest_magic]

I don't see why that couldn't have happened to a Narnian, although I wish they would have told us about the place if it did.

[purposeful_glory]

I believe Shell Bell was called "your highness" as well as "your majesty" on a few occasions, so it's possible even on the assumption that I never see queenhood; though she would have had to have been sitting down to mask the height difference even if we postulate that these bar patrons paid no attention to clothing choices.

[calescent]

If Isten died we'd have to throw something together, but a prime also being either king or queen is very far down the list of possibilities (and I don't know why you bring up Loel in this context). I'm not sure if Shell Bell was ever addressed as "Prime", but probably some people recognized her without calling her anything in particular, I suppose.

[daniel_h]

It just seems somewhat plausible that you marry Loel, and that gives you one more chance for a throne. I suppose you ascending directly might be slightly more likely because you’ve lived your whole life here, but it’s worth checking about potential spouses too. How are your royal heirs picked in general?

Although, on a completely unrelated note, a little tip on lying and misdirection: if you don’t want people to think about something too hard, don’t draw attention to it. If, as a completely hypothetical example, somebody brings up one thing in connection with another, and you don‘t want people to think they’re related? Don’t mention that it’s an odd connection.

[calescent]

I don't want to marry Loel, and primes or people particularly likely to become primes can't marry the reigning monarch or anyone particularly likely to inherit it for property holding and balance-of-power reasons. It was already kind of weird for Loel's mother to be queen when she had discernible Lalindar ancestry and was coru, but not as weird as installing someone who already is prime. Me becoming a queen is dramatically less likely than abolishing the monarchy and switching to a rule by primes directly or something.

I pointed it out not because I have any interest in lying to you but because you seemed to be presuming that I might marry Loel, and, like - why would I do that? Ever? I don't have to settle for the first person to let me read their mind, that would be pathetic.

[daniel_h]

In general, because of relatively weak Joker template attractors. In specific, because I thought I remembered reading about attraction betwen you too. I guess I misremembered, then.

Although, talking about you and the monarchy reminds me of another question I’ll ask separately.

[calescent]

He's cute, I guess, but lots of people are cute.

[daniel_h]

In addition to my confusion about your romantic attractions, I pointed to Loel specificically because of his blood relationship with the current King. Knowing that about Prime power balance, though, I guess him becoming King is particularly unlikely even if he completely loses his anonymity. The anonymity was also why I presumed you were lying when you didn’t understand that motivation for bringing up Loel; if I didn’t know of his blood relation, there would in fact be no reason for me to bring it up.

[allcomplete]

I've never heard of the mirror you describe. Someone who knew my voice and happened to be blind could confuse me and Shell Bell, though, we sound alike.

[aetheling]

The similarity doesn't really jump out at someone who isn't looking for it, I think? They'd be no more likely to notice that she was similar to me than similar to, say, Zoyah.

[powershines]

If she had her hair covered, maybe, but my hair is by far my most distinctive visible trait. Maybe if the lighting were bad...?

[thaumobabble]

I'm another possibility, mind you.

[daniel_h]

Definitely, but you aren’t everybody. The first person to recognize her as an alt knew six Bells, five of whom were in charge of worlds and the other in charge of a country and only had “her inventions” to work with. You have enough inventions that you could be the last one, and they may have met Stella and Golden, but that still leaves three world rulers unaccounted for. Two, if Loki ascends to the throne before pealling. And that’s only one person.