#merchant princes

[highladyluck]

Vorkosigan Saga Readalikes

I was going to wait to write this until I had three options, but I haven't yet thought of a third series that really gives me those Vorkosigan Vibes, and I don't want to sit on these any longer. Both the Earth Girl series and the Merchant Princes series remind me of the Vorkosigan Saga in various ways.

It's some combo of similar themes, characters, setting, multiple installments, and compulsive readability. Like with the Vorkosigan saga, I eventually lost the ability to wait for friends/the library to deliver the sequels to me, and I ended up buying later installments/the whole series on my ereader so I could have them on-demand.

Vorkosigan Saga…but YA The Earth Girl series by Janet Edwards

2788. Only the handicapped live on Earth. Eighteen-year-old Jarra is among the one in a thousand people born with an immune system that cannot survive on other planets. Sent to Earth at birth to save her life, she has been abandoned by her parents. She can’t travel to other worlds, but she can watch their vids, and she knows all the jokes they make.

Jarra is a historian-in-training with a lot of experience excavating ruins on Earth, who joins a class of newbie offworld students under false pretenses, basically to show them up and get proxy revenge on the galactic society that's made her a second-class citizen. Then the false military background she concocts for herself- and the relationships she makes with her classmates- turn out to be more real than she ever intended.

Like Miles, Jarra is desperate to prove herself and does all sorts of stupidly heroic nonsense. Her disability is maybe even more of a cultural construct than Miles's is, while still having enormous influence on her psyche, childhood and career goals. The military in this series, which Jarra hero-worships, is (now) strictly a space exploration/terraforming force.

Hilariously, this series also has a Beta (sector) with a cultural tradition of looser sexual mores/trio marriages. There's also a sort of 'second career' arc for Jarra that's very satisfying, after you get lots and lots of fun and suspenseful archeological excavations (I'm not being sarcastic, they're fascinating!) The secondary cast is also really interesting, and there are installments in the series that explore their backstories and post-Jarra paths.

I read this as an adult (it was a tumblr rec!) and thoroughly enjoyed it, so I would absolutely recommend it to adult Vorkosigan Saga fans. It is firmly in the YA bucket in terms of being a coming-of-age story, so you could also gift it to somebody who might be too young for the Vorkosigan Saga and its' bucket-o-content-warnings, but who you otherwise think would love Miles. (This is not really a Vorkosigan similarity, but I also want to give the series a shoutout for realistic-seeming teen slang, which is harder to do well than you'd think.)

Vorkosigan Saga…with extra Cordelia please The Merchant Princes series by Charles Stross

By the time we meet them at the dawn of the 21st century the Clan of five families who by careful arrangement can produce offspring who world-walk [to parallel universes] have become, in their home world, richer than Croesus. But all this wealth comes at a cost, and envious eyes are watching them just as a business journalist in Boston loses her job and discovers a family heirloom that topples her straight into a cliché that can only end badly in real life: the orphan who discovers she’s the long lost daughter of a noble house, and the subject of all their expectations.

Miriam Beckstein reminds me of Cordelia- a high-tech, driven woman who suddenly finds herself enmeshed with a group of literally feudal relations and embroiled in their political/personal schemes. Like Cordelia, she also sets out on a modernization process for her adopted culture(s), although she has less oblique strategies at her disposal than Cordelia does.

There is also a thematic focus on genetics in this series, and some of the power dynamics connected to that are explored in even greater detail than in the Vorkosigan Saga. The world-walkers have a complex arrangement of arranged marriages to keep the genetic ability to teleport to other timelines, and so like on Barrayar (and Cetaganda), the grandmothers who arrange these marriages are the ones really running the genetic show. (There's also a similar plot thread of 'culturally traumatic nuclear bombings'.)

My favorite part of this series is the latter half, when Miriam meets a political dissident in yet another alternate timeline and works with him to transform his world, and hers in the bargain. If you wanted to see Cordelia winning on a faster timeline, you'll love Miriam and her 30-year plan. There's also a sequel series that explores another member of the family, which has a lot of spy thriller elements and a lesbian romance. (Not going to say too much there, because spoilers.)

My spouse says this series is too 'of its time' for him to really enjoy it, by which he means that the ultimate villain is Evil Mastermind Dick Cheney. This doesn't bother me, but I mention this in case you, too, think Evil Mastermind Dick Cheney is a somewhat dated plot element from the vantage point of 2023. It's definitely more of a Cordelia-and-Aral readalike than a Miles readalike, although the sequel series has some superficial similarities to the introduction of Mark, now that I think about it!

I hope this gives you some new books to check out, all 10 of you Vorkosigan fans that might see this.

#vorkosigan saga #the vorkosigan saga #earth girl #the earth girl series #earth girl series #merchant princes #the merchant princes

[zahri-melitor]

Argh. Just paging through my WIPs and I have a third of a short story about Rita Douglas adjusting to being Miss Burgeson in the Commonwealth. I REALLY want to finish this but I need some time to flesh out the central themes (Rita as an actor/assuming identities and expectations/Rita’s missing siblings).

(Snippets I like)

Rita is surrounded by a net of siblings, dead and hypothetical, gaps in the network between her and her new family. Sometimes they threaten to swallow her whole. Erasmus’ lost children - disappeared, neglected, adopted or dead in fosterage and disease, on the other side of the world. Miriam’s son - the heir to a lost throne, the victim of a civil war. Finding her place among two unexpected additional parents, when both had long since relinquished any expectations of having children, was made even harder by the depths of their losses. Children had been a burden forced on Miriam by others, and an unwanted sacrifice to the Revolution for Erasmus.

…

Erasmus is the most practical about it. “Of course you don’t feel like a Burgeson yet. None of us did, initially. We each assumed the name as a cover. But it’s a very useful cover, my dear, even if I’m sorry that your choice over using it has been taken from you. You learn to live the cover. Yet there is a part of me, deep inside, that is still Joshua Cooke, and that sustains me on days when the work and the spectacle are too much; to know that there is another me that they cannot know and cannot touch.”

#charles stross #Empire Games #merchant princes #fic #attempt to motivate myself

[idkaguyorsomething]

They are allowed to drop precisely one bomb over the course of the show. Who do you give it to and when?

Please explain your choice in the tags and reblog!

#atla #avatar #avatar the last airbender #the last airbender #aang #katara #the gaang #sokka #uncle iroh #iroh #zuko #prince zuko #azula #princess azula #mai atla #ty lee atla #mai #ty lee #suki atla #suki #the cabbage merchant #poll #my polls

[oh23]

today i officially finished everything captive prince related......charls...... my beloved..... he feels like the adopted son/uncle/side character of lamen......i simply cannot with the whole lamen bit dude,, i was fucking crying in class,,

and he told damen that hed make a very good asst merchant omfg,,,,,i bet damen actually meant when he said high praise CRYING

AND watching laurent be so comfortable and relaxed and joking AROUND AAAAAAAAAAKSJDCNWJCNKJW

"you do have nice eyes"

"miss me much?"

"not going to sit in my lap today?" "i think charls would faint"

"seven hours," damen frowing

GIRL. GIRL!!!!! SJHBWJCHEBWKCBH

and THEN CHARLS NICELY GIVCING A SMALL "THE TALK" THINGY TO DAMEN ABOUT FLIRTING WITH LAURENT PLEASEEEEEEE

AND ALSO THE END?? CHARLS IS SO FUCKING. HE REALLY IS THE TYPE TO SAY "lamen why are you wearing the kings clothes" LIKE EWHLJCNL i just cant bro i keep cracking up. TEARS in my eyes dawg....... fucking.

"i am younger charls, that is older charls" "lots of charls" "very common name" "getting common with each day"

nah but fr Charls OG was a Real G yall. he was such an unexpected ally, and just. the only real comic relief istg. he was such an unbothered king ong.

i seriously think charls is like their new. adopted dumb uncle. or something. laurent and damen absolutely enjoy charls presence. and charls is just the type to sweat casually bcos smth happens and hes like 1) my fabrics! 2)my KING!! .

OH AND I REMEBERED . "if the prince were a pet he'd ignite a bidding war never seen before"

AND CHARLS WAS LIKE "i meant it in an honourable way"

GODDDDDDDD PLEASE YOURE TOO FUNNY CHARLS!! YOUR BITCH IS TOO BAD!! YOUR SWAG TOO DIFFERENT!!! THEYLLL KILL YOU CHARLS

#MY G #CHARLS #charls the veretian merchant #lamen #capri #JUST #LOVE CHARLS #SO MUCH #captive prince

[annoyingvoidzombie]

This is 2023 in a picture, Enjoy 💙💚🤎❤️ minus Aang but that's because Kora or something.

#atla #avatar the last airbender #mea Whitman #katara #aang fanart #tlok #sokka #prince zuko #dante basco #zuko x aang #zutara #princess azula #toph beifong #sokka x suki #atla crossover #atla cast #voice actors #cabbage merchant #atla fanart #atla fandom #uncle iroh #aang the last airbender #ty lee x mai

[quotesthatiliked]

‘And how is it you now fight for Veretians?’ said Alexon.

Charls found himself curious to hear his answer, but Lamen only said, ‘I came to know one of them.’

-C.S Pacat,The adventure of Charls,the Veretian cloth merchant(Captive Prince Short story 3)

#c.s. pacat #damen of akielos #laurent of vere #lamen #capri #captive prince #captive prince short story #the adventures of Charls:the veretian cloth merchant #quotes #bookblr #.mine🍀

[cozycryptidcorner]

say that you love him. say it.

#exophilia #naga #art #my art #merchant prince related

[siyuri]

@not-poignant 's The Raven Prince. Sometimes you read a story. Then move on with your life. But in a chaos of things you suddenly understand that some characters are now travelng with you. So this one made a crow's nest in my head. And couldn't be more grateful for it. Thank you, Pia! <3

#meditation #new #mine #things I dream about #The Raven Prince #forever and ever in my head #No matter what I want to do yk be sad or meditate or just feel calm waves or need some blackblue colors for agitated mind - he is there #helping #spinning the world around #anyways #thank you Pia for this gift to us all #so it wasn't my intention to time it for birthday #and lets be real #this is kinda too stormy and gloomy I think to it to be happy birthday present #but if you are OK with getting such things then I will be happy to make it a birthday present)) #i am bad at animation #but I needed it to move for it to bring the whole spectr of my feels to this image #this and My Skin by Natalie Merchant

[gaelmeee]

Charls meets Damianos of Akielos

#still want to know what happened next haha #captive prince #c.s. pacat #laurent of vere #damianos of akielos #charls the veretian cloth merchant #artists on tumblr #digital art #fanart #cs pacat #the adventure of charls the veretian cloth merchant

[princessofmerchants]

“Who found Vassa,” Nesta said with that same flat tone. As if she somehow already knew.

Closer, those human ships sailed. So many—so, so many, bearing a variety of different flags that I could just start to make out, thanks to my Fae sight.

“He calls himself the Prince of Merchants,” Drakon said. “Apparently, he discovered the human queens were traitors months ago, and has been gathering an independent human army to face Hybern ever since. He managed to find Queen Vassa—and together they rallied this army.” Drakon shrugged. “He told me that he’s got three daughters who live here. And that he failed them for many years. But he would not fail them this time.”

The ships at the front of the human armada became clear, along with the gold lettering on their sides.

“He named his three personal ships after them,” Drakon said with a smile.

And there, sailing at the front … I beheld the names of those ships.

The Feyre.

The Elain.

And leading the charge against Hybern, flying over the waves, unyielding and without an ounce of fear …

The Nesta.

With my father … our father at the helm.

—Ch. 71 of A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

Artist: @/hmmr.art on Instagram / @hmmr-art-blog

Commissioned by me. Follow the artist on Instagram! Reposts only permitted with proper credit to the artist (and obviously no editing the art in any way please and thank you).

~*~*~

I am rousing my Tumblr account from a much needed slumber to share my first ever art commission. Every time I read this part of ACOWAR, I cry. It's hard to explain what this moment means to me in the narrative, and specifically in Nesta's story. I have had this moment in mind for a commissioned artwork for years, but had yet to encounter an artist whose style and lens felt like the right fit for what I knew I wanted to the piece to be.

When I discovered Haley's ACOTAR art, I was so dang excited to encounter a fandom artist who draws and paints the Archeron sisters with such love and care. See this piece that blew me away when I first saw it—it was the first time I ever saw something to do with their dad, and the sisters' complicated relationship with him, in an artwork.

When I shared my vision for this piece, Haley was all in to make it a reality for me, and I couldn't be more happy with how this came out. Nesta's face and eyes. The light on the water. The color palette. The way Cassian is looking at her. The ships. The details of both figures.

Thank you, Haley, for your patience and desire to make this exactly as I envisioned it!

#fanart #nesta archeron #cassian #nessian #papa archeron #acowar #acosf #acofas #acotar #acomaf #a court of wings and ruin #a court of silver flames #a court of frost and starlight #a court of thorns and roses #a court of mist and fury #nesta x cassian #sarah j maas #hmmr.art #commission #prince of merchants #archeron sisters #archeron family #feyre archeron #queen vassa #artwork #art #nessianweek #my commissions

[xbalayage]

AU where Emma is royalty but is living a rather mundane existence. Loves everyone and appreciates all she has but something's missing in her life. A thrill for adventure? A life outside the jurisdiction of royalty? She's to be wed to a prince of a neighboring country to celebrate their political agreements of support.

She's met her fiancee-to-be a few times; his name was Valerio but alone, he didn't mind being called Rio to help her become more comfortable with him. He was the ideal heartthrob of Benitoite that all the noblewomen would fawn over. But her heart wasn't in it. She didn't want to marry and become someone's wife. She craved a normal life away from seeing eyes, to run away and experience the thrills life had to offer.

Then one day shopping in town, she meets a travelling merchant who turns her world upside down named Silvio. Even though her clothing would tell anyone of her status in society, he still resorted to talking to her like she was any ol' person who comes and shops for his wares. "Hey woman, ya done ogglin' or are ya gonna buy somethin'?"

She can't remember the last time she was spoken to in such a manner - and it was honestly refreshing. But she couldn't make that evident.

"Excuse me? How dare you speak to me like that? Do you even know who I am?" Her arms crossed and her nose cringed. She had to keep up appearances. Emma told him who she was. He was still being disrespectful and rude, but he didn't appear fazed.

His eyes scanned her up and down in a distasteful manner before smiling crookedly. He knew, he just didn't care. "'nd I'm prince charmin'. Who do ya take me for? Someone that gives hand outs? Ya came to the wrong stall if you're fishin' for compliments, lady. But women like you hardly give me lip, how 'bout ya ditch your life and become mine instead?"

After that day, she couldn't get the handsome merchant out of her head. As arrogant, distasteful and brash as he was, there was a liveliness, a freeness in his aura. He lived how he wanted, spoke how he wanted and didn't care for status. She admired that. And she must've left some sort of an impression on him because in the middle of the night, once the maids attended their nightly routine for her and left her alone, a rapid ting of what sounded like a ring tapped at her window.

Afraid at first, her curiosity led her to opening the window and spotted the last person she had expected to see, casually leaning against the railing of the balcony with his whole form. His cocky smile flashed as his hand waved from the wrist lazily. "Hey lady, hope ya didn't forget 'bout me already. Did'ya miss me?"

Little did she know he'd been a royal himself this whole time, who'd rather play merchant than constrain himself to the responsibilities of the throne. Living a free life on the sea, traveling country to country with a business he's built from the ground up. And he's a prince of the same nation you were engaged to!! Was this the beginning of the end that'll lead to conflicts, drama and potential war between nations - or was this the beginning to what she's craved for so long; a lifetime of thrill seeking adventure, free from the constraints of status, and a rollercoaster love story beyond her wildest imagination?

#silvio #silvio ricci #ikepri silvio #ikemen prince silvio #ikepri #ikemen prince #ikemen prince au #ikepri rio #ikemen prince rio #ikemen prince emma #this probably cliche asf but i love it .... #au: the princess and the merchant #au

[jadeazora]

Volo: "There's someone on this island that I don't want to be seen by."

Also Volo: *walks into the arena where Rei's at, yammering on about Arceus*

I guess the Stones' ties to Arceus and the opportunity to manipulate Lear were too good to pass up for him.

And ooh, that cliffhanger...

#pokemon masters #pokemas #pokemon volo #merchant volo #prince lear #pokemon lear #trainer rei #champion cynthia #pokemon dppt #pokemon legends arceus

[tschulijulesjulie]

the way at this point kings rising actually is crack treated seriously... 🤭😂

#charls the cloth merchant #laurent of vere #laurent of akielos #(he deserves that tag too) #captive prince #tschulis capri reread: kings rising

[056m4]

Laurent and Damen doodles (featuring Lamen, Charls, and young cousin Charls)

#mine #laurent de vere #damianos of akielos #charls the cloth merchant #captive prince #laurent captive prince #damen captive prince #capri fanart #captive prince fanart #damen of akielos #laurent of vere #lamen #🕴‼️ that is all #these are a lil messy but whatever 💪‼️

[muddiedfoxglove]

The Adventures of Charls, the Veretian Clothing Merchant still holds up as being one of the funniest things I have ever read. Just pure comedy. Perfection. No notes.

#captive prince #Charls the veretian clothing merchant

[katriniac]

Silvio hates your wedding customs.

... not all the customs. Just one:

The DOLLAR DANCE

Picture it:

Silvio and Emma emerge from the wedding ceremony and go straight to the reception. It's all taking place in Rhodolite, because she told asked him.

That means Rhodolite customs are taking place.

When the emcee announces the "dollar dance", Silvio is at the open bar getting his drink refilled, so he doesn't take much notice.

Until men begin lining up to dance with the bride. His bride.

Silvio stares in disgust as the first man has the gall to slip paper money into her sleeve at the wrist. They begin to waltz.

"What. The. Fu--?? Hold my drink. Nah, on second thought --" He slams the liquor back, crassly wipes his lips, and stalks towards the dance floor.

Now the next man in line is putting a rolled-up bill under Emma's hem at the top of her shoulder.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

A few tumbled chairs, many foreign swear words, and one broken wrist later, Emma is explaining at the top-of-lungs what this wedding custom is all about.

Silvio matches her volume and stubbornness in refuting the fact that the custom is "stupid" and that she should know "no one gets to throw money at you except me".

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Amid the quietly stunned guests , Clavis gleefully puts a wad of cash in Nokto's palm.

Luke: " Why're you so happy to be forking over cash? Didn't you just loose the bet that Silvio would go ballistic over the dollar dance?"

Clavis: "Ah, yes, yes. I took that bet gladly, and raised the ante so high that Nokto couldn't refuse. I knew if this much money was on the line, he'd make certain the dollar dance would be at the reception."

Nokto: "A pleasure doing business with you."

Luke: *confused baby bear*

Clavis: *shrugs, guffaws* A nice, normal wedding dance is boring. Boring, boring, boring. The bribe -- er, I mean friendly wager -- was a way to ensure the occasion would hold some excitement!

#I always imagine Silvio having the absolute worst most salacious curse words in his vocab because of his merchant/pirate friends #mostly Italian and Greek #and lots of Portuguese and Spanish #probably some French #he sprinkles them in his conversations like raisins on top of oatmeal #ikepri silvio #he's definitely some combination of Mediterranean and Latin in my headcanon #ikemen prince silvio #silvio ricci