So I was reading a thing about how you give people names in sign language and it got me thinking

/SITS

It's never made clear in canon - not explicitly anyway - but I'm thinking the reason members of the intelligence service pick up these nicknames is so they can easily be referred to in the secret language?

hah.

Like, as a single word/gesture rather than having to spell out a name

you know, besides the whole secrecy thing.

but that, too.

Well yeah, that too

Yeah

ALSO

So I think I talked to someone about this (Madi? Probably Madi) before but I've been kinda refining the idea since

So idk how familiar you are with Terry Pratchett and the Discworld books

But in this series you have the Assassins Guild

And this is where the children of the aristocracy are sent to learn, even those that have no intention of becoming assassins, because it's considered to provide the best education available

And I'm wondering, what if the Intelligence Academy is a bit like that?

Like, it provides a good all-round education in terms of politics, history, the cultures and customs of other kingdoms, so future diplomats and the children of the nobility are sent there

And then like, after that more basic level of education is over, most people leave, and some stay on to actually do the full training and become intelligence agents

Pyramids was a fun book, ngl.

tbh what mostly got me thinking along these lines was the fact that Liselle appears to be working for Intelligence when we first meet her, but she's talking about wanting to go to the Academy

So like, maybe she's done the basics, but she wants to go back and train to be a field agent

Yeah man, I love Pyramids.

Also I've talked about this before I think, but for the sake of consolidating everything

I have this headcanon that field agents forfeit their place in any line of succession they may be a part of

Because it never made sense to me how in the books people talk about Silk being safely quite far down the line of succession

I feel like as the nephew of a childless king, ascending the throne some day is a real danger