#Eduard Taaffe

[kronprinz-rudolf]

the funniest taaffe skdhh

[sarcasticdolphin]

FJ: Rudolf has been through how many sausages? *Eyebrow raised* Taaffe: *Hands over the records* FJ: *Eyebrow raises higher* That is more than a few sausages. Rudolf: What can I say? Taaffe attempting to keep a straight face as he interrogated me about my above average sausage consumption was hilarious. Rudolf: *Tosses a sausage to one of Tod's ravens*

[ulkaralakbarova]

A former basketball all-star, who has lost his wife and family foundation in a struggle with addiction, attempts to regain his soul and salvation by becoming the coach of a disparate ethnically mixed high school basketball team at his alma mater. Credits: TheMovieDb. Film Cast: Jack Cunningham: Ben Affleck Dan: Al Madrigal Beth: Michaela Watkins Angela: Janina Gavankar Doc: Glynn Turman Marcus Parrish: Melvin Gregg Brandon Durrett: Brandon Wilson Kenny Dawes: Will Ropp Sam Garcia: Fernando Luis Vega Chubbs Hendricks: Charles Lott, Jr. Bobby Freeze: Ben Irving Devon Childress: da’Vinchi Father Edward Devine: John Aylward Russ: T.K. Carter Diane: Rachael Carpani Kurt: Todd Stashwick Anne: Nancy Linehan Charles Gerry Norris: Dan Lauria Sal: Chris Bruno Coach Lombardo: Matthew Glave Matty (Bartender): Jeremy Ratchford Susan Norris: Jayne Taini Father Mark Whelan: Jeremy Radin Ryan: Nico David Sarah: Emelia Golfieri Sarah: Layla Golfieri Miguel: Sal Velez Jr. Sofia: Yeniffer Behrens Sully – Ref #2: Eric Tate Doctor: Christine Horn Construction Worker #1: Josh Latzer Construction Worker #2: Manny Streetz David: Justice Alan Liquor Store Owner: Jay Abdo Lead Referee: Joshua Hubbard Burly Man: James P. Harkins Employee: Mike G. Betty: April Adams Haley: Chieko Hidaka Student: Bronwen O’Connor Student: Charlotte Evelyn Williams Student: Kayla Diaz Trinity Coach: Doc Jacobs Gale: Marlene Forte Ken: Shay Roundtree Pat: Chad Mountain Summit Coach: Sandy Fletcher Opposing Coach: Noah Ballou Female Friend – Nancy: Cynthia Rose Hall Referee: Calvin Barber Fish Scale Operator: Dino Lauro Bishop Bench Player: Roman Mathis Bishop Bench Player: Herbert Morales Bishop Bench Player: Mateo Ortiz Bishop Bench Player: Tyler O’Malley Ethan (uncredited): Tom Archdeacon Basketball Player 7 (uncredited): Brian Nuesi Denise (uncredited): Edelyn Okano Cheerleader (uncredited): Carly Schneider Mike Ball Boy (uncredited): Caleb Thomas Eric (uncredited): Hayes MacArthur Basketball Player: Alexander Tassopoulos Birthday Party Guest (uncredited): Mason Blomberg Film Crew: Producer: Gavin O’Connor Producer: Jennifer Todd Producer: Gordon Gray Sound Mixer: Steven A. Morrow Producer: Ravi D. Mehta Set Decoration Buyer: Ellen Dorros Boom Operator: Craig Dollinger Utility Sound: Bryan Mendoza Art Direction: Bradley Rubin Costume Design: Cindy Evans Director of Photography: Eduard Grau Editor: David Rosenbloom Executive Producer: Brad Ingelsby Executive Producer: Mark Ciardi Unit Production Manager: Bob Dohrmann Executive Producer: Kevin McCormick Executive Producer: Aaron L. Gilbert Executive Producer: Jason Cloth Executive Producer: Kaitlyn Taaffe Cronholm Executive Producer: Madison Ainley Production Design: Keith P. Cunningham Casting: Wendy O’Brien Co-Producer: Brittany Hapner Original Music Composer: Rob Simonsen Music Supervisor: Gabe Hilfer Unit Production Manager: Victor Ho Second Assistant Director: Kevin Lum First Assistant Director: Jamie Marshall Visual Effects Supervisor: Bruce Jones Set Decoration: Douglas A. Mowat Set Designer: Paul Sonski Assistant Art Director: Linia Marie Hardy Assistant Art Director: Brittany Bradford Graphic Designer: Stephanie Charbonneau Graphic Designer: Andrew Campbell Art Department Coordinator: Michael LaCorte Leadman: Fred Haft Set Decoration Buyer: Jane Madden Stunt Coordinator: Tom McComas Stunts: Oliver Keller Stunts: Courtney Farnsworth Stunts: Allan Graf Stunts: Craigory Glen Hunter Stunts: Lauren Shaw Stunts: B R Lamar Stunts: David Rowden II Property Master: J.P. Jones Assistant Property Master: Rick Chavez Script Supervisor: Steve Gehrke “A” Camera Operator: Peter Rosenfeld Still Photographer: Richard Foreman Jr. “B” Camera Operator: Michael Merriman First Assistant “A” Camera: Stephen MacDougall Second Assistant “A” Camera: Jordan Pellegrini First Assistant “B” Camera: Jesse Cain Second Assistant “B” Camera: Seth A. Peschansky Digital Imaging Technician: Jesse Tyler Music Editor: Curt Sobel Assistant Editor: Anna Rottke First Assistant Editor: Joe Rosenbloom Soun...

[yallemagne]

[starlene]

the one and only Count Eduard von Taaffe!

uuuuhh ummmmm uuuhhhhhh

[firestorm717]

Perfume Suggestions

Okay, my friends. I’m planning to purchase a bottle of perfume as a gift for a certain handsome German musical theater actor. Budget is around $100. Looking for a scent that is warm, sensual, and unique... bonus if it’s evocative of one of these characters: Zaza (La Cage aux Folles), Der Tod/Death (Elisabeth), Count Eduard Taaffe (Rudolf: Affaire Mayerling), Napoleon (Napoleon).

Does anyone have suggestions? Leave a message or PM me. I need to get this in less than a week.

[kronprinz-rudolf]

Eduard Taaffe portrayals in movies Mayerling (1936) Mayerling (1957) Mayerling (1968) Requiem for a Crown Prince (1974) The Crown Prince (2006)

[sarcasticdolphin]

Smrtolf (though this is Meissner giving a report to Taaffe so neither of them appear) "Masculine." This one is kind of cracky. I will be following up with another drabble or two that cover Taaffe's trip to Mayerling to see Rudolf.

For the amazing @adridoesstuff as all the Smrtolf drabbles are

“Herr Meissner has returned.”

“Mmm.” Eduard didn’t look up from his papers, but he could hear Wiligut refilling his tea cup.

“He’s ready to give his report, sir.” Wiligut sounds mildly exasperated.

“I’d imagine he is.” Eduard found the offending line in the budget - the Crown Prince’s expenditures on sausages had gone up by a factor of 4. Imported pigs? Some fancy strain of British pigs recommended by the empress? The prince certainly hadn’t started eating four times as many sausages. He was as thin as ever. “Send him in.”

The click of Wiligut’s heels comes, and he paces off to the door. Meissner’s heels are clicking before Eduard’s desk a moment later. “Herr Minister-President.”

“Report.” Eduard finds another line and makes a little mark by it. Why could the Crown Prince want twenty different kinds of ribbons? It was almost like the prince knew he would be going through the expenditures and was doing it for the sole reason of drawing Eduard’s ire.

In said ire he misses the first part of Meissner’s report, only picking up when the spy had arrived at Mayerling, late in the afternoon. The account of the hunting lodge is expected - a small staff, and very loyal to the Crown Prince.

“How loyal? Did anyone stand out?” Normally Eduard would wait until Meissner’s report was done, but had been trying to get a read on the Mayerling servants - and if any of them would be able informants - for some time.

“Fanatically loyal, Herr Minister-President. They eyed me very suspiciously and wouldn’t answer any of my questions about his Imperial Highness.” How the immature brat that was the Crown Prince managed to inspire such loyalty, Eduard had no idea. Perhaps more coin would loosen their tongues. Or perhaps he should send Wiligut to Mayerling to extract answers with a firmer hand. Meissner’s talent lay more in subtle coaxing than any sort of threats.

“Continue.” Eduard pinched the bridge of his nose as Meissner carried on, listing all that he had found in the hunting lodge. The Crown Prince’s painting hobby was well known enough - the Emperor certainly knew, so the list of paintings wasn’t of much interest to Eduard. Meissner seemed more impressed with the Crown Prince’s skill than Eduard would have expected, but he waves the spy on. There are far more important things at the hunting lodge than a few paintings.

The birds too aren’t a surprise - Meissner had brought Eduard accounts of the Crown Prince’s affiliation for all things avian before, and it seemed that the boy had taken up a friendship with an entire forest’s worth of crows and ravens.

“How was the lodge?” Eduard interrupts Meissner again. Birds can be ever so destructive, and extensive repairs to the Mayerling lodge would be an unwelcome addition to the Imperial Household budget at this point. The Empress’s expenses are positively obscene and the Emperor denies her nothing. 

Meissner himself seems somewhat surprised by the answer he gives - despite the dozens of birds, the lodge is in very good condition. No damage, nothing. No extensive renovations or restorations for at least another few years, then. 

“Continue.” Eduard tells himself not to interrupt as Meissner continues, listing out the other things he had seen - a few more horses in the stable than one might call strictly needed. But Meissner trails off at the end, and Eduard finally looks at the spy.

“Out with it, Herr Meissner.”

“The Crown Prince did have one companion that I saw, Sir.”

“You just said no riders arrived and there was no one there but the servants.”

“Indeed sir. No one arrived, but I saw the man in the Crown Prince’s bedroom. Late. And alone with the Crown Prince.” It’s rare for Meissner to be so oblique, but the hint of the accusation  is so extreme that Eduard is surprised his spy is even willing to imply as much as he has.

“What did you see?” A careful question.

“The Crown Prince conversing with his companion.” 

“Just conversing?”

“Yes.”

“Did you see the companion leave?”

“No, sir. He was gone in the morning, but he left no trace that he was there.”

“You will speak of this to no one.” Eduard isn’t terribly worried that Meissner will talk, but it bears repeating. The Crown Prince is enough of a problem, what with conversing with Hungarians. The last thing that Eduard needs with the recent business with the Germans is for there to be a scandal involving the Crown Prince and his apparent male lover.

“Find the Crown Prince’s companion.” The order comes easily. “Wait. No, ignore that. You’ll be on a different assignment.” Eduard wants the servants to not be on alert, and if they are as fanatical as they seem then it would be better not to send Meissner again.

“Dismissed.” Meissner’s heels click and the spy departs, leaving Eduard alone with WIligut.

“Which day did the Kaiser cancel the council meeting? Was it next Thursday?” Eduard pinches his brow once more. Normally he knows these things easily.

“Yes, sir. He’s going hunting with the British Ambassador.” Eduard nodded. 

“Clear my schedule for that morning. If the Crown Prince’s servants won’t talk then perhaps it is best to simply ask his Imperial Highness after his companion.” 

“As you say, sir.” 

“And-” Eduard pulled the budget from the pile of papers once more. “Perhaps he’ll even have a good answer for why his sausage expenditures have gone up four-fold and the twenty different types of ribbons that he has ordered for delivery to Mayerling. I for one don’t see how mauve ribbon would be of use if one was hunting.”

Wiligut doesn’t respond, and Taaffe gets up, his limbs creaking. He’s not as young as he used to be. But it will be nice to get out of the palace for once, even if it won’t be until next week. Eduard gave his globe a lazy spin and gazed out the window. What would he do if the Crown Prince did have a male lover? It would be so much easier if the Crown Prince’s companion was only that, but Eduard for one didn’t think he would be in luck.

[teal-skull]

I don't know how factual these musicals are, but if you are down for german-language musicals and Austrian history, here's my two cents to this post:

1837-1898 || The life of Empress Elizabeth of Austria, queen of Hungary and wife of Emperor Franz Joseph and her assasination, minor focus on crown prince Rudolf and other fmily members: Elisabeth

1888-1889 || Rudolf, Crown prince of Austria and his affair with Baroness Mary Vestera, known as Mayerling incident, also minor focus on Rudolf's political conflict with his father Franz Jopesh and the prime ministerof that time Eduard Taaffe is also there : Rudolf

Musicals to help you with history class!

So I’m back at it with a text post you didn’t know you needed!

School is coming up and let’s face it, musicals are way more interesting than teachers rambling, power points, note taking, etc. So I’m here to maybe help you with that!

If I forgot any please let me know because most of these I don’t listen to but now that I’m finally taking a history course my junior year I thought I’d help others that are struggling.

1500 // Two men are imprisoned for foreclosing a monastery by the Spanish Inquisition: Man of La Mancha

1590 // French Village Life: Martin Guerre

1776 // The signing of the Declaration of Independence: 1776

1776 // The Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin’s foreign adventure to form an alliance: Ben Franklin in Paris

1789 // The French Monarchs being taken to the guillotine (French Revolution): 1789: Les Amants de la Bastille

1792 // The first 100 years in The White House:  A White House Cantata (or 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue)

1793 // The French Revolution: Scarlett Pimpernel

1755-1804 // Alexander Hamilton, a determined founding father who never stopped: Hamilton

fun fact: he’s my first cousin eight times removed

1804-1806 // The exploration of The Louisiana Purchase: Adventures of Lewis and Clark

1812 // The French Invasion on Russia (this is also based off the novel War and Peace): Natasha, Pierre, and The Great Comet of 1812

1832 // June Rebellion or The Paris Uprising: Les Misérables

1767-1845 // Andrew Jackson, the American “Hitler”: Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

1853 // The westernization of Japan: Pacific Overtures

1861-1865 // The American Civil War: The Civil War

1865 // Assassination of Abraham Lincoln: Assassins

1871 // This is about the 72 days that workers governed France: Paris Commune

1881 // Assassination of James A. Garfield: Assassins

1893 // This covers the trial of Lizzie Borden, a Massachusetts girl accused of murdering her father and stepmom with an axe: Lizzie the Musical

1893 // New Zealand was the first country to allow women to vote, thanks to Kate Sheppard: That Bloody Woman

1899 // The Newstrike in New York against Joseph Pulitzer and William Hearst: Newsies

1900 // This musical is very informative when it comes to immigration racial tensions at the turn of the 20th century (also includes known historical figures, e.g. Harry Houdini, Booker T. Washington, and Emma Goldman): Ragtime

1904 // A Jewish family in Imperial Russia who faces struggling with their traditions and the Tsar forcing them out of their village: Fiddler on the Roof

1912 // The sinking of the Titanic on it’s first voyage: Titanic

1913 // The KKK and Anti-Defamation League: Parade

1914-1918 // A family and their struggles and triumphs during World War I: Oh! What a Lovely War

1924 // The trials of two women, Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner, accused of killing their significant others: Chicago

1925 // Cave explorer, Floyd Collins, and his cave exploring adventures: Floyd Collins

1860-1926 // Annie Oakley, prize-winning sharpshooter in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West: Annie, Get Your Gun

1905 // This musical is about Rasputin and the fall of the Russian Empire: Beardo

1907-1927 // The daughter of many conspiracy theories, and of Tsar Nicholas II, who watched the Russian Empire fall: Anastasia

(the musical itself isn’t very factual, but if you enjoy listening to it, you’ll definitely enjoy the history and hard truths of the Romanov family)

1931 // The Scottsboro Trial, which created two rights for criminal defendents: The Scottsboro Boys

1931 // Night club setting, but gives you an overall Nazi Germany feel, and includes one Jewish character: Cabaret

1867-1932 // The life of Margaret Brown, a brave woman who survived the sinking of the Titanic: The Unsinkable Molly Brown

1932-1934 // Bonnie and Clyde, two criminals that traveled and murdered people during The Great Depression: Bonnie & Clyde

1942 // A Japanese family is removed from their home and are moved to a Japanese-American internment camp: Allegiance

1945 // Following the end of World War II, this musical shows the reality of loss and PTSD that we tend to not talk about: Bandstand

1939-1945 // A story of a Jewish internment camp in Czechoslovakia: Signs of Life

1924-1950 // Tells the story of a Jewish couple (Kurt Weill & Lotte Lenya) as World War II begins: LoveMusik

1946-1952 // First Lady of Argentina, Eva Perón: Evita

1962 // American Civil Rights movement, with talks about segregation in schools and on TV: Hairspray

1963 // Assassination of John F. Kennedy: Assassins

1975 // Racism, colonialism, vietnam war, but is also problematic: Miss Saigon

1979-1981 // A musical that mixes Yiddish Americans and the AID crisis that shows the heavy struggles small families can have: Falsettos

1984-1985 // The coal miner’s strike of England with some mentions of Margaret Thatcher: Billy Elliot

2001 // 9-11 Attacks: Come From Away

Please feel free to message me or comment one I missed and I will gladly edit it!

[kronprinz-rudolf]

[kronprinz-rudolf]

Taaffe and Stéphanie

[kronprinz-rudolf]

Eduard Taaffe, 11th Viscount Taaffe (1833–1895)

[sarcasticdolphin]

Smrtolf (Canon) "An (Un)welcome visitor"

Taaffe makes his trip to Mayerling. Cut for length and well ... Taaffe's attempts to rationalize the supernatural. Defiantly somewhat dark-cracky. For the amazing @adridoesstuff as all the Smrtolf drabbles are :)

Eduard Taaffe’s ride to Mayerling had been almost entirely silent. Part of him had thought to take an - Meissner knew the recalcitrant Prince’s hunting lodge well while Wiligut tended to understand Eduard’s goals better, but in the end he only takes a single guard, and the man will wait with the horses. Strictly speaking the purpose of the trip isn’t blackmail - for all Rudolf seems childish he can be very subtle when it suits him and if he is indeed keeping a male companion - thought it was clever Meissner had thought that said companion was more a lover than a friend even if he hadn’t been willing to speculate over much - Taaffe knows there is no guarantee he will catch the prince in the act.

And so that isn’t his goal. At least not today. If he does manage to catch the Prince with his companion Taaffe won’t be complaining, but he only wants to startle the Prince. The boy will be more likely to make a mistake if he is thrown off his usual routine, and Eduard appearing at his hunting lodge unannounced certainly counts as a departure from his routine.

The roof doesn’t come into view until they turn the last corner, but Meissner had called the interior of the lodge surprisingly roomy considering how low the ceiling seemed from the outside. Eduard leaves his horse with the guard and brushes by a pair of surprised servants. Meissner had been quite specific as to which room served as the Crown Prince’s bedroom and studio.

—-----------

He’s not sure what he had been expecting when he opened the door, but whatever it had been, the truth is far stranger than all the fictions his mind had concocted.

“Kronprinz Rudolf.” Eduard isn’t sure what else there is to say besides the prince’s name. The boy is at least present, his imperial jacket nowhere to be seen and in a loose white undershirt that is half-undone with green, black, and blue paint on his hands and looking more than a little surprised to see Eduard. But he isn’t alone. Sprawled on his bed is a graceful, black-clad feminine figure with oddly painted eyes that looks more like a deranged cultist - face as white as bone with red eyes, black paint around them, and a dark iridescent cloak that looks more like a pair of wings each passing moment that Smrt watches it. But Rudolf’s demonic mistress isn’t the worst of it.

It seems Meissner had been right, though Eduard now finds the spy’s report entirely lacking - Rudolf’s companion is sprawled in a chair, dressed similarly to the girl on the bed, with the same disturbing eye paint. And to top it all off, he had a live raven sitting on his shoulder. Had Rudolf somehow managed to get himself mixed up in a demonic cult? Before Eduard can even really contemplate the answer there is a noise from a pile of fabric on the floor. The blue-gray fabric must be one of Rudolf’s jackets, though likely an old one by the state of disrepair that is evident. A small crow emerges from beneath the fabric and gives Eduard a look that Eduard for one finds more than a little unnerving.

“What-” Eduard doesn’t know what to say. How does one accuse the Crown Prince of cavorting with a Satanic cult? Even after catching the boy in the act he doesn’t think the Emperor will believe any of it. It is all much too outlandish to be true.

“For shame, Count Taaffe. Even such a - what is it you usually call me? - recalcitrant prince, was it? As I know to knock before I enter the bedchamber of my betters.” The Crown Prince does look offended by the intrusion, and more so than Eduard had really expected.

“What are these-” Eduard eyes the girl, man, and pair of birds once more. “Demons?” Because they must be demons. Or else a pair of witches with familiars. Eduard had never personally believed in any of the drivel that had marked the previous centuries, but he cannot think of anything else that they might be.

“Demon?” The girl seems more unimpressed than offended. “I thought you said Minister-President Taaffe was smart, Rudolf. I suppose that might still be true, but he’s certainly entirely unoriginal.”

Eduard takes a step back. Perhaps some information is simply not worth knowing, and he has the inescapable urge to simply flee the scene and head back to Vienna and never tell the Emperor of his misadventure. But even as he resolves to do so the girl flows from the bed with a grace that is more fitting for a cat than any girl or whatever witch-demon-thing that the girl truly is. She’s between Eduard and the door in moments, and Eduard finds himself stumbling back and tripping on his own feet to land sprawled on the Crown Prince’s bed with the small crow now perched near his hand.

“Do be careful, Herr Minister-President. He bites.” The Crown Prince looks entirely smug about the way this is going, though Eduard cannot help but note the incongruity of the fact that Rudolf still has a paintbrush in his hand. The girl comes closer to Rudolf, nuzzling into his side, and Eduard can see what he had thought and hoped was a cloak cannot be anything other than a magnificent set of dark wings, shining with a blue-green iridescence. What sort of foul demon took the form of this dark angel? Was Rudolf cavorting with a harlot of Satan himself? Eduard was no scholar of demonology the way the Archbishop claimed to be. But what would that make the man still lazing in the chair by the window? Had Rudolf fallen prey to Satan himself? Had Satan sent the succubus that was entirely too close to Rudolf to drain the life from him and the entire Habsburg dynasty? Given the myriad of misfortunes that had befallen the Empresses relations in particular it seemed a more reasonable proposition than it should.

The crow does try to bite, but Eduard manages to snatch his hand back, only for the crow to flutter forward and try and bite his nose as well, though Eduard manages to dodge the crow and it flutters off to a different corner of the room.

But in the time he is totally focused on the crow the girl disappears and Eduard finds himself looking frantically around. Where has she gone? But quickly his eyes come to rest on a large raven that is nestled in the Crown Prince’s arms as he affectionately strokes her feathers and presses a little kiss to her head. Truly, the Crown Prince must be bewitched.

Eduard turns to the man in the chair. All the birds must be his familiars and he must be the witch - or otherwise the demon - that has set upon the Crown Prince. 

Eduard’s eyes flick to the door, but he has no doubt the raven in the Crown Prince’s arms will stop him if he tries to leave.

“Rudolf-” perhaps an appeal to the Crown Prince’s humanity will be of some help. For as much as Eduard’s men rarely call the Crown Prince kind, they all usually agree that he is quite human. “What is this?”

“Well you’ve been putting quite the damper of me making friends in Vienna, Count. What with all the spies and such. So I had to look for other companions. I was lonely, Mein Herr.” Eduard glances at the man by the window again - he looks amused, if anything.

“Rudolf.” The man does finally speak, and his voice is more an intoxicating song than anything else. The Crown Prince hearkens immediately, his face softening and his head bowing in a way that makes Eduard suspect his demon supposition had been correct.

“Rudolf-” Eduard knows he must sound panicked, but from the music and deceptive force in the man’s voice he is more than a little hesitant to listen for long. Or to let the Crown Prince listen for long. Will the man order Rudolf to cut him up so he can feed Eduard’s eyes to his ravens and crow? The thought seems far-fetched, but everything about the entire situation is far-fetched. “I should be heading back to Vienna.”

“Heading back? But Mein Herr, you’ve only just arrived.” Rudolf is enjoying this, that much is clear. Reveling in the fact that Eduard is the one squirming. “Then again, you were so very rude, barging in like that. Run back to Vienna, Count Taaffe. And do try to find some better manners.”

Eduard flees before the man at the window can countermand the prince. He’s pinching himself the whole way back, hoping to wake up in his bed after some foul nightmare. Because this must be a nightmare of some sorts. He had no such luck. To top if all off, Wiligut is waiting for him with a report that he really doesn’t want to read and the unfortunate news that the French Ambassador is causing problems again, and that rather than just offending one other diplomat there is a veritable menagerie of ruffled diplomatic feathers that Eduard will have to smooth over. He makes a mental note to have Meissner poison the French Ambassador the next time the man parties in Vienna. The next one can’t possibly be worse than the current one and right now is the time to do it - there are at least a dozen parties with plenty of motive to do the deed.

[sarcasticdolphin]

Smrtolf (Canon) "Stubborn"

For the lovely @adridoesstuff :) Eduard attempts to retrieve Rudolf from Mayerling.

“Imperial Highness.”

“Mmmm?” Crown Prince Rudolf seemed to be completely ignoring Eduard for the missive in his hand, and Eduard took a brief glance around the room. There were a half a dozen crows perched all around the room plus the raven on Rudolf’s shoulder and a suspiciously moving shirt on the ground. Far from a hunting lodge, the Crown Prince seemed to have turned his house at Mayerling into an aviary. “What now, Minister-President?” The Crown Prince finally looked up, utterly disinterested.

“The Emperor is becoming displeased.” An understatement if ever there was one. Were Rudolf his son Eduard might smack the boy. As it was, Franz-Josef had dispatched Eduard to recall the prince to the capital. By whatever means he saw fit.

Eduard had mused on the Emperor’s words during the carriage ride. Franz’s words had been vaguer than he would have preferred. ‘Any means he saw fit.’ But somehow if Eduard brought the Prince back trussed and bound he thought the Emperor might not be best pleased. And the brat knew it.

“He’s always displeased with me, Minister-President. How have you displeased him such that you were demoted to messenger boy?” The Prince looks entirely too pleased with himself for his words. Eduard finds it a bit childish. “And I’ve been reading the small mountains of paperwork he sends daily. Shouldn’t he be pleased I’m not- how was it he put it last time? - acting a tool of the French?”

The prince’s recollection of the Emperor’s words is not quite correct, but for perhaps the first time Eduard almost finds himself agreeing with the boy. The Crown Prince’s recent absence from Court hasn’t been unwelcome - if anything it makes Eduard’s life easier to not have to manage a rebellious princeling in addition to the ministers.

“Nonetheless, he wishes you to return, Imperial Highness.” In a show of solidarity against any muttered nationalistic opposition, if anything else. Eduard understood why, but in this he didn’t agree with the Emperor. Sometimes it was better to have the illusion of a minor disagreement than the potential for the confirmation of a major one. The Crown Prince had been less and less inclined to follow orders in recent months and years.

“I imagine he does.” The Crown Prince takes a sip of his drink. He hadn’t offered Eduard anything or ordered servants to do so. “But I find I have no desire to return to Vienna today.”

The boy is infuriatingly calm in his disdain. He knows there is ultimately nothing Eduard can do. Despite the Emperor’s orders, despite everything. Eduard doesn’t have any way to come back to the capital. Convincing him was the Emperor’s intent, despite his words. 

“Imperial Highness-” Eduard is interrupted by a squawk coming from the moving shirt. A small black and white crow emerges from the shirt and gives a chirp before looking Eduard up and down and giving another noise.

“I’m not going, Count Taaffe.” A few chirps emulate from around the room as if in agreement. The black and white crow hops up on a table a little too close to Eduard’s hand. Rudolf for his part offers a hand to the raven on his shoulder and cradles the bird close, giving it a few scratches.

“Imperial Highness, you are testing the Emperor’s patience.” Technically true. Though Eduard is admittedly trying to imply that the Emperor is substantially closer to having his son trussed and dragged back to Vienna than he is. The Emperor is annoyed at most.

“I imagine I am, Count. Did you not vex your father when you were my age?” Rudolf is being purposely difficult. As if this was even remotely similar to the normal childish antics of young men. Rudolf was a prince, even if he chose to act like a young bohemian artist most of the time. 

The birds all chirp in agreement with the Crown Prince, and Rudolf raises an eyebrow. Eduard knows well that his cause is likely lost and he will return to the capital with nothing to show for his efforts and an entire day that could have been spent on far more useful tasks wasted.

“Is there anything else, Count?” Rudolf’s words are almost amused, and a prelude to a dismissal. The little black and white crow had taken a few steps closer and was now inspecting Eduard’s hand without even the slightest shred of fear.

And somewhat impulsively, Eduard reaches a hand out to stroke the bird’s head. The feathers there are ruffled, but at Eduard’s touch they start to lie flat.

“Count, I-” Eduard notices Rudolf’s voice, but for once he is ignoring the princeling. The bird's feathers have an interesting texture, quite soft but also silky.

The pain is sudden and Eduard takes an immediate step back, holding his hand and looking incredulously at the bird, eyeing its beak with a new respect.

“Really wouldn’t do that.” The Crown Prince finishes, more than a touch of amusement in his voice. The bird gives a little chirp and looks back at the crown prince, almost like a small child looking for approval from an older brother before fluttering over to land on the Crown Prince’s knee.

A myriad of words run through Eduard’s mind - did he really expect the Emperor would approve of him keeping birds that were half-demon? But in the end he says nothing as the Crown Prince offers the little crow and the raven on his wrist small morsels. Had the prince trained his birds to bite?

“Farewell, Count. I hope you have a smooth ride back to the capital.”

Eduard gives a cold bow. “Imperial Highness.” The title is more meant as an insult than anything else, but the prince merely looks amused and gives the crow another scratch.

“Well done, Edwin.” It takes all of Eduard’s discipline not to turn at the words he hears behind him. The princeling is only trying to goad him now. And he has a day’s worth of paperwork to catch up on. The brat isn’t worth anymore of his time.

[sarcasticdolphin]

Todolf “Triumph” Not mirrorverse, but mirrorverse adjacent.

Cut for Rudolf being a bastard and Taaffe also kind of being a bastard.

Eduard would happily admit that he was perhaps a little more pleased than he should be as the roof of the Crown Prince’s hunting lodge came into view. Victory was a sweet thing, and Eduard intended to savor every moment of dragging the impudent boy back to Vienna for his reeducation. 

His associations with the Hungarians and the radical newspaper editors were at a firm end. From now on he would be well guided, molded into a future emperor the empire could be proud of. 

The servants were not those of the palace, and Eduard made a note to acquire one for himself - a proper set of eyes and ears at Mayerling had long been lacking. There was something odd about them that he couldn’t quite place as he was shown to see his quarry. They were blonde, every one of them, ethereal, pale, and young. Their uniforms were suits of black and blue, striking and well cut while also being so other and very much not of Vienna.

The Crown Prince himself isn’t technically in a fit state to receive the Minister-President - between the missing jacket, the open buttons at the top of his shirt, and the mussed hair Rudolf seemed to have lost his courtly veneer. 

“Herr Minister-President. What a pleasant surprise.” The Crown Prince took a sip of whiskey from his glass but didn’t so much as glance in Eduard’s direction, his tone remarkably even considering this had to be anything but a pleasant surprise for the Kaiser’s wayward son.

“Kronprinz Rudolf.” Eduard removed his hat but spared the perfunctory inclination of the head he would have given in Vienna. “The Kaiser orders you to return to the capital.”

Rudolf pauses at that, glancing down at his whiskey or a long moment before giving it a swirl and taking another sip. “Whatever did you do to be demoted from Minister-President to messenger boy, Graf Taaffe?”

Of course, the Crown Prince would be difficult in this as well. Eduard doesn’t rise to the bait, waiting for the young man before him to speak again.

“How was your journey, my lord?” Rudolf turned, the faint upward quirk of his lips a touch unnerving. “And I should offer you a glass, should I not? I wouldn’t want to be a poor host.”

Eduard ignores the peasantry and waves away the glass that is offered to him. He wants his mind sharp, his memories clear.

Rudolf, on the other hand, only smiled wider, taking another sip of whiskey and leaning back against the wall, raising an eyebrow in a silent challenge.

Eduard knew this game of silence and waiting well, and so he waited, eying the prince for what had to have been minutes but felt like far longer. Rudolf had never been the best at this, but here the whiskey must be aiding them, for he didn’t waver and the tiny upwards quirk in his mouth remained until it was Eduard who spoke first, defeated.

“When can you be ready to depart? We should not keep the Kaiser waiting.”

That brought an expression of mirth to Rudolf’s face. “And that simply would not do, would it Herr Minister-President?”

The commotion behind them is a surprise, but Eduard doesn’t turn. He’s already lost the first round of this game with the Crown Prince. He won’t lose the second. 

The servants escort a mud-splattered messenger in. The young man - more a boy, really, pulls his hat off and bows to the Crown Prince, deeper than Eduard ever would, even in Vienna.

“Imperial Highness, I-” The boy swallowed, glancing down at his trembling fingers for a moment before starting again. “Imperial Majesty-” Eduard doesn’t hear the rest of the boy’s words. He doesn’t need to. The honorifics are enough. The Kaiser is dead.

The quirk at the very corner of Rudolf’s lips is momentary and Eduard almost thinks he has imagined it. Rudolf’s eyes flick back over to Eduard as he coldly dismisses the messenger. Eduard too moves to depart, but Rudolf’s cold voice commands him to stay.

“Graf Taaffe.” The tone is entirely different now. “Where were we?” Rudolf makes almost a show of ponderance before breaking out into a grin. “Oh - that’s right. You were about to drag me off the Kaiser, weren’t you?”

Rudolf places the glass down on a side table before stepping closer and closer until he is nearer than Eduard would like. The step back is more a lapse in concentration than anything, but it earns him a raised eyebrow that can only be an insult.

Rudolf’s hands take Eduard's own, and Eduard moves to pull them back, but in an instant Rudolf’s grip is iron. “What are you waiting for, Mein Herr? It’s not a long journey.” Not anymore, it goes unsaid.

The unnatural chill that descends upon the room is unexpected, and Eduard shivers. But Rudolf - Rudolf who is wearing substantially less than Eduard - doesn’t. In fact, he looks almost euphoric for a moment as he turns away from Eduard.

The servants all turn as one, bowing their heads. Two that definitely hadn’t been there before appeared at each of Eduard’s shoulders, hauling him roughly to his knees even as Rudolf flowed to one knee in an almost exaggerated, balletic gesture.

The being that stood before him was no man - too beautiful, too cold, too terrible. The Cro- No. Rudolf was the Kaiser now. The Kaiser was summoned back to his feet with a gentle tap to his chin and the being’s arms wound around him. The kiss to Rudolf’s brow was worse. Gentle, but possessive. A mark of ownership, and one Rudolf didn’t fight, instead leaning into it.

“My Prince.” The being’s voice had an intoxicating hint of music to it, and it was so very enticing.

“My friend.” Rudolf’s voice was worshipful, and it earned him another kiss to the brow. “I’ve missed you.”

The chuckle is unnerving in a way that Eduard cannot pin down. There is nothing off about the sound, but it is wrong. “My sweet prince. I promised you before, didn’t I? That I would always stay close to you.”

The being’s eyes flick over to Eduard for a moment and it is worse than whatever he had imagined. Not an icy color - there is no color at all, and no white other. Just an endless infinite black.

[sarcasticdolphin]

“Goodnight (Sweet Prince)”

Tod being creepy with an ambiguously-teenage Rudolf. 

It was late. And Eduard Taaffe was tired. But the Kaiser had asked him to speak with the Crown Prince, and so he would. The boy had vexed his father in some new way, but the Kaiser hadn’t said much more than that. 

But Eduard hadn’t realized how late until he was at the door to the Crown Prince’s rooms, having counted only three other souls in his journey through the Hofburg.

He gave a gentle knock. Nothing. The boy was most likely asleep. Then again, the Kaiser had railed at the boy being half-asleep in the chapel that morning. 

So he opened the door, peering inside. The sitting room was empty and dark, but the door to the bedchamber was open, a sliver of silver light pouring through.

The lack of a golden glow told Eduard that the Crown Prince was indeed asleep - as well he should be. The boy was still growing, even though he easily stood taller than his father. He took a few silent steps forward, meaning only to close the door, to give the Crown Prince some privacy while he slept.

But there were two in the dark bed. And while the Crown Prince was asleep, his companion wasn’t. Eduard felt every muscle in his body freeze as pale eyes, icy and luminous, raked over him, as a single elegant finger was pressed against lips that might well have been sculpted of marble.

The message was clear. Quiet.

Eduard should have shouted for guards. Even at this late hour there would be some around, especially in the royal apartments. There would have been a number of unpleasant questions to answer about why he was in the Crown Prince’s bedchamber at this hour, but the Kaiser knew the answers already.

But he didn’t, or perhaps it was that he couldn’t. His lips were moving, but it was as if there was no breath in his chest.

The Crown Prince’s pale companion was smiling, his hand moving to brush the boy’s hair ever so gently.

The scene got more unnerving as Eduard’s eyes adjusted more and more to the silvery moonlight. The man - was reclined on the Crown Prince’s bed, clad all in a white that held the same hue as bleached bones - too white to alive. Or perhaps too cold to be alive. And everything about the man was white - his skin was the exact same unnatural hue as his garb. His hair was the palest blonde imaginable, and his eyes were of the lightest blue. 

The Crown Prince was pale - paler than any man Eduard had ever met. Pale as his mother, and in a way more befitting a Princess who had never seen the sun as compared to a warrior prince. The boy had burned quite badly the last time the Kaiser had taken him to inspect a regiment in the middle of summer.

But compared to his companion he looked positively dark - his skin so alive, his hair positively inky. But the Crown Prince’s hair wasn’t nearly as dark as his mother’s. His eyes were, but the Prince’s hair wasn’t that mahogany color, not anymore. It was more of a medium or even a golden brown. The boy slept in his companion’s arms, entirely tucked into him, head on his chest near where his companion’s heart would be, looking completely at ease and unbothered, his sleep entirely peaceful.

The boy stirred a bit and Eduard’s eyes snapped back to the Crown Prince’s companion. A little crook of the finger and Eduard was summoned, stiffly walking forward. Why hadn’t he screamed? He should have.

“Eduard Taaffe.”

The man’s voice was soft - so as not to wake the Prince - but seemed to echo in an odd way.

“Who-” his voice sounds so terribly loud compared to that of the Crown Prince’s companion, and the breath leaves him once more after a single word. But the man isn’t looking at him anymore, rather, he’s looking down at the Crown Prince. The boy had stirred at Eduard’s voice, but stilled once more after the man stroked his cheek, crooning something so soft that Eduard couldn’t hear it.

After a long moment, he turned back to Eduard. “Not who, Count Taaffe.”

What.

He didn’t get to speak. The breath hadn’t come back to him, but the telltale smirk told him that the man, the thing before him, understood.

“The Crown Prince calls me his friend.” 

Eduard’s eyes are almost completely adjusted to the darkness, and little details that had been to that point invisible begin to emerge from the gloom. The way Rudolf clung to his companion, one leg hooked up. And the patch of darkness Eduard had once thought was merely the curtains of the stately bed shivered in the moonlight. The movement was all wrong for fabric, but perfect for flexing wings. The feathers became more and more obvious, slowly acquiring an iridescent sheen, even in the low light. They wrapped around the Crown Prince and his companion in the dim light, as if shielding them from the outside world.

“But I suppose you may call me Tod.” 

This must be some sick joke - a man that calls himself Death. Eduard repeats to himself eight times that it must just be that, a sick joke. He believes his own thoughts less and less with each successive repetition - the unnatural pallor, the way the being before him seems to steal the very breath from him, even the chill in the air - perhaps the being before him is Death given form.

The smirk on the being’s face is deeply unpleasant as it turns back to the sleeping Crown Prince, gently caressing his cheek, his pale and all too exposed neck. And the Crown Prince leans into the touch if anything, entirely content in the arms of his unnatural companion.

“Unnatural? You wound me.” Those pale hands shift the Crown Prince slightly, tucking him into the crook of Tod’s neck. Eduard can almost see a smile forming on the Prince’s sleeping face. “There is nothing more natural than death, little count.”

Eduard’s breath is still gone, but his repulsion must show on his face.

“Rudolf.” The way Tod says the Crown Prince’s name is entirely too familiar and more than a little disturbing. “He’s been mine for years now. Craved nothing more than me, than my touch.” He caressed the Crown Prince’s cheek again.

“Now run along, little count. You can speak with the princeling once he’s had his rest.” The dismissal is more than a little insulting, but Eduard is not a brave man. His legs are working again, so he takes one step back, then another. He’s well and truly fleeing by the third step, an unnatural laughter ringing in his ears.