#They both declared themselves widows after his death!!!

[chicago-geniza]

Gotta stop referring to the Stef-Bohdan-Stanisława Zofia situation as "the legal loophole polycule" but like. Dr. Bohdan Zahorski got away with bigamy thanks to the Polish state's inconsistent civic status legislation between formerly partitioned imperial territories!!!

[angelsdean]

desitel feelings / love timeline (2 me)

DEAN:

immediate attraction in s4 (hello he has eyes!)

s4 - 5, going from allies to friends, crushing hard and shooting his shot / flirting, but all of it goes over cas's head

s6 betrayal / cas's s7 death: when he starts realizing that the way he feels abt cas is Different and More than just a crush / friendship. bobby and sam not reacting the same way to cas's betrayal and death really starts to get the gears turning. then when bobby dies, dean also realizes his grief over cas is different from his grief over bobby. (also the keeping his coat, carrying it with them in every new car all throughout s7. like that man was in Love-love.)

s8: purgatory solidifies dean's feelings. all dean can think about for a year is finding cas, saving cas. he prays to him every night. his mind is just a skipping record of cas, cas, cas. i think by this point he's accepted his romantic feelings for cas. and by the end of s8 he was ready to tell cas how he felt in the crypt. he changes "love" to "need" (which imo is MORE insane and vulnerable actually) and then dean perceives cas's actions after the crypt as a rejection of dean's feelings). meanwhile, cas has not yet even realized his own feelings for dean are romantic love yet, more on that in a minute.

s9 - s12 imo are dean grappling with the fact that his love is unrequited and trying to live with that and maybe move on (drowley summer of love).

s13 -s14 : first the widowers arc of it all. dean realizing no matter what, cas was IT for him. there's never going to be anyone else for him. he doesn't want anyone else. dean accepting that cas is effectively his life partner and he's fine with them staying platonic (bc he still thinks cas doesn't feel the same way). dean stops hooking up. dean is content with the family unit they have made for themselves.

s15: dean grappling with the knowledge of chuck's manipulation over the years. dean questioning what's even real ("is his love for cas even real?") cas asserting that they are real. divorce arc. destiel miscommunication at its finest. dean once again thinking cas doesn't care for him the way he cares for cas. dean nearly losing cas again in purgatory and deciding to put his heart on the line (was going to confess before cas cut him off). then---cas's "i love you." dean overwhelmed in the moment. dean still not sure what cas's words mean until cas is taken by the empty and he processes the speech and declaration. and then he realizes--cas was in love with him. it was mutual. they could've had it. they could've been together for years. the one thing they both wanted---

CAS

immediate attraction in s4 (hello he has eyes! many eyes in fact!)

s4 - 5: going from allies to friends. cas remembering what it's like to FEEL again ("for the first time") after his millionth lobotomy. dean re-awakening those feelings, both for humanity at large and for dean specifically. but cas doesn't have a name for these feelings yet. he attributes them to his bond with dean / assumes most people feel like this about dean.

s6 - 8: cas largely still attributing his feeling for dean to their unique bond. cas putting the mission first. cas also dealing with his own guilt over his failures. not a lot of time for him to process his feelings for dean.

s9: cas has his italicized "oh" moment. i think it's a combination of being human and for the first time all the angel stuff isn't there, he can't attribute his feelings to their "bond." he's rooted in his body for the first time, really in-tune with his physical reactions too. i think early s9 is when he starts to realize his feelings for dean are different but he's still not quite putting a name to them. then metatron calls him out on those feelings (his snarky knowing "he's in love...with humanity") and then dean dying really solidify cas's feelings. he is now aware.

aaaaaand then s10 - 12 is him grappling with those feelings at the same time that dean is really starting to accept that cas doesn't feel the same and is trying to accept that they'll be nothing but platonic and move on. so that's why you get stuff like dean calling cas their "brother" (he's trying to be ok with this) while cas looks sick to his stomach bc he is just now really accepting and processing the fact that he's in romantic love with dean. gotta love that classic destiel miscommunication, never being on the same page at the same time.

by s13 he's accepted he's in love and is now thinking it's one sided and this is all they'll ever be. he's also still kinda avoiding it all throughout the later seasons, putting the Mission first again, leaving more often, focusing on jack stuff. really just putting his feelings on the back burner.

then s15. just like i said in the dean bullet point, the divorce arc stuff is more classic miscommunication. cas so badly wants dean to ask him to stay. dean so badly wants cas to stop leaving. they both need to just have one good conversation about all of this. anyways, the "i love you." truly i think mr. avoidant cas would have continued to keep his feelings for dean to himself perhaps forever, had it not been a life or death situation where he realized telling dean his feelings would trigger the empty deal. but he does tell him. and my personal headcanon is that when he does tell him he gets hit with a wave of feeling from dean (along with the love in his eyes) that basically confirms to cas that dean actually has felt the same way all this time. and also, i think cas has partially known for a while but let his own self doubt and insecurities convince him that dean couldn't possibly feel the same.

Additionally: i do enjoy another late seasons variation, where BOTH of them have a mutual awareness of each other's feelings, but they both let insecurities and circumstances convince them it's not the right time, or they don't deserve to have this. they keep putting off talking abt this thing between them because there's always another apocalypse or big bad. because saving the world always comes before their own personal desires and happiness. so they keep putting it off until it's too late, until there's no time left. by s15 they're both feeling desperate. it's the end. they both feel they need to say something. dean tries in The Trap. cas finally does in Despair. and then there's just no time left. it's over. they never got to have it. (YET. because their story ain't over!)

anyways, i'm multitudes girlie and can enjoy many different interpretations, esp in fics, but this is my main destiel + feelings interpretation for when i'm watching the show and engaging with canon.

TLDR: they both start Feeling things for each other immediately. dean realizes these feelings are romantic love and puts that name to them first around late s6/s7. dean Accepts these feeling around s8. while cas has his realization that these intense feelings are romantic love around s9. and accepts them at some point between s10 - 12ish.

[thgfanfictionlibrary]

Friends to Lovers Fics Masterlist (5)

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 /

Created: March 18th, 2024

Checked:---

A Girl, A Boy, and Everything Else.-CassandraO (ao3) Summary: It's been a year since the war ended. Peeta and Katniss are in the process of growing together. Peeta is learning about setting boundaries and taking better care of himself and Katniss is drowning in depression. How they grow together as friends and eventually, something else, all the while facing new challenges.

Arranged-CassandraO (ao3) Summary: Facing the death of her mother, 14-year old Katniss Everdeen and her 10-year old sister Prim move in with their widowed maternal grandmother, the apothecary's wife. In a world in which unmarried women cannot own property, Katniss' grandmother arranges with the town baker to marry off her eldest granddaughter at sixteen to protect her in case she dies before the girl is ready to marry. Luckily for all, Katniss gets to marry the youngest son, her close friend Peeta. Now, married young, the summer is coming, and with it, the 74th Annual Hunger Games.

Biggest Fan-burkygirl, Xerxia (ao3) Summary: Fanfic writer Peeta Mellark - Captain Amellarka to his readers - can hardly wait to spend a fun-filled weekend at the Québec Winter Carnival with Katseye, his beta and best friend. She's also possibly the love of his life, but he figures he probably should lay eyes on her in real life before he declares his undying devotion.

Crash My Party-Court81981 (ff.net) Summary: Modern AU. Peeta Mellark has never been able to say no to Katniss Everdeen. But after years as friends with benefits, that's going to have to change. Everlark.

Indestructible-HGfanonezillion (ao3) Summary: Mockingjay and Nightingale work hard to keep their city safe. But when Snow Industries introduces a new threat, can they keep the ones they love most safe? And will teaming up with Gaia and Electrode be a help or a hindrance? Just Friends-HGfanonezillion (ao3) Summary: Single father Peeta agrees to let his daughter sign up for an outdoor day camp for the summer. What he didn't expect was to befriend the director Katniss, a single mother herself. And no matter what all their friends say, the pair are ONLY friends. Right?

Mockingjay Inn-burkygirl (ao3) Summary: Katniss and Peeta are both frequent pop-in guests at an out-of-the-way B&B. One weekend, it is surprisingly booked up and the manager asks if they can share a suite in an effort to be less of an inconvenience for such loyal customers and since they sort of know each other.

Peeta's Blessing-cd291104 (ff.net) Summary: A Blessing In Disguise in Peeta's POV. AU/OCC. K/P have been best friends for years. They have difficulty with relationships. One night after a break up and with the help of tequila they find themselves crossing a line. The next morning they agree to pretend it never happened however that becomes impossible once Katniss confesses she's pregnant. Where does that leave them?

The One-burkygirl (ao3) Summary: Peeta is Katniss’s best friend and almost everything in her life revolves around him. When thoughts of Peeta start invading her dreams, Katniss must decide whether just being friends is enough.

This is Halloween-bubblegum1425 (ao3) Summary: Katniss Everdeen has been in love with her best friend, Peeta Mellark, for nearly as long as she'd known him. They'd grown together, carrying on their yearly Halloween tradition of watching The Nightmare Before Christmas and other scary movies, but this year was going to be different. This year, Katniss is finally going to use their time together to tell Peeta how she feels…if he doesn't ruin her plans first. College Everlark. Modern AU

[hollenka99]

Hello! May I know about your regicide au? I miss your writing! (Also i think the buttons freaked out while i was trying to press the ask button so if you just got unfollowed and followed by me a few times then very sorry)

Cracks knuckles You've got a big storm coming.

The tldr is that Regicide is (in the most basic terms) an SBI royalty au that has plenty of ways the plot could go, depending on the choices the characters make. @the-redeemed-anon and I made it at the beginning of last year after I got inspired by a conversation we had about the Ottomans' practice of fratricide as a way of fighting for the throne.

There is a series of our fics on AO3, mainly mine but Anon has written a few fics themself that I believe they plan to post once they're less busy.

So the main things to know about the set up are:

Phil is Emperor Phillip V of the Antarctic Empire

He has 15 sons (and 26 kids in general) via 6 wives

Technoblade, Wilbur and Tommy are his sons through Kristin

Technoblade is the eldest son in general and the only boy who is given the same level of love as their sisters because Phil's allergic to being a boydad for Reasons

These reasons mainly being linked to the fact that when princes are 10, they learn the truth about how the family handles succession to the throne

Aka it's kill or be killed because you have to get to the throne first, accept a special sword and order the deaths of your brothers and nephews to secure your place

As the favourite son, Techno has been raised to be the next emperor and therefore been given every advantage so he'll get to give the order before any of his brothers can

Wilbur is incredibly salty about all this, from the system itself to the way Phil treats him, Tommy and their half brothers compared to Techno and their sisters

Tommy is sometimes just kind of in Techno and Wilbur's shadows because he's much younger (and also tends to be like 12 or 14 during the main plots of the paths so doesn't have as much agency as his adult brothers)

500 years ago, their ancestor and the first ever emperor, Thomas I, united all the city states to create the empire and was blessed by the god of war (War)

This blessing consisted of War giving premonitions to both Thomas and his descendants

200 years ago, a farmer's daughter named Kristin caught the attention of the goddess of death (Death) and also gave her a generational blessing, making her able to see ghosts

Both these blessed bloodlines have now mixed to create Phil and Kristin's 6 kids, all of whom have both premonitions and the ability to see ghosts

Between the ages of 5 and 16, princes are educated with a son from an aristocratic family who is there to accept discipline on his prince's behalf

At 16/17, princes are sent off to a province to govern it and gain experience in preparation for potentially becoming emperor themselves someday

Notable Characters

Phillip V (Phil)

He has been emperor since he was 13 and was the youngest of 7 brothers with zero sisters to act as a buffer so his upbringing has Had An Effect. He is a great dad to his daughters and Techno but refuses to get attached to his others sons due to them feeling like tragedies waiting to happen. A bit of a warmonger, he is the one who took Wilbur's declaration of independence and declared war as a response. If Regicide had a main antagonist, it's definitely Phil.

Kristin

Comes from the Müntirien family who have Death's gift and, as a way of honouring their ancestor who earned them the blessing, the main line tend to name their eldest daughters after her. Out of Phil's 6 wives, she is the first he married out of love instead of being set up like the previous two and arguably may be his favourite (partially also due to being Techno's mother). She acknowledges that she will lose at least two children in the wake of becoming a widow but that only leads to her taking her children's side when Phil acts unfairly towards them.

Technoblade

The eldest son of the family and the one Phil believes is destined to be the emperor after him thanks to an incident with a bear that is interpreted as an approving sign from War. He loves his brothers but does try to put a little distance between himself and them to make what he'll have to do someday a little easier on himself. War took a special interest in him since infancy, causing Techno to be able to easily understand his premonitions as War intended them to be interpreted and have great reflexes. However, his ability to see ghosts suffers as a result so they look and sound fuzzy to him.

Wilbur

The 7th of Phil's sons and Kristin's 3rd child. If Regicide had a main character, it would definitely be Wilbur. Even in paths where he dies young, his memory is enough to motivate his brothers to fulfill the goals he never got to complete. All he wants in life is to do something worthwhile before his limited time is up, whether that's freeing the country he fell in love with, abolishing fratricide or simply protecting his son from the pain of being a Craft prince. He feels very connected to Death due to her giving him an extra dose of blessing when he was born so as a result, ghosts sometimes appear as real as if they were living to him. Unfortunately, he struggles to interpret War's warnings properly because of this which gets him into trouble that could have been otherwise avoided. Also having a connection to Death can make you a bit of a death magnet, even when you manage to survive, so... poor guy's occasionally having A Time.

Tommy

The youngest of Phil and Kristin's kids as well as one of the youngest kids of the whole family. Tommy is kind of overlooked as a result of the plethora of siblings before him so he tended to disappear through secret passages with his friends. He enjoys doing things with his hands and gets pretty good at sewing during the war. Because of this, he becomes a gardener who mends clothes as a hobby in paths where he ends up living a more civilian life. War and Death share custody of Tommy in a way and his boosted gifts are far more balanced than his brothers' as a result.

Sally Salmon

The daughter of a significant L'Manburgian family, she is the girl Kristin thinks would get along best with Wilbur when planning a political union between him and someone L'Manburgian to improve his image. She and Wilbur don't get along at all for the first several months of their marriage, only for the tension to break and them falling in love once they actually get to know each other. She acts as a spy during the war until it's deemed safer for her to go into hiding instead, neither of them aware she's just gotten pregnant with Fundy.

The Salmons

Sally's parents and some of the most influential people in L'Manburg. They made an agreement with other important L'Manburgian families to try get one of their daughters married to a Craft prince in order to hopefully have their son-in-law then a pro-L'Manburg grandson on the Antarctic throne. This led to Wilbur and Sally's marriage, an opportunity they were so determined to not lose out on that they went about it the wrong way. While they are kind of in the background for most of the paths, Wilbur befriends them and is inspired to start the revolution after listening to them speak about L'Manburgian history and culture.

Fundy

Wilbur and Sally's son and sometimes only child if the path makes it impossible for his little sister Isa to be born. While he doesn't inherit most of his father's interests, Fundy is quite adept at tinkering, managing to create simple mechanical systems while he's still a child. In half the paths, he ends up being either Wilbur or Techno's heir and therefore the emperor after them. Fundy is named after Fundy Salmon, a great uncle from a few generations back whose legacy is being the general who handed over L'Manburg to the Antarctic Empire. Fundy's middle name is either in honour of his uncle Chris or Wilbur himself, depending on the path.

Death

The Antarctic goddess of death. She is the Müntirien family's patron after the original Kristin earned her respect. She is closest to Wilbur and has a massive soft spot for him, to the point she offers to make him her son in his next life. As for Techno having difficulty with her gift, she isn't that fazed by it as War with Wilbur thanks to it not having such dire consequences in his daily life. In the afterlife, she welcomes souls and redirects anyone who gets lost in the fog.

War

The Antarctic god of war. He is the Craft dynasty's patron after admiring Thomas I's skills and promising to look out for his descendants. Technoblade is his favourite prince out of the main 3 brothers which is helped by the fact Techno feels the most connected and perceptive towards the god. Despite being frustrated with Wilbur's inability to properly understand him, he does subtly side with the L'Manburgians during their war of independence.

Chris

One of the half brothers and the one Wilbur is closest to. He's a week older than Wilbur which leads to them becoming inseparable from the beginning. The two of them help the other realise they're in love with their respective significant other. When Chris becomes a father to a little girl named Cecylia, he unintentionally causes the inciting incident for most of the paths diverging.

Eret Bakkarra

Wilbur's best friend since they were 5, having grown up as a prince-whipping boy duo. Depending on the path, he will act as Wilbur's right hand man, Fundy's mentor, a general ally to the family or the one who leads the story towards a bad ending after a misguided decision.

Tubbo Underscore

Tommy's childhood best friend and whipping boy. While they were growing up, the two of them tended to sneak off and cause mischief, which in turn led to them befriending Ranboo. He follows Tommy to L'Manburg when war breaks out, much to Wilbur's distress. In paths where L'Manburg loses, he avoids capture by running and joins Ranboo's life of a wandering merchant.

Ishmael Oshier

A veteran of the L'Manburgian War of Independence and a survivor of the wither arrow attack that leads to the end of the war in P4. Following the war and losing his arm to withering, he ends up as one of Techno's advisors. In fact, by the time Fundy meets him 20 years later, he is practically the emperor's right hand man as well as a close personal friend of the Crafts family. Anon and I love him so much, along with his two service dogs, but Fundy feels something's up with the guy. It doesn't help that they keep butting heads about the pace of L'Manburg gaining independence and the war itself.

Notable Events

These are things that happen in every path or are reoccurring enough to warrant mentioning.

Wilbur I creates the fratricide tradition - Having grown up during the tail end of the civil war, Wilbur I becomes emperor after making himself the only possible descendant of Thomas I who can take the throne uncontested. He uses his experiences of his extended family spending 60 years tearing itself apart over power to promise he'll never let something like that happen to the empire ever again. As a result, he makes it law that all sons of newly deceased emperors must fight to keep themselves and their own sons alive by winning and becoming the next emperor.

Conquering of L'Manburg - Having been at war in some form since the late 13th century, with L'Manburg tending to be able to push the Antarctic Empire back before they can advance far enough to be successful, the head of the L'Manburgian army reluctantly surrenders in 1402 to spare worse consequences. The emperor at the time will treat L'Manburg quite fairly for the next 17 years until his death, at which point his anti-L'Manburg son takes over and begins treating the country far less favourably.

Wilbur appealing to Phil - When Wilbur is 13, he discovers the fratricide tradition is based on a few lines. He tries to convince Phil to abolish fratricide after coming up with some alternatives he can think of. Phil however very quickly dismisses his suggestions and complains about his time being wasted. This normally just results in Wilbur being resentful for a while before resolving that he should accept there's no hope in changing the system and his life is tied to Phil's. In P3 though, it has disastrous consequences.

The premature purge - Feeling threatened by the reality of becoming of an uncle via one of his brothers, Techno gathers a few guards to follow his orders. They visit the adult brothers in their homes and gather up the younger ones who still live at the palace, killing them all. The only ones who are spared are Wilbur and Tommy. This forever changes the dynamic between the brothers, leading to Wilbur in particular not knowing how to proceed.

Sally going into hiding - Over a year after the war begins, Wilbur decides it may be too dangerous for Sally to stay at camp and participate in the war as a spy. With some help, he is able to organise for her to hide in the home of the Nihachus, a family of bakers. Only Eret knows where they live but gladly gives Wilbur the address when the war is won and he can't reunite with her or their newborn son fast enough.

Eret's betrayal - Desperate for the war to end already, Eret approaches Phil to appeal to him. This only leads to Phil taking advantage of him and using it as an opportunity to capture traitors. When Phil enters the L'Manburgian camp with Eret in tow, Wilbur doesn't suspect his friend until Phil taunts him for not having trustworthy friends. This often causes one or both crimeboys being killed or at least imprisoned for being traitors in the eyes of their father.

Notable Locations

Antarctic Empire - An empire that was founded in the 10th century by Thomas I when he united the 15 city states dedicated to the gods. It has since expanded via conquests into places such as part of the Nether and L'Manburg. Since its founding, but especially following the end of a civil war that lasted the majority of the 11th century, it has been ruled by the Craft dynasty who are all descended from Thomas I. The main languages are Antarctic and Arctic (the language of an ethnic group of travellers native to the area). The further north you go, the closer you get to the tundra landscape where very few live.

Rayusel - The capital of the Antarctic Empire and the one who had War as their patron when it was a city state. In the centre is the area known as Inner Rayusel which is sacred ground due to being the original boundaries of the city that were marked by bearskin in its founding myth. The main temple to War is found within Inner Rayusel and is one of the entry points. Outer Rayusel is the unofficial name for the rest of the city that expanded out from the original boundaries. The majority of people from Rayusel live there and it is also where the royal palace is located.

L'Manburg - A country full of mountains, especially near the border with the Antarctic Empire that lies to the empire's south. It used to be a trade partner with the empire until a series of events in the mid 13th century caused the emperor at the time to start a campaign to conquer the country which would last approximately 150 years. It has now been under Antarctic rule for over a century but is often attempting to rebel against the foreign authority. The main languages are L'Manburgian and Antarctic, although L'Manburgian has been systematically suppressed for the past century and is often only heard in private settings like the home.

Pogtopia - A city built into natural formations of a mountain (like this one) which is one of the hubs of rebellion, especially during the war and in paths where L'Manburg loses. It acts as a safe haven for running from Antarctic oppression thanks to being difficult to reach unless you know how to navigate the area.

Nether - A very bio-diverse collection of nations that operate as one on an international scale, laying to the west of the Antarctic Empire and likewise partially borders L'Manburg. The main language is Netherine and the climate depends on which nation you're in as it varies from woodland to desert to volcanically active land etc. The empire set its sights on getting full control of the valuable resource of netherite in the late 11th century but only one of the nations was conquered and it has remained this way since. There was a war led by a half mortal daughter of Death in 1216 which resulted in heavy losses for Antarctic troops and had a significant impact on the future of the royal family.

Paths

There are 15 separate paths, split equally into three branches: Fratricide, Patricide and L'Manburg. There is also an unofficial branch that we call War which features all of the L'Manburg paths as well as P4 and P5. There are certain things that stay consistent throughout them like Salbur hating each other when they first meet and Neo Trio being the final three brothers. As for the paths themselves, here are some summaries:

F1 - Wilbur kills both of his remaining brothers and suffers the consequences, dealing with a vengeful Tommy and having Fundy as his only ally. He does not have a happy reign but is able to complete a book honouring all of his brothers' memories.

F2 - Techno is killed and Wilbur becomes emperor with Tommy going on to live a fairly normal life privately. While Phil is still alive, assassins break into his home but he is able to survive the night. He spends the next few years hunting down answers so he can keep his family safe from further attacks.

F3 - Upon discovering the pregnancy with Fundy, Wilbur and Sally go into hiding with only Eret knowing where they are. However, Phil dies like usual a few years later and now they are being brought back to the palace so the tradition can be carried out.

F4 - Techno is killed, making Wilbur the new presumed heir. While Fundy is a baby, assassins break into Wilbur and Sally's home. They succeed in targeting Wilbur and exposing what he did, which in turn makes Tommy the last possible son to inherit the throne from Phil. Once he's emperor, Tommy is determined to discover who is responsible for Wilbur's death while likewise navigating his new duties.

F5 - Techno leaves all of his brothers alone, never going through with ordering the premature purge. However, this doesn't mean Wilbur doesn't immediately freak out when he and Sally have a son. They kept the pregnancy a secret and do the same with baby Fundy. This works for a few years, albeit with a lot of effort, but Phil's death has to come eventually. Wilbur becomes another victim of the tradition but the same can't be said of Fundy, much to his parents' relief. Now it's just a case of keeping him hidden for the rest of his life.

P1 - Wilbur kills Techno but instead of the lingering paranoia causing him to target Tommy like in F1, he kills Phil so he can be protected by becoming emperor early.

P2 - Wilbur has second thoughts on killing Techno, to the point he confesses his plans to his brother and they end up murdering Phil instead. They rule together for the rest of their lives.

P3 - Upset upon hearing their father dismissed 13 year old Wilbur for wanting there to be a fairer system, Technoblade takes matters into his own hands. He kills Phil nearly a full decade early, triggering the tradition while the brothers are underage. Wilbur becomes co-emperor once he's old enough while Tommy lives off to the sidelines during their reigns.

P4 - During the war, Phil orders a skilled archer to fire wither arrows at Wilbur in the hopes that his death will give him a great opportunity to stop wasting his time on crushing the revolution. Wilbur gets nicked by it but that's enough and doesn't survive long enough to get proper treatment at the palace. 20 years later, the son he never got to know existed shows up with determination to finish what his father started by gaining independence for L'Manburg. With the help of Eret, an advisor of Techno's named Ishmael tries to dissuade Fundy from rocking the boat too much.

P5 - Fearing both of their safeties, Wilbur sends both Sally and Tommy to the Nihachus so they can hide. Following Eret selling the L'Manburgians out, Wilbur is arrested and sentenced to death for treason. His only consolation is that his wife and little brother are safe until, months later, they're caught too. He begs Techno to help, leading to Phil's death as the only way they can be saved without complications.

L1 - L'Manburg wins the war and Wilbur is able to go home to his wife and newborn son. He spends 10 years as the country's first post-independence president before resigning so he can spend more time with Sally and their two children.

L2 - Eret betrays L'Manburg, causing both Wilbur and Tommy to be captured. They both end up on the scaffold and, while Tommy is upset about being stuck as a ghost, his reaction is nothing like Wilbur's. Wilbur spends the next several years haunting Phil as a vengeful spirit for every wrongdoing his father committed against him and his family.

L3 - Tommy is kidnapped by Antarctic soldiers who were acting independently. A group including Wilbur and Eret come to save him but as they escape with Tommy, he is hit with a slingshot pellet. Wilbur races back to camp with Tommy in his arms so he can be treated but it is in vain. The war is won months later yet Wilbur can't fully enjoy it, knowing what it cost him.

L4 - Having listen to War when he advised Wilbur miss a battle, only for the wither arrow attack to happen, Wilbur is determined to not miss another battle, no matter how much of a bad idea War may think it is. This costs him his life and causes his pro-L'Manburg loved ones to flee for their safety until Phil's death makes it possible for them to consider returning.

L5 - Phil decides to keep Wilbur alive despite still going ahead with killing Tommy. Instead, Wilbur is stuck inside a cell for what is meant to be the rest of his life. He is rescued but when Phil comes close to jeopardising the safety of those Wilbur loves, Wilbur makes an irreversible mistake that causes him to be shunned by the gods.

Songs that really fit

Legendary from Epic: The Musical - Fundy in P4 where he is determined to take all the stories of his father's bravery and live by Wilbur's example as he prepares to fight for L'Manburg's rights too.

Bread and Roses (various artists but I prefer the Women of the World version the best) - Sally in L2 when she finds herself one of the key figures of the revolution in the wake of Wilbur's death and being denied access to Fundy.

My Shot from Hamilton - Ishmael rising through the ranks as Techno's advisor and working hard to improve things for L'Manburg after the war.

The Bad Guy from Ultimate Storytime - Wilbur in F1 where he reflects on how he technically did what he was supposed to do by making himself the only living brother, only to be shunned by his loved ones for playing the game the 'wrong' way.

Close Every Door from Joseph - L5bur sitting in his cell and not caring anymore about what Phil plans to do to him. If he rots in there like he's supposed to then who cares.

The Plagues from The Prince of Egypt - With Wilbur and Tommy stuck on the L'Manburgian side of the war while Phil and Techno are leading the offensive against them, none of the brothers want to be pitted against each other or made into enemies. Meanwhile, Phil is willing to overlook the fact they all share blood to get what he wants (the revolutionary war over).

Welly Boots by The Amazing Devil - F4 crimeboys where Wilbur is proud of Tommy from afar and believes he will do good work, so long as he keeps his wits about him during this dangerous time. Meanwhile, Tommy wishes his brother had never had to leave and looks to his memory when he doesn't know what to do.

Every Day a Little Death from the Count of Monte Cristo - Wilbur when he is imprisoned, awaiting execution and missing his loved ones, especially Sally whom he knows he'll never be able to interact with again until she dies herself. This is paired with Eret visiting Sally to tell her about Wilbur's capture, only for her to initially tell him about the pregnancy and how she's anxious to announce the news to Wilbur.

[anotherhumaninthisworld]

Letters from Robespierre’s father

Monsieur, All the hearts taking their flight towards the sky, are resounding the aors of their plaintive accents; they pray, they conjure, they demand again with loud cries the worthy object of their love which they believe they have already delighted, so much do they fear losing it: ours are the only ones whose voices we do not hear; would they indeed be as mute and as motionless as they appear? No, mine answers for all; all at this moment breathe through it. I don't know what has kept their movements secret until now, and they have undoubtedly prevented, in spite of themselves, from showing outside the fires of love which consume them within. Several times, I have seen it, we have come together to deliberate on certain matters which do not deserve our attention: deciding nothing then, is what we could have done best: only once when it is a question of giving the King a pure, solemn, and indispensable pledge of our attachment to the royal family, shall we fear that it might be said that we have assembled? Lawyers, this title honors us; subjects of France, is a quality a thousand times more glorious for us; it is only by fulfilling it as the most glorious of our duties, in a noble and uncommon manner, that we will truly prove the nobility of our profession and that we will maintain under the asylum of the throne freedom and independence. I expect, Monsieur, from your feelings, the justice due to mine. I have the honor to be with the deepest respect Monsieur,  Your most humble and obedient servant Derobespierre (sic), Lawyer Arras December 9th 1765 Maximilien in a letter to Maximilien Baudelot, in which he’s trying to get the lawyers of Arras to come together and publicy plead for the betterment of the the dauphin, who died eleven days after the letter was penned down. Cited in Annales historiques de la Révolution française, number 92 (1939) page 169-170

I, the undersigned, lawyer at the Provincial Council of Artois, renounce, for the benefit of my sisters, my rights and shares in the movable and immovable estates of my mother, acknowledging that I have received from said mother beyond the share that I could claim, both for me and for my children. Written at Arras, the thirtieth day of October, 1768 (Signed): DEROBESPIERRE Maximilien resigns from any inheritance whatsoever from his mother Marie de Robespierre (widowed since 1762). The letter is from the same year he departs from Arras and goes abroad. Cited in La famille de Robespierre et ses origines. Documents inédits sur le séjour des Robespierre à Vaudricourt, Béthune, Harnes, Hénin-Liétard, Carvin et Arras. (1452-1790) (1914) by A. Lavoine.

I, the undersigned, lawyer at the Provincial Council of Artois, hereby renounce for the benefit of my sisters all rights and shares in the movable and immovable estates of my late mother, acknowledging that I have received from said mother beyond the share that I could claim, both for me and for my children. Written at Mannheim, June 8, 1770 Maximilien confirms his resignation from the inheritance of his mother (died May 17 1770). Cited in Ibid.

Before the undersigned royal notaries of Artois appeared M. Maximilien-Barthélemy-François de Robespierre, lawyer at the Superior Council of Arras, residing in said Arras. Who recognized that, by an act made under his private signature, in the city ​​of Mannheim, on the eighth day of June 1770, he declared that he renounced the movable and immovable successions of lady Marie-Marguerite-Françoise Poiteau, his mother, at the time of her death widow of M. Maximilien de Robespierre, lawyer at the Council of Artois. But, having since considered that this renunciation could not have its effect, considering that at that time, he did not have full and complete knowledge of the forces of said succession and that, since his return to this town, three months ago, he has taken perfect knowledge of said estates by inspecting the letters and papers abandoned by said mother, which Marie-Marguerite-Alexandrine-Eléonore-Eulalie and Amable-Aldegonde-Henriette de Robespierre, his sisters, represented and entrusted to him. This is why said sieur appearing has, hereby, declared to renounce said successions and to claim nothing hereunder, giving power to the bearer of the bulk hereof to reiterate where and to whom it will belong. And just now said ladies Marie-Marguerite-Alexandre-Eléonore-Eulalie and Aimable-Aldegonde-Henriette de Robespierre have appered; these have recognized that said sieur de Robespierre, their brother, has given them the titles and papers mentioned herein. Passed in Arras, the third of October, 1771. (Signed): de ROBESPIERRE; de ROBESPIERRE, the older; de ROBESPIERRE, the younger, (and as notaries): MERCHIER, HUSSON. Maximilien affirms he doesn’t want any of his mother’s inheritance yet again while on a stay in Arras. Cited in Ibid.

[agentrouka-blog]

In twoiaf it's said that Andal knights were to be hosted by Dywen Shell and Jon Brightstone, two men who jointly declared themselves as king of the Fingers. Each one of the two wanted to use the invading Andal knights as mercenaries against the other in order to ensure elimination of the competitor and take the solitary title of King of Fingers. Apparently the Andal knights who were paid by these kings to cross the Narrow sea to be enlisted in one of these king's ranks turned against both of these kings. Amongst these Andal Knights, there was a man named Corwyn Corbray who ended up taking Dywen Shell's daughter as a wife and Jon Brightstone's wife as a concubine after both these kings were killed. After the death of the two kings and taking the daughter of one and wife of other as spoils of war, he took the Fingers but instead of styling himself as King, he called himself a Lord.

In ASOIAF, Lyn wanted to marry Lysa, a certain Jon's widow to get lands. I don't think it's much of a stretch to think that he might be interested in Sansa who is now parading as certain daughter of Lord of the Fingers. He might even know who Sansa is. Besides, his ancestor turned against the man who used to pay him. Lyn is going to create huge problems in TWOW.

Anon! What a great find! I love it!

The same guy also mirrors Littlefinger, who helped himself to Jon's wife and likely wants to marry another guy's daughter, both men he directly betrayed and caused to be killed. Now he's "Lord Protector".

But Lyn Corbray works the same way, since he wanted the same things, as you say. Jon's wife and now perhaps Littlefinger's "daughter" Sansa. He is essentially a glorified sellsword in Littlefinger's service, according to him, and may very well turn on him in an unexpected way.

[lol-jackles]

Waiting for your review of the Jensen-directed Walker episode! I thought it was very well directed even though it focused a beat too long on the easter eggs i.e. bacon, green cooler, and Jensen's cameo in the background when Stella threw away the trash. But it was fun for SPN fans so why not!

The Walkers are given an episode to breathe and take stock of themselves after losing their ancestral home but gaining a stronger family unit.  At the start of the season Bonham was contemplating selling the ranch because neither his sons nor grandchildren shown any interest in taking over it, and Stella wanted to get away from "the cursed ranch" by going to college in Maine.  You don't know what you have until you lose it.  Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I've always thought Stella will be the one to take over the ranch and continue the family legacy even before they cast a red-head actress to play the founding ancestor in Walker Independence.

Nearly all the characters gathered in a community fair, a sort of neutral ground to temporarily forget their current troubles but couldn't delay the inevitable fallouts.  Cassie recruits Cordell to convince her old boss, Captain Cole Fenton, to de-classify Miles' case so she could continue to investigate, find Miles, and bring him home alive.  Fenton is wise to Cordell's goal and is about to walk away and perhaps punish him with permanent desk duties until Cordell brings up Miles' "widow" who is also Cole's current girlfriend.  Cordell points out Fenton didn’t need to rush the presume death order if he and the widow were already together.  Cole said he did it in order for the widow to receive life insurance money to pay for her mortgage and care for their child, or else it would take 7 years due to absence of a body.  This infuriates Cassie who immediately accuses the widow of wanting money rather than to find her missing husband.

The Walkers, Geri, and Cassie are using the same method of dealing with their worldview-shattering situations: by only subscribing to their own personal narrative and shutting others out.  For the former it leads to the break up of Cordi and Geri; the Walkers are hurting and didn't have time or emotional resources to rally support for Geri, and Geri has a very human desire to get to know her birth mother and didn't have time or emotional resources to rally support for the Walkers.  It's legit angst on both sides and better in the long run for both parties to be "on a break" (which makes Cordell a free man to flirt with Twyla in future episodes).  For Cassie it led her to abandon Mile's "widow", whom Cassie considers family, in her time of need and forces her to ask Fenton to legally declare her husband dead so that she can continue caring for their daughter with the life insurance money.  The only person who didn't abandon the widow was Fenton so it's understandable why she moved on with her life with him. 

Like Cordell in the first season, Cassie is given a false resolution to her partner's disappearance so that she can move forward to the present.  The last scene shows Fenton visiting a mysterious figure living in a trailer with "we need to talk", leaving the viewers to assume the mysterious figure is Miles.  So Miles is either in deep undercover, or he's in deep trouble and has to fake his own death.  I'm leaning to the latter as it wouldn't make sense to shut out Cassie if Miles is undercover.

My score: 8.0 out of 10.  It's a solid episode that moves Cordell past Geri, and Cassie past Miles.  I enjoyed the SPN reference and I didn’t expect to enjoy Kansas’ Wayward Son song as much as I did.   Plus it was good to see the Walkers and Trey enjoying themselves.  1 point deduction for unresolved mysteries and another 1 point deduction for the Walkers not getting their ancestral land back.  I know I know, character angst and development and all that, and normally I'm all for it, but the Davidsons have gotten away with too much bullshit with no apparent fall out.  Yeah I understand it's a drawn out backdoor pilot into Walker: Independence aka the Davidson villain origin story and if this is the only season of the Davidson then I'll retroactively rate this episode higher.

[whimsicallyenchantedrose]

Dead Man’s Cell Phone--Chapter 4

Summary: When Emma Swan starts getting phone calls and texts from an unfamiliar number, she decides to check it out–only to discover the number belongs to a Killian Jones, who was killed in a robbery gone wrong six months ago.  With some help from a medium, Merlin Emrys, Emma hopes to find out why a dead guy is contacting her–and why she feels such a strong pull to someone she has never met before.

Rating: K+​

Welcome to my entry for the Captain Swan Supernatural Summer! A big thank you to @cssns​​​, the ladies on the Discord!  Thank you also to @eastwesthomeisbest​​​, my artist and my beta @veryverynotgood​​!

Other Chapters: Prologue 1 2 3 Epilogue 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Killian felt as though he were swimming up from the bottom of the ocean.  Everything was dark and still, the sounds around him muffled, as though he were hearing them through the water. And then suddenly the water cleared and he pushed through the surface.

 The first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was her face, her beautiful radiant face looking down on him with hope and perhaps a bit of trepidation.

 "Swan, at last!" he whispered past a throat as dry as sandpaper.

 How he knew her name he had no idea, but know it he did, just as he had the strangest feeling he knew her--had communicated with her, had a connection with her.

 Given the standoffish way she'd treated their one previous encounter, he expected her to pull away, to become defensive at his familiar use of her name, but she surprised him.  Instead of shying away, she smiled at him, let her hand linger on his cheek a moment longer and simply said, "Welcome back."

 A nurse came in at that moment, and Killian looked around in surprise.  For the first time, he realized he was in a hospital.

 "What--" he croaked before taking a sip of water the nurse brought him. "What happened?"

 "We were rather hoping you could tell us that," replied a handsome black man who stood at a discreet distance.

 "Killian, I'd like you to meet Merlin Emrys,"  Emma said. "It's thanks to him we were able to find you."

 Killian held out his hand, and shook Merlin's.  "You have my thanks."

 "You're most welcome," Merlin said with a smile, "but I assure you I was only a small part of the puzzle.  You owe your waking to Miss Swan here--to her and to the connection you share."

 It was odd, Killian thought, that neither he nor Emma had introduced themselves to each other; it was even more odd that it felt as though such an introduction would be redundant.  What had happened to them to make them feel as though they'd known each other for decades?

 Soulmates, a small voice inside of him insisted.

 "You have my deepest gratitude," Killian said, looking around at the two people with him, "both of you."

 Emma took his hand, squeezing it gently.  "Do you remember anything about...whatever it was that brought you here?"

 Killian thought intently for a moment, closing his eyes to help himself concentrate.   "I remember…" He looked up at Emma. "I remember you, love.  I remember running into you, quite literally, and then I came across a scuffle in an alley.  I tried to intervene and was struck from behind, and then...nothing."

 "Killian," Emma said gently, "that was half a year ago.  You were declared dead, and your family interred you in the family mausoleum.  Do you know how that could have happened?"

 Killian shook his head.  "I have no idea, love.  It is a mystery--"

 Suddenly the flower vase on the bedside table crashed to the floor, making Killian jump.

"What the hell?!" Emma exclaimed.

It was me!

Killian jumped in the bed.  He’d heard the voice as clearly as he’d heard Emma’s exclamation, but the voice wasn’t in the room; it was in his head.

“Did you….did you hear that?” he asked, eyebrows raised nearly to his hairline.

“Yeah, I think so,” she said.  She looked as disconcerted as he felt.  “Merlin?  What’s happening?”

Killian turned to look at the other man in the room, but he wasn’t paying them any mind.  His attention was focused near the nightstand and the shattered vase.  For a moment, he merely stared intently, and then he nodded, as though acknowledging someone--or something--neither Killian nor Emma could see.

“Emma,” Merlin said, finally turning back toward the bed, “do you remember when you first came to me, I sensed another spirit with us?  An angry and quite desperate one?”

Emma furrowed her brows.  “Um...yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?”

“He’s with us now,” Merlin said.  “He’s the voice you heard, and he’s responsible for the broken vase.”

“Okay…”

“Killian,” Merlin said, “his name is Arthur.  Arthur Pendragon.  He says he made a terrible decision.  He borrowed a good deal of money from the mobster known as Hades.  The business venture he’d gambled the money on fell through, and to put it mildly, Hades was not pleased.”

“Clearly things went rather badly for him after that if he’s a ghost,” Killian said slowly, “but I’m afraid I don’t follow.  What does this Arthur Pendragon have to do with any of us?”

It was me!!

This time the shout in his head was so loud it was nearly deafening.  Killian scowled, glaring in the general direction of the nightstand where he assumed the spirit was standing--or whatever it is that spirits do when they’re haunting the living.

“Seems like someone’s impatient,” Emma said dryly.  “Merlin, how about you stop with the vagueness and just spit it out.  Who is -or I guess who was- Arthur, and why does he insist on yelling at us?”

“Arthur Pendragon is haunting you both because he was the man in the alley, the man you tried to save, Killian.”

Killian blew out a long breath.  “Clearly my attempts were fruitless.”

Merlin shook his head.  “No, you weren’t able to save his life, but he’s here for a reason.  Maybe you can help him now, help him move on, help him find peace.”

“If there’s anything I can do to help, I’m at his disposal,” Killian said, “but why the bloody hell does he keep repeating ‘it was me’?”

Merlin turned toward the nightstand and listened for another moment, and then he turned back to the bed, smiling.

“It would seem Arthur Pendragon is the solution to the mystery you face,” Merlin said. “It was Arthur’s body the authorities found in the alley.  Your phone, Killian, was found beside him.  Given the fact that he was beaten until he was unrecognizable, and given the fact that he bore a rather uncanny resemblance to you in life, it was believed he was you.  It was his body that was shipped back to England.”

Emma whistled.  “That’s quite the mistake.”

“Indeed,” Merlin agreed.

“So, how can we help him?” Killian asked.  “How can we move him toward the light?”

“Arthur wishes his body to be returned back home,” Merlin said, “and he wishes a message be conveyed to his widow, Guinevere.”

“I can manage that,” Killian said.  “What precisely is the message?”

“Arthur wishes to tell Gwen, as he calls her, that he’s sorry,” Merlin said.  “He knows his obsession wounded his wife deeply, and he wishes more than anything that he’d been a better husband to her.  He wants to thank her for her constant love and faithfulness, even when he was not worthy of it, but now she should follow her heart with his blessing.  Lance du Lac is a good man, and Arthur hopes they are happy together.”

“I promise you, Arthur,” Emma said, taking Killian’s hand, “I’ll find your wife, and I’ll pass on your message.”

Killian felt a whoosh of coldness pass him, and then it was gone.  Suddenly the room felt warmer, lighter.  

Emptier.

“He’s moved on,” Merlin said.  “Thanks to the both of you, a man who was very troubled--both in life and in death--was able to find peace.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

3 days later

Emma knocked softly on the doorframe, and then stepped inside Killian’s hospital room.  He looked up from his seat in the plush chair in the corner, and his entire face lit up at the sight of her.

It made the butterflies dance in her stomach.  He was gorgeous when he smiled like that, and she had to admit, the dark-wash jeans, blue button-up and black leather jacket didn’t hurt either.  Lying in the bed in a hospital gown he was easy on the eyes, but up and dressed--woah!

His delighted grin turned knowing, and Emma felt her face flame.  She was quite sure she hadn’t been this ridiculously attracted to someone since...well, she wasn’t sure it’d ever been like this.

“Looks like someone’s eager to get out of the hospital,” Emma said.

“Aye,” Killian agreed with a nod.  “I believe I’ve spent more than enough time in this small room.  I’m eager to make the most of my last day in the States.”

After waking from the coma and learning the truth of what happened to him, Killian had made an immediate call to his brother, Liam, paying no mind to the time difference that made it the middle of the night in England.

“Brother?” Killian said as soon as the call connected.  “Are you sitting down?”

Emma had gotten up to leave then, not wanting to intrude on a private family moment, but Killian stopped her, squeezing her hand and begging her with his expressive eyes to stay.

Liam had offered to jump on the next plane to the States, but Killian had refused.  “It’s been six months, Liam,” he’d said.  “If my calculations are correct, my small niece or nephew is to be born any day.  Elsa needs you now more than I do.”

Killian listened for a moment before grinning at Emma and rolling his eyes.  “Stop fussing, Liam,” he murmured affectionately.  “I’m not a lad anymore.  I can manage alone.”

“You won’t be alone,” Emma said with conviction.  “I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

And she had.  She’d spent every free moment here with him at the hospital over the ensuing three days until the doctor had agreed to release him.  Emma had long since stopped wondering about the connection she felt to Killian, had stopped fighting against the pull she felt toward him.  Whatever odd twist of fate had brought the two of them together, together they were, and  Emma found she had no desire to fight against the warmth and happiness being with him brought.

But now, well now, it was all about to come to an end.  Killian’s flight was first thing in the morning, and afterward, there would be an entire ocean between them.

Emma’s heart plummeted.  There were far too many obstacles for a “relationship”--or whatever you’d call what they had--that had lasted all of a week. She didn’t even know if he felt the same way about her that she did about him.  In less than twenty-four hours, she’d have to say goodbye to the man who had somehow managed to burrow his way into her heart, and for all she knew that goodbye would be permanent.

“The doctor should be here any minute for a last check, and then you’re out of here,” Emma said, forcing the dismal thoughts from her mind.  Killian being released from the hospital was a good thing.  She wasn’t going to ruin the moment by being glum.

“I must admit, I’ll be pleased to be rid of this place,” Killian said with a wry grin.  “How the devil is one expected to convalesce and get his rest when the nurses come to poke and prod every five minutes?”

Emma laughed.  “Quit complaining,” she said. “You know you had all the nurses eating out of the palm of your hand.”

“They seem to have adopted me as their pet over the past few months, haven’t they? Even if the brigands who attacked me rather knocked the handsome out of me.”

Emma grinned.  “No one’s that powerful.”

He enjoyed her flirting, if his pleased grin was any indication.  After a moment, he sobered.  “I want to thank you, Swan, for saving me, pulling me from the coma.”

She smiled gently.  “Did you really think I’d let you waste away in here if I could help it?”

“I’d hardly blame you if you did,” he answered.  “After all, we were strangers.  Not one person in a hundred who received a phone call from a dead man would put in half the effort you did to track it down.”

Emma shrugged.  “It was weird.  I had the strangest feeling of connection to you, even though as far as I knew at the time, I’d never even seen you before.  No way I could have just let you languish here.”

The doctor came in at that moment, and their conversation was put on hold as he did his final examination before declaring Killian fit to go about his normal life.

“So, I went ahead and booked you a room at Granny’s Bed and Breakfast,” Emma said when they were once again at home.  “Granny put you in the same room you’d been in during your vacation, before, you know, everything happened.”

“I greatly appreciate it, love.”

“I guess, um,” she said, “we should go.  I’ll drop you off and let you enjoy your last day in Storybrooke however you’d like.”

Emma turned to leave the room, but Killian stopped her with a hand to her arm.  “Do you know how I’d most like to spend my last day in the States?”

She shook her head.

“I’d like to spend it with you,” he said with a gentle smile.  “Would you allow me to buy you lunch?”

Her heart pounded.  “Are you...are you asking me out?”

He nodded, taking her hand and lacing their fingers.  “If you’re amenable, aye, I’m absolutely asking you out.  What do you say?”

Emma stepped into his space, cupped the back of his head with her free hand, and brought his lips down to hers.  If he was surprised at the kiss, he didn’t show it, responding as soon as her lips touched his.

And gods did he know how to kiss.  Emma was more than tempted to scrap their lunch date and simply stay here making out all day.  Food was overrated compared to this.

“Alright, Mr. Jones, you’re good to--oh, I’m sorry!  Let me just leave this with you--” 

Emma pulled away, grinning as the embarrassed nurse laid a handful of forms on the bedside table and then scurried out the door.

“That was a yes, by the way,” Emma said when they were again alone.  “How about we go get that lunch you promised me before we scandalize any more nurses?”

 Notes:

--Well there you have it!  Mystery solved and happy endings all around.

--All that’s left is a fluffy epilogue in which a few surprise guests show up at an important event in Emma and Killian’s lives.

                                                                                 Next Chapter-->

[besanii]

For the anon thing, I started following Shattered Mirrors before I even had a Tumblr. I just kept the masterpost open and refreshed on a daily basis. I still keep it open in one of my tabs and check it periodically to make sure I didn't miss anything accidentally. I love pretty much all of your writing, but Shattered Mirrors has a special place in my heart.

Hi nonny! Thank you for your kind words :)))  Have some more SM!!

Shattered Mirrors 70

[directly precedes #26]

In the end, it is Nie Mingjue who lands the killing blow, taking off Wen Ruohan’s head with a swing of his mighty sabre. Lan Wangji watches it happen from only metres away, fending off the Qishan soldiers charging their way up the grand staircase towards the Nightless City stronghold and their king. He doesn’t register it at first, not until he looks down to see the head of Qishan’s monarch at his feet, dark eyes staring lifelessly up at him, mouth still twisted in a snarl.

It is strange, he thinks numbly as weapons clatter to the ground around him, that the once-fearsome ruler of Qishan who had been the cause of decades of grief for Gusu and its allies is now reduced to little more than a bloodied corpse separated from its head.

“You alright, Er-dianxia?” Nie Mingjue asks gruffly, shaking off the worst of the blood from his blade with a flick of his wrist before wiping it on the corpse of a Qishan soldier. “Not much to look at, is he? Still, I’d say it’s an improvement.”

“Wangji congratulates Qinghe-wang on his victory,” Lan Wangji says, bowing to Nie Mingjue as he approaches. “Wangji has heard many stories of Qinghe-wang’s prowess in battle. It is an honour to be able to witness it in person.”

Nie Mingjue waves him off with a snort. “Gusu-er-dianxia is too generous with his words. It is I who must thank Gusu for the chance to take this dog’s head from his body.”

With Wen Ruohan and both his sons dead, the Sunshot War is officially declared over, and all fighting ceases on the front lines as soon as the news spreads. The majority of the surviving troops gradually begin the journey home, but some remain behind, tasked with overseeing the dismantling of war camps, processing prisoners of war, as well as rebuilding the villages and towns affected by the fighting.

Lan Wangji is immediately recalled to Gusu on Lan Xichen’s orders. Despite his desire to help, he knows he cannot defy Imperial orders again, so he has Lan Guoyan stay behind in his place, packs his bags and sets off for the capital. Everywhere they pass on their way back to Caiyi bears the marks of war—villages burnt, orphans and widows on the streets, injured soldiers in makeshift hospitals, once-fruitful and lush fields scorched and blackened beyond recognition. It will take many years of careful management to set things right again; in the meantime, the best they can do is to clean up wherever they can and provide the support and supplies their people desperately need.

He rides for the palace as soon as they enter the city.

Ordinarily, customs dictate that returning officials and soldiers must bathe and make themselves presentable before appearing before the Emperor as a sign of respect, but Lan Wangji knows it will make no difference now whether he carries the dust and grime of the road on him or not. He dismounts hastily at the gates to the Imperial Palace, where Eunuch Yang is already waiting.

“This servant greets Er-dianxia,” he says with a low bow. Lan Wangji nods.

“Yang-zongguan.” He hands off the reins of his horse to one of the soldiers who had followed him here. “I am here to see my brother.”

“Yes, Er-dianxia,” Eunuch Yang says, holding out an arm in the direction of the main hall. “Taizi-dianxia has tasked this servant with bringing Er-dianxia to the Great Hall immediately upon his arrival.”

The Great Hall.

Lan Wangji takes a deep, calming breath.

“Then I must trouble Yang-zongguan,” he says with a curt nod.

It is almost midday by now, which means the court’s morning session should have ended a while ago—but when they arrive at the Great Hall and Lan Wangji’s presence is announced, the entire court turns their heads to look at him. Lan Xichen stands below the throne, one arm tucked behind his back and a calm, neutral expression on his face as Lan Wangji strides down the aisle dividing the civil officials from the military. Not a sound escapes their lips, but he feels their eyes on him, their censure and disapproval burning into the dirt-stained cape trailing behind him.

He sinks to his knees before the dais, and touches his forehead and hands to the floor.

“Greetings Taizi-dianxia,” he says, voice loud and clear in the hall despite the words being directed to the floor. “I ask forgiveness for not having time to make myself presentable to Taizi-dianxia before coming here today.”

Lan Xichen inclines his head in acknowledgment, but his expression does not soften.

“Huangdi is welcome back to court,” he says. “You are to be commended for your part in the war, and in the execution of the tyrant Wen Ruohan. For this, Huangshang has bestowed upon you the title Hanguang-wang. You are granted Hanguang Manor as your permanent residence, effective immediately.”

Lan Wangji exhales. The message is clear—as a prince who has come of age, Lan Wangji is no longer permitted to live within the Imperial Palace; instead, he is granted a title and a residence in the city, and is only permitted to visit the palace on official business, or when summoned. His brother, as the Crown Prince, had moved out of the Inner Palace and into the Eastern Palace when he too had come of age. Lan Wangji keeps his head lowered to the ground.

“Er-chen thanks Huangshang for his generosity,” he says. After a pause, he continues. “There is one further issue for which I must ask Huangshang and Taizi-dianxia for their forgiveness.”

A tense, pregnant pause follows. This, Lan Wangji knows, is the real reason why the court has been kept back long after the morning session has ended, the reason why he has not been permitted to rise to his feet.

“What offence has been committed that Hanguang-wang must ask for forgiveness?” Lan Xichen asks, keeping his voice carefully devoid of any tell-tale inflection.

“Replying to Taizi-dianxia,” Lan Wangji says. “While stationed at the camp in Jiangling, a messenger arrived from Yunmeng seeking aid. Even knowing there were many things suspect about both message and messenger, I abandoned my post to travel to Yunmeng without first seeking permission.”

Murmurs break out amongst the officials at his declaration. As a soldier, abandoning your post during war is an act of desertion, punishable by death. For Lan Wangji to have committed such an offence, as the commander of the Jiangling front and a member of the Imperial Family, even if he escapes execution, punishment is inevitable. All eyes shift towards Lan Xichen, still as a statue above them, looking down impassively on his younger brother prostrate before him.

“That is indeed a grave offence,” he says. “An offence punishable by death. Do you acknowledge this?”

“Yes, Taizi-dianxia.” He ignores the collective intake of breath around him. “I accept whatever punishment Huangshang and Taizi-dianxia see fit.”

“Taizi-dianxia!” A voice rings out in the hall and there’s a flurry of activity as the ranks of the military officials part to allow one of their own to kneel behind Lan Wangji in the aisle. “Hanguang-wang has indeed committed a grave offence, but this lowly official dares beg Taizi-dianxia to take into account the many great deeds Hanguang-wang has accomplished in the war against Qishan, and spare him from execution!”

And then, as though his words had broken a dam, the officials in the hall—both civil and military alike—fall to their knees and prostrate themselves before Lan Xichen.

“We beg Taizi-dianxia show mercy!”

Lan Wangji raises his head enough to meet Lan Xichen’s eyes briefly, before lowering his gaze again. “Taizi-dianxia, wrongdoings must be punished. If the Son of Heaven breaks the law, he is just as guilty as the common folk. What example would I set the people of Gusu if I shirk the consequences of my actions?”

Through all of this, Lan Xichen remains quietly listening and observing each of them in turn. He holds up a hand for silence; a hush falls over the court as they await his ruling.

“You have all made valid points,” he says, nodding his head slowly as he considers their arguments. His face gives nothing away. “Such a grave offence cannot be overlooked, of course, and due punishment must be dealt. However—” He raises his voice when it looks like the officials may protest, “—what Lin-jiangjun says is not without merit. Without Hanguang-wang’s efforts, victory against Qishan would not have been possible. With this in mind, Hanguang-wang shall be sentenced to thirty-three strikes with the disciplinary whip.”

Lan Wangji sinks to the floor, an odd calm falling over him. A public whipping is one of the lighter punishments for the crime of desertion, but a harsh one nonetheless. No one watching would think he had gotten off lightly because of his status as an Imperial Prince, especially not when it must be endured publicly. He thinks of the message still tucked away inside his robes, of the length of red ribbon resting over his heart, of the massacre left behind in Lotus Pier, and knows in his heart that he would do it all again.

“Wangji gives thanks to Huangshang and Taizi-dianxia for their benevolence.”

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Notes:

Huangdi (皇弟) - Imperial Younger Brother, opposite of Huangxiong (皇兄)

Er-chen (儿臣) - Son and Subject, used by princes to refer to themselves when talking to the Emperor - in this case, LWJ is thanking his father in absentia (because LXC is representing the Emperor as Regent, thus his decisions are considered on behalf of the Emperor).

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master post is here: besanii.tumblr.com/shattered-mirrors-master-post

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buy me a ko-fi: ko-fi.com/besanii

[blackjack-15]

Ziplines, Blood Ties, and Colonavirus — Thoughts on: The Silent Spy (SPY)

Previous Metas: SCK/SCK2, STFD, MHM, TRT, FIN, SSH, DOG, CAR, DDI, SHA, CUR, CLK, TRN, DAN, CRE, ICE, CRY, VEN, HAU, RAN, WAC, TOT, SAW, CAP, ASH, TMB, DED, GTH

Hello and welcome to a Nancy Drew meta series! 30 metas, 30 Nancy Drew Games that I’m comfortable with doing meta about. Hot takes, cold takes, and just Takes will abound, but one thing’s for sure: they’ll all be longer than I mean them to be.

Each meta will have different distinct sections: an Introduction, an exploration of the Title, an explanation of the Mystery, a run-through of the Suspects. Then, I’ll tackle some of my favorite and least favorite things about the game, and finish it off with ideas on how to improve it.

If any game requires an extra section or two, they’ll be listed in the paragraph above, along with my list of previous metas.

These metas are not spoiler free, though I’ll list any games/media that they might spoil here: SPY; mentions of the “Nancy Games” (ASH-SPY); SAW; mention of National Treasure (2004).

The Intro:

It’s our penultimate meta, and this time, it’s personal.

In every way, The Silent Spy is the culmination of the Nancy Games. Ever since her trip back home in ASH, Nancy has been increasingly featured in the games, showing us more of her personality, her life, and her backstory — all in an effort to lead up to this story, where we actually delve into Nancy’s place in the world and what it means that she lives in it.

And the answer to that is a lot less wholly idealistic than the franchise would have given 20+ games ago.

I don’t mean to say that SPY is a cynical game — it’s honestly fairly neutral, edging on positive — but that SPY accepts the fundamental truth that all of the Nancy games have been leading up to: that Nancy, though talented, hardworking, and connected, is simply another fish when it comes to the sea of life. She’s not unique in any way that really matters – look at her foils in Alexei, in Jamila, in Deirdre, in Jessalyn — and yet she continues to work hard, to solve puzzles, and to right old wrongs.

At least for me, this is a hopeful message. The point of “Nancy Drew, Girl Detective” is not that no one could do what she does, it’s not that she’s the best, most experienced sleuth in the world, and it’s not that she’s the Last, Best Hope of those who call upon her for aid. The point behind her character is that she’s a relatively normal (if wealthy) girl who does what she can, and chooses to do it again and again.

There’s a wonderful part in the equally wonderful movie National Treasure when our heroes are reading a part of the Declaration — the part talking about the right of the citizens to throw off a despotic government like the British had become — and Ben (Nicholas Cage, actually in a good movie for once!) defines it in modern speech:

“If there’s something wrong, those who have the ability to take action have the responsibility to take action.”

In the beginning of the Nancy Drew games series, Nancy is merely an intuitive puzzle solver. She gets her cases through family connections, turns up at places where mysteries happen to occur, etc. etc. As time goes on and she practices, she eventually comes to the point where she’s being hired for bigger and bigger cases, more and more regularly — in short, she starts to live the truth of that quote. Nancy is, at her core, someone with the ability to take action against things that are Wrong. Throughout this series — and most especially, throughout the “Nancy” games (ASH-SPY), she becomes someone who recognizes her responsibility to take action.

And that’s what’s showcased here in SPY. Upon arriving and learning that she’s been led to Glasgow under false circumstances, Nancy is immediately and wholly over her head — but she’s still someone who has the ability to take action to right a wrong. When she’s working against Revenant, warning the scientist, or reading through secret memo after secret memo, she’s not doing it with the intent to Save the World; she’s finishing Kate Drew’s last task. Her loyalty isn’t to Glasgow, to Cathedral, to MI5, or any other player in this story — her loyalty is to her mother, and to the task Kate Drew died while trying to finish.

Which is, in my view, the best possible motivation in a game that’s all about family.

With that discussion behind us, I want to talk a little bit here about the other theme of this game — power. Revenant, as the terrorist group that they are, want to seize power; their goal is to run Glasgow (branching off from there into a wider sphere, of course) through seizing power during a (self-induced) state of emergency — aka, what’s referred to in-game as the Colony operation.

This is, of course, Politics 101 — whip people up into a frenzy, come in promising to Save Everyone, and entrench yourself in power that you can’t be moved from with any amount of ease. And while Revenant planned it for 2005, it would work even better in 2013, when social media and instant, 24-hour news cycles can keep the fear alive far more effectively than Revenant would have hoped for nearly a decade prior.

Both in 2005 and 2013, Revenant nearly succeeds, only to be foiled by a red-head out of her depth but who tries anyway (the difference between the two, of course, is that Kate was isolated and Nancy had backup). The most startling thing — and one of my favorite things about this game – is that it doesn’t end with Nancy ‘killing’ Revenant once and for all, or even stopping the Colony Operation once and for all. Nancy is, in every way, out of her depth here; she’s not used by either side as an agent, or even as an asset — she is, as Zoe reminds her, a tool, valuable for what she might know, not for her skills, not for who she is, or what she works for.

As the games from TOT on have worked hard to expand Nancy’s world and tie it together, SPY shows the benefit of having a wide-open world: that the world goes on, people live and die, and secretive organizations (ATAC, Revenant, Cathedral, MI5…) plot and scheme to remake the world in their image.

This, in my view, is also a great thing. The thing that Nancy Drew books (and a lot of the early games) get wrong is that Nancy fixes (or is party to fixing) all of the problems introduced. The piano-playing girl that Nancy meets ends up with a Grandmaster as a teacher; the inheritance goes to the Worthy Widow and Her Daughter; Nancy rescues her tied-up father AND solves his case for his client all in one brilliant masterstroke.

That’s not to say that every story should have all of its threads dangling by the end, but Nancy is simply a smart and resourceful girl, working (most of the time) with her own relatively meager resources. She shouldn’t be the answer to the world’s problems, and I think it’s lovely that, especially in the Nancy games, she really isn’t. Nancy is a helper, and that’s far more valuable than being an omniscient, all-powerful being who can magically fix everyone’s problems just by being there.

The last thing I want to talk about in this introduction is how good SPY is for Nancy’s own personal lore. There’s a lot of fuss every time SPY is brought up about how “Nancy’s mom actually died when she was three!!” which, honestly, tells me that the 60s re-writes (which, yes, if you’re pedantic, started in ’59) did more damage than I had previously thought.

The original Nancy Drew books were written in the 30s by various ghostwriters, and were a little different from the yellow-bound 60s rewrites that most people consider the “old Nancy Drew books”. 30s Nancy Drew was a little closer to our games-universe Nancy; brash, outspoken, punishingly independent, and incredibly capable. She’s also a bit violent and unruly, has graduated from school at 16, lost her mother at 10, and does as she pleases with the occasional call home to reassure Carson or (more often) to ask a question about the law.

Sadly, other than taking out a few racial and societal overtones that weren’t really acceptable after 30 years — mostly by taking out any non-white characters and including different forms of bias, note — the yellow rewrites weren’t an improvement to the stories or to Nancy’s character. Nancy becomes less bold, less independent, and far more focused on describing each meal in punishing amounts of detail. The words “kindly” and “sweetly” were increasingly added after “Nancy said”, she’s far more deferential to authority, and her mother instead passes when Nancy is 3, rather than 10.

In changing the form of the media to video games, rather than books, what would eventually become HER had a choice; they could align themselves with the newest Nancy Drew books — the Nancy Drew Files and Nancy Drew on Campus, both of which were known for being Hotter and Sexier (and, in the case of Campus, ridiculously stupid) — or choose what people called “the classics” — the yellow-spine 60s rewrites, as the once-famous blue books had been all but forgotten in the 90s. In the first (and still one of the last, honestly) brilliant move of the series, HER chose to mix and match the things that made for good game fodder from (nearly, given how much the Campus books suck) every written incarnation of Nancy.

And, to their credit, they chose an important fact from the 30s: Nancy’s mother died when she was 10, not when she was 3.

Losing a parent is a defining moment no matter when it happens, but the exact effect often changes based on (among other things) the age of the child. In order for Nancy to be the kind of person who is influenced by the mystery of her mother’s death, her mother had to have died when Nancy could remember — thus, 3 is right out, as Nancy might remember tiny bits and pieces of the events leading up to and right after, but nothing else.

By taking bits and pieces of contrasting (and often contradictory) lore and making their own out of it, HER (and I’m hat-tipping Cathy and Nik especially here, given Nancy’s characterization spike beginning around WAC/TOT) gives us a version of Nancy that’s similar to the sleuth we know and love from the books and movies (ignoring the 2007 disaster) and, occasionally, TV shows, while still keeping her mostly consistent and showing us a few new flashes that make this character stand out and win her place in the Drewniverse.

Now, with all of that said, let’s move on to this game in specific, shall we?

The Title:

The Silent Spy, as a title, is one that is wonderfully mysterious and really makes you want to know more — right up until the title drop within the game itself, at which point it shifts from quite alluring to desperately sad and foreboding.

After all, “the only silent spy is a dead spy.”

As the game really is about our resident Silent Spy — Kate Drew and her actions and legacy — this is really the only title that the game could have had, and it suits it down to the ground, both with its mystery and with its sadness.

In life, Kate Drew was silenced, and in death, she is obviously necessarily silent — but Nancy reads her words, remembers her speech, listens to her voice, and, of course, hears her song, whenever the world is quiet enough. And I think that’s a wonderful dichotomy for the title to introduce before the game has even properly begun.

The Mystery:

Summoned to Scotland by a mysterious message and guided by a photograph of her mother, Nancy arrives ready to retrace her mother’s steps — only to be thrown into a world of espionage, gadgets, untraceable phone calls, and deadly mishaps. Her luggage (and her best clue about her mother) having been stolen, the presence of an old family friend who refuses to talk, an evasive skiptracer, an excitable local, and a clever intelligence agent all work together to ensure that Nancy is off-balance the minute she arrives.

All, of course, is even less what it seems than Nancy is prepared for, and she spends to game gloriously off-balance trying to keep up with the larger forces pushing and pulling her. She needs to retrace her mother’s steps, escape from certain death, dig deep into the pasts and presents of the people she meets, and do some impressive sleuthing of her own to even make the change from tool to player — and even that might not be enough to keep her safe when the dastardly minds at Revenant come a-knocking…

As a mystery — or as a collection of intertwined mysteries, honestly — SPY succeeds at what a lot of other games tried (and ultimately failed, in one way or another), which is to link all the happenings in the game together under one cohesive plot that grows more and more horrifying the more you think about it. GTH has a fandom reputation for fridge horror, but SPY holds its own easily when you consider Kate’s fatal chase, Moira’s abduction and guilt, the threats that Ewan and Alec operate under, and the life that Zoe leads on the regular.

Every action that Nancy takes benefits someone — whether it be Cathedral, Revenant, herself, or an interested third (fourth?) party — without her really meaning to, and the game is great in including another question in every reveal.

The beauty of SPY’s mystery(s) is that it takes careful reading, paying attention, and honestly replaying in order to grasp the enormity of every action. No matter how many times you play or replay, there’s something new to find — a time-sensitive conversation, an implication in a note, a theory behind the presence of a clue or a piece of (what you previously thought to be) set dressing — it honestly is limitless, and it just helps to contribute to the feeling that this is a world that Nancy isn’t meant to truly be fully immersed in.

And speaking of people who are immersed in that world…

The Suspects:

We’ll begin, for organization’s sake, with our out-and-out (current) agents first, then tackle our other suspects, then our Nancy-related people, and finish off with — for the final time in this series, as this is the last “Nancy” game — Nancy herself.

A new, yet returning character, Bridget Shaw is one of the cover identities of Zoe Wolfe — aka Samantha Quick, who Nancy impersonated in VEN and who helped the Hardy Boys in Treasure on the Tracks.

Prior to SPY, I had money for a very long time that Samantha Quick would eventually come into the game, and I was absolutely delighted with her appearance in SPY — where else would she be so well situated? Zoe is snarky, disillusioned, cynical, and sometimes downright nihilistic, but she’s also someone who took up a job that, percentage-wise, no one wants to or is able to do, because she’s alone:

“I work in the field for two reasons: one, I don’t need any help. And two, because no one would miss me if I fell off the grid.”

I love watching the ND games subvert their own formula, and Zoe is a great example of the “helper”-type suspect who really isn’t like your traditional “helper” at all. She’s there to do a job, and if sticking with Nancy helps her to do it, then that’s what she does. But she’s not there to Right some Great Wrong for the warm fuzzies of it all, or even because it’s Just and Right. She’s there because it’s her job, and her job is to play the game.

“It’ll be brief, painful, and full of garbage…but that’s life, isn’t it? And that’s the metaphor I’m riding into the grave.”

Next is our (kind of) double operative and partial culprit, Ewan McLeod (real name Sean Kent Davis) is a clever operative of Cathedral who decided that he wasn’t valued or important anywhere near as much as he should have been, and reached out to Revenant to supply them with information. Summoning Nancy to Scotland, Ewan is easily able to gain a portion of her trust as the Watcher in the Wires and is her tie to the relative safety of Cathedral.

As a culprit, Ewan is — ultimately — pitiable. Not that he’s not an egotist with a victim complex a mile wide, but when you actually look at the situation he’s in, it’s hard not to feel bad for him, even though he did it to himself. Having contacted Revenant, he’s now attempting to hold a tiger by the tail, praying it can’t eat him — and his worst fears come true, as his loved ones are threatened (“trying to keep my friends and family alive”, remember) and he’s discarded and made a target by the terrorists that he tried to use to make himself important.

Given the rather chilling threats made by Revenant, I’m inclined to believe that when we find him tied up, he didn’t do it to himself. Nancy would have noticed if the knots were too loose to have been done by a third party, and we know Revenant told him several times that if he wasn’t useful, he’d be punished.

While Ewan makes terrible choices, he’s also a pawn being played by a larger force — like everyone else in the game — and that is at least worth pity, if not forgiveness.

Next up is our former Cathedral agent and all-around tough cookie Moira Chisholm. As one of the people responsible for the events that led to Kate’s death — though no one but Revenant is responsible for killing her, note — Moira lives with guilt, regret, and a powerful sense of loneliness that only the loss of everyone you hold dear can bring.

Moira’s guilty of nothing in the present-day calamity, and helps Nancy the very best she can in her own limited power, but is ultimately a character for whom the past looms larger than the present can match. She has her hobbies, but her house is filled with memories of days when people sat on her couch and broke her teacups, not of hours reading alone.

She’s an intensely tragic character, and an example of what happens when your need to know the “truth” can get in the way of doing right by those you love. Moira lost everything to her previous job for Cathedral (who is implied to have left her, an otherwise dangerous free agent, alive because they knew (correctly!) she would become stagnant and docile under the weight of her own guilt, ouch), and yet she risks life and limb to help Nancy —not because she thinks it’ll exculpate her, but because Moira, at her core, wants to help the world, no matter what it’s taken from her.

Our final suspect is Glasgow’s resident skiptracer and unwilling pawn Alec Fell, who, along with Moira, can be traced back to Kate Drew’s death. Originally, Alec investigated a mysterious car crash — the one that killed Kate Drew — and, when he didn’t stop after a warning, had his office ransacked and burned. In the few months before the game starts, he experiences another break-in and his sister is kidnapped, with a message informing him that if he wants to guarantee her safety, to comply with Revenant’s orders.

Unlike Ewan, when pushed into a corner, Alec does his best to raise a little hell while still trying to keep his sister safe. For everything that he does on Revenant’s orders, he also helps Nancy out, finds her suitcase, locates Moira, tells Nancy where the cards are, and does his best to push back in other, little ways.

Sure Alec is guilty of a few things — most notably the fake shooting scare in Nancy’s room — but he’s a very active character, riding the rails and searching for anyone who can help put an end to this situation. It’s not for nothing that he’s a fan favorite, both for this game for the series at large, and his excellent VA and charming dialogue only make up half of his appeal.

On our Nancy side, we’ve got a few returning characters and one (semi) new one, so let’s go through them before getting (for the last time!) to the girl detective herself.

Carson Drew, father and golf model extraordinaire, is here to ground (as in steady, not punish) Nancy as she goes through this mystery. As the other person besides Nancy who was most affected by Kate’s death, Carson is an invaluable source of Kate-related knowledge, but is concerned foremost with his daughter’s safety.

For my money, the most important thing we learn about Carson here is that, well…he married the wrong woman as much as Kate married the wrong man. It’s sort of simplistic to say that their story shows that, in some cases, love doesn’t conquer all, but it’s true all the same.

Carson was happy to jet off to Scotland on occasion to visit Moira and her husband, but being happy to take vacations is a very different thing from a life constantly shifting and changing. He’s a prosecutor, so he has a strong sense of justice, but also has a strong sense of stability — he chose a career with a set trajectory and clearly defined rules.

Kate Austin, however, was a journalist who occasionally consulted for a Spy Organization when life got a little too boring (it’s important to note that she wasn’t a straight-out spy like Moira — she was far too free-spirited for that). She had all of Nancy’s inquisitiveness but more people skills than Nancy will probably ever have, and made friends easily.

It’s easy to see how she would have been attracted to the All-American, hardworking, solidly intelligent, emotionally balanced man, just as it’s easy to see how the slightly flashy, clever, inquisitive, intuitive redhead would have attracted him.

If this is starting to feel like I’m describing two other characters here…well, longtime readers of this meta series already know what happens when I use a paragraph to describe characters without using their names.

Kate is important in the game in that we’re shown her differences from and —more enlightening — similarities to Nancy. Nancy’s actions in this game are reflections on what Kate did (and what she would have done) as much as they show how the daughter diverges from the mother. And while Nancy doesn’t have her mother’s people skills or ease of making friendships, what she does have is her mother’s – and I’m going to use this word purposely — flightiness.

At the end of the day, Carson couldn’t be with Kate when she flitted off around the world, and Ned can’t be with Nancy when she does the same.

(I also find it interesting that we deal in the games only with Carson’s side of the family, and never even have a mention of Nancy’s maternal grandparents. Yes, I know Kate could have been an only child and her parents could already be dead…but I do like the possibility that they blame Carson for Kate’s death (entirely undeservedly!) and thus cut off contact. But this meta is for, well, meta, not fanfic.)

Ned Nickerson plays an important role in SPY in that he tries to help Nancy the best he can, even to the point of breaking and entering in her house (though really, it’s just entering, since he has permission) to find a document for her.

Ned comes off brilliantly in this game, but it’s important to note that his big, impressive (yet charmingly understated) speech isn’t to Nancy, but to Carson. And it doesn’t sway Nancy, it sways Carson. Because, at the end of the day, Carson can relate to lots of the pieces that make Ned what he is, and the situation that Ned finds himself in.

He’s wonderful, as boyfriends go; he calls her, encourages her, offers oddly prescient hints…but he doesn’t go with her. It’d be easy enough to make that a point in the series that, though we don’t see it happen, Ned often accompanies Nancy on her escapades, but instead we’re told — often through contention — that the exact opposite is true.

Ned is solid, true, intelligent, emotionally balanced and kind, but above all, Ned is stable. He’s enrolled in college — in an honors frat — and plays sports, attends his classes faithfully, remembers important dates…the list goes on and on. These are all wonderful characteristics for a boyfriend, but he, like Carson with Kate, ultimately isn’t what Nancy needs out of a relationship — and she is certainly not, like Kate with Carson, what Ned needs out of a relationship.

At the end of the day, both would need to compromise — Ned would need to set off with her sometimes, and Nancy would need to stay close to home sometimes — in order to make the other happy. And, well…nothing we have in any of the games says that either one would do that in the long term. Sure, Nancy returns home after the fight in CAP for ASH…but is in Egypt the very next game — immediately followed by Colorado, Georgia, and Scotland.

And honestly, this is the basis on which I disagree with Ned/Nancy as a couple. It serves neither one and, as we see in quite a few games where they squabble, they can make each other worse.

And speaking of our resident sleuth, let’s talk about Nancy Drew before wrapping up this character section.

In SPY, Nancy is — as mentioned above — a tool, used by both sides to get what they want without caring how it personally affects her. The big thing we learn about Nancy in this — and one of my favorite characteristics about her — is that Nancy is pretty ruthless. To me, it makes sense that, to get the information she wants, Nancy does what a terrorist organization tells her to because 1) it’s not her home immediately at risk, and 2) most importantly, Nancy has done bad things in the name of a good end in pretty much every game.

Lying, stealing, breaking priceless artifacts, endangering others — none of these are really new to Nancy, and what SPY does is brings that to the forefront. Sure, you as the player have the option not to do what Revenant tells Nancy to do…but then you miss out on big parts of Kate’s characterization — and, more importantly, a big part of Nancy’s.

In an unprecedented move, I’m going to reference National Treasure again, and quote part of Ben’s speech before he steals the Declaration:

“[A toast] to high treason…here’s to men who did what was considered wrong, in order to do what they thought was right — what they knew was right.”

To me, that shows us why Nancy does what she does — in SPY, and in every other game where she lies, cheats, and steals her way to the truth. She does it because, at the end of the day, Nancy is a person who is ruthless in her pursuit of her goal. And that’s a valuable trait.

Especially when one is dealing with spies, terrorists, and shady government operatives.

The Favorite:

I love most of SPY, so I’ll stick here with the things that especially stick out to me.

As covered above, I love: what this game does for the lore of the ND world; ‘Samantha Quick’; the many motivations of our suspects, and the emotional resonance that this game has.

Beyond that, there are a lot of little things. I absolutely love that they got the relative of the guy who plays Carson to play Nancy when she was little — that’s adorable to me. I love the cookie-making minigame, the outfit swap for Bridget/Zoe, the voice work for all of our suspects and helpers, and the beautiful locations (especially the spy cabin, both exterior and interior).

My favorite moment in the game is a sad one, but I’m a mercurial kind of person, so you should have really expected that. It’s actually Moira’s log/diary/letter to Kate (it functions as all three) after Cathedral deactivates her as an agent. I love a lot about it — the sad, almost desperate feeling to the words, the pen color changing as the seasons do — but nothing is better done than Moira’s last entry:

“It’s winter. It doesn’t matter that it’s winter, does it?”

My favorite puzzle is probably the zip-lining one. Sure, it’s easy, and sure, the animation makes me a little motion-sick, but it’s just….zip lines are just cool. That’s all there is to it. It appeals to the spy-loving idiot in me, and I think big-woosh-go-fast is stupid cool.

I also have to give a hat-tip to Kate’s letter — turning a fandom meme into a heartwarming story? Nik, you mad genius — and Nancy’s letter to Kate at the end. Both are beautifully written and are the perfect centerpiece to their respective characters, and both always put a smile on my face (and, at times, a tear in my eye) when reading them.

The last thing I really do have to mention here is Logan’s quasi-reappearance. I mentioned this in my “Top 5 Surprising Moments” meta, but I love, love, love that Logan is a Cathedral operative, and that he reported on Nancy during SAW. Not only does this continue to open up Nancy’s world, but it also shows that there are consequences to Nancy’s actions. She’s in rare form as far as rudeness goes in SAW, and SPY weaponizes that against her, giving Cathedral (and Revenant) a way to weaponize her feelings about her mother’s death and her — to be frank — inability to let things lie as they are.

The Un-Favorite:

There are a few things that aren’t quite my favorite in SPY, so let’s run through those as well.

First, in the common refrain of “small visual distinctions are difficult for me personally”, I didn’t like that there wasn’t enough contrast between a plain (on the bottom half) cookie and the orange/purple jelly. The shadow on the screen makes it kind of difficult to tell them apart, especially if there’s sprinkles and/or frosting on top of it, and I found that mildly frustrating, even though I love the minigame itself.

The second thing I don’t like is the option to skip the dialogue. Yes, this is present in most of the newer games, and I don’t like it in them either, but it’s especially egregious in SPY and LIE. Both of these games really rely on hints given in the dialogue (and of course, in the written materials hidden around the game) in order to get a full, clear view of what’s going on. The option is great on repeat plays, but I really do wish that it was disabled if it was your first save file on the game.

The last annoying thing is the Jabberwocky puzzle — or rather, the percentage of the jabberwocky puzzle that the player actually has to do. The puzzle as it stands feels very confusing, and the “hints” you get are quite unintuitive.

The record tells you basically how to create the encrypted message — it’s the first letter from each green word, the second from each orange word, etc., arranged in the order they appear in the poem — but when you start the poem, Nancy has already basically completed this step, and it’s up to you to do the actual decoding just through process of elimination.

It’s a puzzle of letter deduction, like in TMB and the minigame in ASH �� and these are normally my favorite puzzles! — but it’s cloaked in the disguise of an encryption puzzle, and for that, it’s incredibly irritating.

The Fix:

So how would I fix The Silent Spy?

The first thing I’d do, which you can probably guess based on the above section, is to fix how the Jabberwocky poem is presented. Even a bit of dialogue establishing what the player actually has to do versus what Nancy does for the player would be helpful in working through it without bothering making the encrypted message oneself, and would set the player up to actually know what they’re doing, versus the mass of confusion that comes with the puzzle.

The only other change I would make would to put in one more flashback — that of 10-year-old Nancy’s perspective shortly after Kate’s death, perhaps after the funeral. We spend a lot of time in flashback seeing Kate before her death, and I think it would add to just a little bit more of seeing Nancy’s relationship with her mother if we could see the Drew house with her recently gone.

(And perhaps, see or hear Hannah? Please?)

The Silent Spy is a game that I find, on the whole, to be one of the best that Nik penned, and certainly a fitting end to the series of “Nancy Games” that gives us a little more perspective on our teeth sleuth. There are as many moments of joy as of sorrow, but in the end the player is left with the feeling that Nancy’s world is a little better for knowing more about her mother, and that whatever else Kate did and was, she left behind a world (both in game and breaking the fourth wall) that was better — and had ways to become even better than that — than it was when she lived in it.

[dragonmartellstark]

AU Targaryen: Best destinations for the children of Jaehaerys I & Alysanne (1/13)

Aegon was born two months premature, born shortly after his mother was attacked in Maiden's Pool by the holy sisters. The prince was considered as white as snow and his cry as painful as that of a widow.

His father decided to put a dragon egg in his cradle thinking that in this way it would alleviate the pain of his offspring. It was thought that the prince would not survive his first month of life, but to the surprise of the masters, Aegon came to fulfill the first day of his name and that same day his dragon Valarr was born, which was black as night. Alysanne took great care of her eldest son and she believed that he could pass away. Aegon grew up as a thin, tall, pale child who was fond of reading, dragons, and the countryside.

Despite being a somewhat shy and fragile child, Aegon had a good relationship with his brothers, especially with Daenerys and Aemon with whom he shared studies, despite not being able to share games with them. In 60 a. C., his sister Daenerys sick with chills and together with her mother prayed continuously for the improvement of Daenerys. A month later her sister would supposedly survive when her white dragon was born.

In 62 a. C., After almost two years of the chills, Jaehaerys I and Alysanne formalize the engagement between Aegon with Daenerys in favor of Septon Barth, however the wedding would not take place until the betrothed were older. A year after getting engaged, Aegon rode his dragon for the first time, Valarr flying from the capital to Harrenhal and it is said that that trip mysteriously improved the prince's health, becoming a young man of good wit, sturdy arms and strong skin.

The prince of Dragonstone began to share some games with his brothers and especially with his sister Daenerys who was considered restless, happy and energetic. Septon Barth recommended to Jaehaerys I that Aegon join the Golden Cloaks stating that "A dragon rider and a future king must be a good warrior", this was well seen by the king, but the queen was afraid of what it could happen to your child during jousting practice. In the end, Jaehaerys managed to convince his beloved wife to allow his firstborn to begin to gain strength and protection for himself.

Aegon entered the Golden Cloaks when he was about 12 years old, but after a year he left due to his inexperience with the sword and bow being considered a young man with very limited strength. Two months later, the long-awaited wedding of the crown princes took place in the Red Keep, being an event much celebrated by the Seven Kingdoms.

Aegon & Daenerys were very close and everyone thought that they would be like their parents reigning in complete peace. The couple did not consume the bed until 70 a. C., when they were both adults, but Daenerys did not get pregnant until a year after she gave birth to a girl, Alysanne Targaryen who would be the wife of her uncle Valerion of hers and they would have a child.

In 73 a. C., her little Daena was born, who became her favorite daughter and a year later her first child, Aegon, was born, but he would die shortly after being born being the tragic death of her for the family. In 76 his third daughter was born, Maerys, who would be Lady of Casterly Rock and would have offspring.

In 78 Aenar would be born who would reach adulthood and have offspring, but would not become King. Three years after the birth of his heir, his little daughter Daena died of tuberculosis at the age of 8, this heartbreaking death for him and he kept the dragon egg that he had given him from which young Daenos was born. After the death of her daughter the couple distanced themselves a bit, but they reconciled again a few months later and in 84 a. C., Daeron is born that would be adviser of the currency and would have descendants. A year after this birth, the family decided to go to Dorne to visit his younger sister, Saera, who was Mistress of Spear of the Sun, and the brothers agreed that Prince Daeron would marry his cousin Maya Martell.

In 90 a. C., Daenerys gave birth to her last daughter, Shaera and this she would become Lady of the Valley by marrying the stepson of her aunt Daella, Lord Arryn. The couple lived in complete peace for ten years, spending their afternoons reading or taking care of their children & during that time their son Aenar married Jocasta Lannister, daughter of Lyman Lannister and Jocasta Tarbeck, but with her they did not have a good relationship due to the ambition that Jocasta had.

In 100 a. C., her mother Alysanne Targaryen died of old age and her death hurt her children a lot, but especially her husband who would miss her for many years. After his mother died, Aegon took over the regency when his father began to be less lucid and his regency is described as calm, in addition to being a thrifty prince.

Three years later, Jaehaerys I Targaryen passed away due to his advanced age, his death being just as tragic as that of the queen. Aegon ascended the throne as Aegon II Targaryen and Daenerys as his consort, being highly praised by the people.

The Reign of Aegon is described as quiet and a golden age when the "Scarlet Bank" or also known as "Band of the Dragon" was founded where all taxes were kept and used for the benefit of the people. That maneuver earned him the nickname "The Golden King" and the sympathy of the people.

In 108 a. C., was born his grandson, Aenys the only legitimate son of his son Aenar Targaryen. The birth of his male grandson further increased tensions between the kings and her daughter-in-law, Jocasta Lannister because she had given birth to the heir to the crown. Four years after the birth of Aenys, Prince Aenar died at 34 years of age of puerperal fever and little Aenys became Prince of Dragonstone.

The death of his son made Aegon II fear that if he died, his grandson would become King and his mother would take the regency, so he dictated in his will that his successor would be his wife, Daenerys until he came of age. of his grandson and that way there would be no ruler. This decision was not welcomed by some men who supported the mother of the young prince, but his younger brother Baelon, who was his Hand of the King, thought that it would be the best for the good of the people and the heir to the crown. Aegon declared to all Daenerys as his heir who would reign until the coming of age of Aenys something that was well seen by the people, but the courtiers did not see well that the prince of Dragonstone was displaced longer from the throne.

In 114 a. C., the kings suffered a poisoning attempt after a feast for the day of the name of the little Aenys and it is believed that it was a plan of Jocasta Lannister or her mother, Lady Tarbeck to get rid of both.

Despite this event, Aegon II's reign was one of complete peace even with the palatial plots of some of his relatives.

At the beginning of 118 a. C., the king began to suffer from serious health problems and ended up dying a month later at 66 years of age due to his advanced age. He was succeeded by his wife, Daenerys I Targaryen who would reign until her own death in 124 a. C. He was cremated and his ashes lie alongside those of his family.

Aegon II (53 d. C.-118 d. C.) Rey de los Siete Reinos

Aegon nació dos meses prematuro, había nacido poco después de que su madre fue atacada en Poza de la Doncella por las santas hermanas. El príncipe era considerado tan blanco como la nieve y su llanto tan doloroso como el de una viuda.

Su padre decidió poner un huevo de dragón en su cuna pensando que de esta forma aliviaría el dolor de su retoño. Se pensaba que el príncipe no sobreviviría a su primer mes de vida, pero para la sorpresa de los maestres, Aegon llego a cumplir su primer día del nombre y ese mismo día nació su dragón Valarr que era negro como la noche. Alysanne cuido con sumo cuidado a su hijo mayor y creía que este podría fallecer. Aegon creció como un niño delgado, de estatura alta y pálido que era aficionado a la lectura, a los dragones y el campo.

Pesé a ser un niño algo tímido y frágil, Aegon tuvo una buena relación con sus hermanos en especial con Daenerys y Aemon con los cuales compartía estudios pesé a no poder compartir juegos con ellos. En 60 d. C., su hermana Daenerys enfermo de escalofríos y junto a su madre rezaba continuamente por la mejoría de Daenerys. Un mes después su hermana sobreviviría supuestamente al nacer su dragón blanca.

En 62 d. C., tras casi dos años del escalofríos, Jaehaerys I y Alysanne formalizan el compromiso entre Aegon con Daenerys por favor del Septon Barth, sin embargo la boda no se realizaría hasta que los prometidos fueran mas mayores. Un año después de comprometerse, Aegon monto por primera vez su dragón, Valarr volando desde la capital hasta Harrenhal y se dice que aquel viaje mejoro misteriosamente la salud del príncipe volviéndose un joven de buen ingenio, brazos resistentes y con una piel fuerte.

El príncipe de Rocadragon empezó a compartir algunos juegos con sus hermanos y sobre todo con su hermana Daenerys que era considerada inquieta, alegre y energética. El septón Barth recomendó a Jaehaerys I que Aegon se uniera a las Capas Doradas afirmando que “Un jinete de dragón y un futuro rey debe de ser un buen guerrero”, esto fue bien visto por el rey, pero la reina tenia miedo de lo que podría pasarle a su hijo durante una practica de justa. Al final Jaehaerys logro convencer a su querida esposa de permitir que su primogénito empiece a adquirir fuerza y protección por el mismo.

Aegon entro en Las Capas Doradas cuando tenia unos 12 años de edad, pero al cabo de un año lo dejo debido a su inexperiencia con la espada y el arco siendo considerado un joven con una fuerza muy limitada. Dos meses mas tarde se celebro la esperada boda de los príncipes herederos en la Fortaleza Roja siendo un evento muy celebrado por los Siete Reinos.

Aegon & Daenerys eran muy cercanos y todos pensaban que serían como sus padres reinando en completa paz. La pareja no consumo el lecho hasta el 70 d. C., cuando ambos ya eran mayores de edad, pero Daenerys no quedo embarazada hasta un año después dando a luz a una niña, Alysanne Targaryen que sería la esposa de su tío Valerion y tendrían un hijo.

En 73 d. C., nace su pequeña Daena que se convirtió en su hija favorita y un año después nació su primer hijo, Aegon, pero este fallecería al poco de nacer siendo su muerte trágica para la familia. En el 76 nace su tercera hija, Maerys que sería Señora de Roca Casterly y tendría descendencia.

En 78 nacería Aenar que llegaría a edad adulta y tendría descendencia, pero no llegaría a ser Rey. Tres años después del nacimiento de su heredero falleció su pequeña Daena por tuberculosis a los 8 años siendo esta muerte desgarradora para el y conservo el huevo de dragón que le había otorgado del cual nació el joven Daenos. Tras la muerte de su hija la pareja se distancio un poco, pero volvieron a reconciliarse unos meses después y en 84 d. C., nace Daeron que sería consejero de la moneda y tendría descendencia. Un año después de este nacimiento, la familia decide partir a Dorne para visitar a su hermana menor, Saera que era Señora de Lanza del Sol y entre los hermanos acordaron que el príncipe Daeron se casaría con su prima Maya Martell.

En 90 d. C., Daenerys dio a luz a su ultima hija, Shaera y esta sería Señora del Valle al casarse con el hijastro de su tía Daella, Lord Arryn. La pareja vivió en completa paz por diez años pasando sus tardes leyendo o cuidando de sus hijos & durante ese tiempo su hijo Aenar se caso con Jocasta Lannister, hija de  Lyman Lannister y Jocasta Tarbeck, pero con esta no tuvieron buena relación por la ambición que Jocasta tenia.

En 100 d. C., falleció su madre Alysanne Targaryen por vejez y su muerte le dolió mucho a sus hijos, pero en especial a su marido que la añoraría por muchos años. Tras morir su madre, Aegon se encargo de la regencia cuando su padre empezó a estar menos lucido y se describe su regencia como tranquila, además de ser un príncipe ahorrador.

Tres años después falleció Jaehaerys I Targaryen por su avanzada edad siendo su muerte igual de trágica que la de la reina. Aegon subió al trono como Aegon II Targaryen y Daenerys como su consorte, siendo muy elogiados por el pueblo.

El Reinado de Aegon se describe como tranquilo y una época de oro cuando se fundo el “Banco Escarlata” o también conocido como “Bando del Dragón” donde todos los impuestos eran guardados y utilizados para beneficio del pueblo. Aquella maniobra le gano el apodo de “El rey Dorado” y la simpatía del pueblo.

En 108 d. C., nació su nieto, Aenys el único hijo legitimo de su hijo Aenar Targaryen. El nacimiento de su nieto varón hizo que incrementara mas las tensiones entre los reyes y su nuera, Jocasta Lannister debido a que había dado a luz al heredero de la corona. Cuatro años después del nacimiento de Aenys, el príncipe Aenar falleció a los 34 años de edad de fiebres puerperales y el pequeño Aenys se convirtió en Príncipe de Rocadragón.

La muerte de su hijo hizo temer a Aegon II de que si el fallecía su nieto se convierta en Rey y la madre de este tomara la regencia, por lo que dicto en su testamento que su sucesora sería su esposa, Daenerys hasta la mayoría de edad de su nieto y de esa forma no habría regente. Esta decisión no fue bien vista por algunos hombres que apoyaban a la madre del joven príncipe, pero su hermano menor Baelon, que era su Mano del Rey pensó que sería lo mejor por el bien del pueblo y del heredero de la corona. Aegon declaro ante todos a Daenerys como su heredera que reinaría hasta la mayoría de edad de Aenys algo que fue bien visto por el pueblo, pero los cortesanos no veían bien que el príncipe de Rocadragón fuera desplazado mas tiempo del trono.

En 114 d. C., los reyes sufrieron un intento de envenenamiento tras un banquete por el día del nombre del pequeño Aenys y se cree que fue plan de Jocasta Lannister o su madre, Lady Tarbeck para deshacerse de ambos.

Pesé a este acontecimiento el reinado de Aegon II fue de completa paz aun con las tramas palaciegas de algunos de sus familiares. 

A principios del 118 d. C., el rey empezó a sufrir de serios problemas de salud y acabo falleciendo un mes después a los 66 años de edad por su avanzada edad. Fue sucedido por su esposa, Daenerys I Targaryen que reinaría hasta su propia muerte en 124 d. C. Fue incinerado y sus cenizas reposan al lado de las de su familia.

[iretiolowu]

consider adopting... the tsar of bulgaria’s siblings

the late tsar ivan viii’s passing in august had sent the bulgarian court into a tailspin. it wasn’t as if the eldest prince andrei’s ( @akrasimirov ) abdication as crown prince over a decade ago had completely disappeared from the public’s thoughts, now the death of the tsar had forced his second-born son to feel the heavy weight of the crown upon his brow. what the public didn’t know was just how prepared the new tsar dimitar ( @mitkok ) was for his role     he had been preparing for this long before his brother relinquished his position. the youngest princess nikolina had returned from an illustrious figure skating career, a young retiree with strained relations with her entire family must now face war upon their shores. 

they say that the family’s late patriarch was killed by a jealous greek duke, one who disliked how close bulgarian-greek relations were. he had ambitions that crossed borders! war was swiftly declared, and the new tsar dimitar was determined to make the duke of western thrace pay. the greek royals, however, stood steadfastly behind their noble and refused to be pushed around with what they call a “baseless accusation”. now how will the pieces fall? 

if you’re looking for complicated family relations in the midst of international conflicts     consider applying for one of the bulgarian royals! 

THE FIRST BORN TAKEN !

full name: andrei ( or utp ) ivanov krasimirov

title: his royal highness, prince of bulgaria ( formerly the crown prince of bulgaria ) 

age range: 38-42 

suggested faceclaims: john krasinski, jamie dornan

THE THIRD BORN

full name: timotei ( or utp ) ivanov krasimirov

title: his royal highness, prince of bulgaria

age: 34

suggested faceclaim: aaron taylor johnson

notes: previously engaged to io glücksburg, princess of greece ( @ioglucksburg ) 

( death tw )

for all intents and purposes, timotei ivanov could’ve lived a life of pure leisure, the way other spares of spares conduct their businesses. but it was just never in the cards for him, his personality would never allow for such a thing! he grew up third best, the youngest son with the very least of expectations, but timotei had grown up with the utmost devotion to his family and country. perhaps in the beginning he was going to play a supporting act to andrei when he was to be crown prince, believing that kindness and peace was the sure way for a prosperous country. the fair and just prince could not get behind just how ruthless his brother dimitar was when discussing matters of state, he almost balked at how quickly the new crown prince was to turn to nefarious means. timotei was almost glad that dimitar had svetlana’s council, and they can scheme their way into power all they want and leave him out of it. he’d rather not hear all the gory details. 

timotei loved love. he had a big heart that was worn on his sleeve, which meant many relationships and a trail of broken hearts across the globe. the younger prince was given the post as the ambassador of trade, a position of influence but one without detrimental political power that kept him travelling around the globe. but finally it was io glücksburg that captured his heart, a greek princess and sister to the king, it was a perfect match that would make everyone happy. not only did it strengthen the political bond between bulgaria and it’s strong neighbour, but it was also a match made from love, at least on timotei’s side. the wedding planning was well and truly underway when the bulgarian tsar passed away and the heavy crown was placed upon dimitar’s brow. 

suddenly, two things became very apparent: without an heir, timotei was effectively next in line to the throne, and that everything was about to change. unlike their father, dimitar wasn’t going to let himself inherit the constraints of a friendship with the greek royals, instead aligning himself with the turkish crown prince — someone he thought of as a better, stronger alternative. timotei already felt the strain of his family disentangling themselves from the glücksburgs before the other shoe finally dropped. the investigation surrounding the late tsar’s death had pointed to the direction of the greek duke of western thrace, and dimitar launched the country into a full-out war. timotei and his engagement were his first casualties, and it almost seemed as if he would never forgive him. 

now unable to stay away from the programme, outgoing and brokenhearted timotei vowed to never let his family take another thing from him — and who knows? maybe in the maze of hotel hallways and beneath the smokey gaze of the casino is where he could finally reach for the forbidden hand that he’s been missing. 

THE FOURTH BORN

full name: svetlana ( or utp ) ivanova krasimirova

title: her royal highness, princess of bulgaria,         the dowager duchess of greater sofia,         former crown princess of chile

age: 32

suggested faceclaims: tamsin egerton, talulah riley, alexina graham

prev. marriages: (1) duke of greater sofia, widowed; with issue                          (2) the crown prince of chile, widowed; no issue

personal conn.: @noemioriol — former sister-in-law, from 2nd husband

( death tw )

the then crown princess mariya had wanted a daughter, after three sons and a house full of men, she longed a little girl to parade around and make pretty. svetlana was exactly that. she was a born princess, big flouncy dresses as a child and elegant grace as she grew a little older, there was something in her that made others listen when she spoke — the disarming way she smiled and dreamt of climbing ever higher. however at seven years old, her place as the youngest and only princess of the royal family was dashed and discarded; svetya wasn’t used to sharing, and refused to do so even with her helpless baby sister. she knows how to hold a grudge, even against a family member who was completely faultless — she will never forgive nikolina for forcing her hand into sharing the spotlight. needless to say, they were never close and their age difference certainly did not help. 

svetya is her brother dimitar’s best friend and right hand woman, it was difficult not to be when they share similar ideologies and the same ruthless ambition. even before their eldest brother andrei abdicated from the line of succession, dimitar was already planning for the overthrow with svetlana in tow. they were two peas in a pod, where dimitar was, svetlana certainly was somewhere close. they had both planned for svetlana to be conveniently around when the duke of greater sofia’s wife passed, his duchy is rich and important, they knew that it would be highly helpful if the title remained in their family. a year after the funeral the duke married the princess in a lavish ceremony, and svetlana gave her new husband something his first wife did not; status and children. it certainly wasn’t her fault that the duke hid an illness that eventually cost him his life. 

her second marriage was far more grand, this was what her and dimitar was expressively  waiting for. a supplementary country of resources to support bulgaria’s endeavours, it seemed as if one country wasn’t enough for them. marrying a crown prince made sveltana a crown princess, and even during her father’s funeral all she could do was hide a smile behind her heavy veil — fingers coming up to wipe nonexistent tears in front of the public. this meant dimitar was finally tsar, and all svetlana must do was wait until her father-in-law dropped dead in similar fashion. unfortunately for them, the death she had so looked forward to did not only take the life of her father-in-law, but also her husband! svetya cursed her complacency for thinking she had the time to produce an heir and vowed it would not happen again. 

now twice widowed and reeling from the loss of a potential future as queen, svetlana krasimirova packed up her children and tiaras in order to make her way to the programme. she knew that her brother was stuck with the two family members who would only encumber him, it was about time that she came to be the support he deserves. besides, dimitar joked that she could only be considered a ‘proper’ black widow if she outlives husband number three, and what perfect place to endeavour to be worthy of such a nickname!

please contact this blog or @catherinestvart before applying!                  this is a connection for @highsocietyhq

[timeladyjamie]

Robin Hood - 3x10 Bad Blood Meta

Here’s another crazy Robin Hood meta by Jamie about her thoughts pertaining to the confusing and retcon mess that is episode 3x10 of BBC Robin Hood. 

Let me know your thoughts and I hope you enjoy my ramblings once again. 

“I’ll free you, free you from the bad blood that shackles you to each other.” - Malcolm of Locksley to Robin & Guy

Where do I begin with this? No honestly, I’m not sure exactly where to start. 

I guess I’ll start with the obvious fact that while most of the fandom dislikes Season 3 in general, this episode is only one of the things that fuels it more. You can tell that the writers were trying to come up with a Surprise Mcguffin™ to keep the show running despite a good majority of the cast wanting to leave the show (all except one honestly.) Hence the retcon mess that transpires. Don’t get me wrong, I actually love some things about this episode, but there are also somethings that make me (and the fandom) scratch our head and just downright facepalm. 

Follow me through the ride that is this episode and make sure you don’t forget about that Mcguffin. There is a pop quiz on it later. 

Welcome to the first episode where Guy has become an outlaw. What there is only 3 episodes of this before it’s the end? Yeah, I feel ya. We should have gotten more of this. Anywho, Robin runs into the newly outlaw Gisborne in the forest as the two do what they do best: argue and fight with each other. It leads to a strange hooded man in the forest who shoots them down with poison darts, ties them up, and tells them a bedtime story of their past once they awaken because he wants to end the bad blood between them.

Kay...sounds legit???

Flashback to 20 years earlier! 

We are introduced to a couple kissing. Oh, don’t worry, it’s just Ghislaine of Gisborne and Malcolm of Locksley having a secret affair with each other. WAIT, WHAT?! Guy and Robin sit around the campfire as Gisborne tells him of the fact he spotted this happening. The stranger reminds Robin he was once on a different path. In fact, Guy and Robin both were. 

This episode is pretty much about the affair between their parents and is mostly a flashback episode, so the only way I can explain it all is in the characters themselves.

Ghislaine of Gisborne - Guy & Isabella’s Mother

She’s a supposed widow who has two kids, is ridiculed by the villagers for not only trying to run a manor/village all on her own, but for also being French. 

I LOVE THIS PRECIOUS MAMA! FIGHT ME! Her two children idolize her and love very much and so does her husband. Ghislaine was one of my favorites from this episode because despite her affair, it only ended up happening because she thought her husband was dead and since women (yes, even noblewomen) didn’t have many rights, the only way to secure her children’s future was to have a husband. Did Ghislaine love Malcolm? Yeah, probably, but there is also no denying the fact that even when her husband returns back from the crusade alive and is discovered as a leper, she still dearly loves him. She even sneaks to the leper colony to feed him and make sure he is well. 

As for the way she dies....by pretty much getting knocked back by Malcolm and hitting her head on the floor, I can see it, but I still call BS. 

Ghislaine was greatly loved by children so much that even once they discover the truth about her affair, they try to deny she would be capable of such a thing.

Malcolm of Locksley - Robin’s Father

THIS ASSHOLE! With all the problems I have with this episode, they all stem from this man right here. Who knows what happened to his wife? She’s never even mentioned, but it’s assumed she passed away. He’s a somewhat good father to Robin...at least he gives him helpful advice. He helps support Ghislaine while her husband is gone. 

But once everything is out in the open about the Secret Mcguffin, this shitstick says that despite the fact her husband has returned, he will declare his feelings for her, marry her or else once it’s discovered her husband is a leper, she will lose everything. Ghislaine is obviously having trouble accepting this, so he says she will have their Secret Mcguffin in secret and have it taken away for a short while until they can recover it.

Once Roger is kicked from the village for being found as a leper, probably by the hands of Malcolm since he was with the priest and bailiff when it happened. However, after the event when Robin refuses to go inside a lepers house, Malcolm at least calls his kid out on his shit. He also tries to defend Ghislaine from the bailiff who has spotted out their Secret Mcguffin, but does a wrong move by trying to marry her soon or else she will lose her lands to sneaky bailiff that goes to take the deeds at his order. 

But here’s the cake taker for me: despite fighting Roger for breaking the code to visit his wife, Malcolm of Locksley fakes his own death and makes his son think he is dead for years until he shows up to tell him this very story. Yep, the strange hooded man is none other than Malcolm of Locksley himself, much older and scared by the fire during his fight with Roger. Oh, and he only appears in this one episode to unite Guy and Robin to find the Mcguffin before disappearing again.

*sarcastic* A+ Parenting right here. Wow.

Roger of Gisborne - Guy & Isabella’s Father

This man is literally EVERYTHING Malcolm wants to be...no honestly, he’s literally trying to take his wife, and his lands, and probably his kids too. 

Presumed to have died fighting in the crusades, he mysteriously returns back with a secret (and no, it’s not the Mcguffin.) He contracted leporsy. He confides in his wife who tries to keep it a secret despite the villagers talking about the possibility of it. This man loves his wife and his kids dearly and pleads with his wife to pronounce herself a widow so his family doesn’t follow in his fate; homeless in a leper camp in the forest. Roger even tells Malcolm to take good care of his wife and kids, but still doesn’t know of the affair between them.

When Guy comes to warn his father of the fact Malcolm is trying to get Ghislaine to marry him, rules be damned. This man goes back to the village and speaks with his wife. Malcolm walks in on them and that’s when shit hits the fan. The asshole fights him for no good reason and when his wife is knocked dead, Roger refuses to leave her side and stays in the fire to die by her side. 

I mean, it doesn’t help their kids, but the kids have already lost their future at this point. 

Meet Young Robin of Locksley

He’s small, a great archer, and comes off as an irritating brat that accidentally causes trouble and ends up almost getting you hanged for it (whoops, sorry Guy.) He doesn’t listen to others that well, but can you blame him? He’s only 11.

He is assumed to be childhood friends with Guy, or at least they live in the same village and their parents know each other (a little too well.)  While the focus is on the parents in this episode, it was nice to see a Young Robin and Guy. Especially at the end when Robin finally listens to his father’s advice and takes up his bow, refusing to be afraid and fight for what’s right. 

Sure, I mean his dad faked his death and left him all on his own, but this kid will go places.

Meet Young Guy of Gisborne

Me being the big Guy fangirl I am, of course I have a lot to say about him. And of course it’s one of the reasons I love this episode: because we get hindsight into his backstory and find out why he turns into the asshole he is later on in life. This is pretty much a episode that makes you sympathize with him if you haven’t already and lets us see why he has no family as he’s told us in Season 1 and 2. 

Despite being 15-16, this boy comes off like an older brother figure when interacting with Robin. He easily shows his emotions unlike his older self and honestly just wants to protect his family. He doesn’t like that his mother is having an affair and feels she is being used by Malcolm. He also doesn’t like that his mother is visiting his father in the leper colony despite telling him not to do so himself. 

While trying to defend his parents when Malcolm comes bursting through the front door like a wild man, Guy grabs a torch, trying to scare him away. Malcolm pushes him back which ends up causing said torch to fall from his hands and start the house fire. While the parents quarrel inside, the manor burns to the ground and the parents with it. 

The other asshole (and supposedly main villain of this episode) Bailiff Longthorn exiles the Gisborne kids since the lands are his now and Guy is left to raise his little sister; homeless, penniless and without any help. He had to quickly become tough in life. Sorry, it just makes me sympathize with him more. 

Meet Archer: The Mcguffin - Robin & Guy’s Half-Brother

I love and hate this character so much. He only appears as a baby in this episode, but he is the reason that Malcolm of Locksley finally shows his face after hiding for years. Apparently he had been searching for him the whole time, but neglected Robin, wow. Okay....sure.

It’s not Archer’s fault but yet it is. When you meet an older version of him in the next episode, there is no denying he has a wonderful personality and lots of potential, but yet the reason he was created bugs me, especially since we only get to “know” him in only 3 episodes which isn’t enough honestly.

Jamie’s Pros & Cons of this episode:

Pros:

Backstory exploration showing the history between Guy & Robin that explains their conflicts with each other (Despite both losing their parents, Guy also lost his home and titles which were given to Robin by the villagers.)

Introduction to the parents (Roger, Ghislaine and Malcolm.) 

The Acting

Young Guy and Robin. Just look at how adorable they are.

A cause that unites Robin & Guy to work together for the only family they have left (Archer)

Cons:

The story can be confusing at times. I definitely didn’t understand it the first time I watched. In fact, I still question things.

The somewhat love triangle between Roger, Ghislaine and Malcolm. It feels more forced on Malcolm’s side then anything else because he is literally coming between a couple that is already married and clearly in love with each other.

Malcolm of Locksley. Mostly everything he does in this episode is stupid. Lets not talk about the fact he left his kid thinking he was dead for years only to show up once telling him the story of how he abandoned him....only to abandon him once again. Great, give this man Best Dad in the World mug. 

The townspeople who don’t help the Gisborne kids and criticize them for being French and exiling them, but giving everything to Robin because he’s the kid of an English Noblemen. What assholes. 

The fact that when you think about it: this episode is just a way to bring Guy & Robin together as well as keep the show going with Archer as the new Robin. Yep, that’s pretty much why our Mcguffin was created. I think they could have brought Guy and Robin together in a way that didn’t involve a secret Half-Brother between them....but that’s just me. 

The puzzling questions of Retcon:

Is the land that the Gisborne’s run Locksley village or is it an unnamed village? Where is Marian? How did Robin grow up fine and well if Malcolm left him behind? How did Guy and Isabella survive for the little bit they had together before he sold her as bride when she turned 13? Why wasn’t this established sooner? Oh yeah, that’s right, it’s a retcon. 

My thoughts in total:

Despite my issues with this episode, It’s actually one of the ones I enjoy in Season 3. I love that we got a glimpse into Guy and Robin’s backstories and firmly know that a character’s backstory is what shapes them into the people they are going to be later on down the road and this episode is proof of that. 

It’s a good episode in itself, but it clearly has some flaws that just don’t make sense and leave you with questions. I think if anything, this should have been revealed earlier in the season or done differently. 

[multiverseforger]

The princess of Wakanda, Shuri is T'Chaka's youngest child and only daughter. From a very young age, Shuri coveted the Black Panther mantle. She attempts to challenge the then-Black Panther, her uncle S'yan, for the mantle, only to discover that he had already been defeated by her older half-brother T'Challa.[6] During an attack on Wakanda by Klaw and a group of his mercenaries, she uses the Ebony Blade to defeat the Russian Radioactive Man, killing him in the process. Because she is shell-shocked by her first kill, T'Challa promises to train her in hand-to-hand combat, enabling her to fight on her own terms should she ever need to take his place as leader of Wakanda.[7]

While T'Challa and his wife Queen Ororo are away as members of the Fantastic Four, American battleships aligned with Erik Killmonger moved in on Wakanda. With their King away, Shuri and her advisers decide to sneak onto the ships in the night and incapacitate them. During the raid Shuri is captured by Killmonger's men and thrown in a cell. She challenges Killmonger himself to a fight but, seeing her as beneath him, he sends a group of his men to battle her. She defeats them easily and is broken out of her cell by Zuri, one of T'Challa's advisers.[8] After T'Challa and Ororo leave the Fantastic Four and return to Wakanda, the Skrulls invade Wakanda as a part of Secret Invasion. Shuri and her uncle S'yan lead most of the Wakandan army on an assault against the invading Skrulls, while T'Challa and Ororo battle their leaders.[9]

Prince Namor of Atlantis attempts to recruit T'Challa for the Cabal, a secret council of supervillains run by Doctor Doom. He rejects the offer but is attacked by the various members, and is left in a comatose state. Queen Ororo nominates Shuri as his successor, and she successfully completes the various trials, granting herself access to the heart-shaped herb. However, when she consumes the herb, the Wakandan Panther God does not imbue her with the powers of the Black Panther, instead rejecting her due to her lifelong jealousy of her brother's mantle and her arrogance in its presence.[2] When the powerful villain Morlun threatens to annihilate Wakanda entirely, Shuri takes on the Black Panther identity and outfit anyway, and manages to both save Wakanda and resurrect her comatose brother. Through her humble act of self-sacrifice she earns the mantle of the Black Panther, and the Panther God grants her its accompanying powers.[3]

When a now powerless T'Challa discovers that Doctor Doom infected many Wakandan officials and advisers with nanites, he goes off in search of a way to stop him, leaving Shuri as acting ruler of Wakanda.[10] Shuri tracks down and fights Namor, trying to discover for herself what part he played in her brother's injuries. Together, T'Challa and Shuri discover that the infected Wakandans, calling themselves the Desturi, intend to stage a revolution, seizing power in Wakanda for themselves.[11]

With Doctor Doom's Desturi successfully overthrowing the incumbent Wakandan government as seen in the Doomwar storyline, he finds himself with access to the world's largest supply of vibranium. Shuri and a re-powered T'Challa, who were able to avoid infection from Doom's nanites due to their heightened senses, remain the only Wakandans not under Doom's control. They team up with Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Wolverine of the X-Men to regain control in Wakanda. They succeed, but Doom steals a large portion of the vibranium. Shuri travels the globe, attempting to destroy Doom's criminal network and recover the stolen vibranium. Doom uses vibranium's inherent mystical qualities to take control of all processed vibranium on the planet, and Shuri and the other heroes attempt to fight and stop him. They succeed when T'Challa uses Doom's own mystical ploys against him, rendering all processed vibranium on the planet inert.[12]

With Wakanda struggling economically as seen in the "Klaws of the Panther" storyline, Shuri travels to the Savage Land to meet with Ka-Zar and obtain a stock of natural vibranium present there. They are attacked by Klaw, who wants the vibranium for his own use. They defeat him, but a volcanic eruption caused by his sound waves covers the vibranium and renders it unobtainable. She tracks down other stockpiles in Madripoor and New York, but Klaw already has A.I.M. troops excavating both sites and fights ensue. Klaw had created a monster called M.U.S.I.C. using the vibranium, and intended to place it on an AIM space station to enslave the world. With help from various other heroes, including Wolverine, Spider-Man and Black Widow, Shuri is able to thwart his scheme.[13]

Following Namor's attack on Wakanda during Avengers vs. X-Men, Shuri declares war on Atlantis, despite her brother's protests.[14] The Wakandans virtually level Atlantis, leaving only a few Atlantean survivors.[15] In retaliation for Shuri's assault on Atlantis, Namor lies to Thanos’ agents by falsely telling them that the Infinity Gems were located in Wakanda.[16] After Wakandan troops were forced to retreat from a counterattack by Thanos’ army, Shuri learns from the Dora Milaje that T’Challa was in contact with Namor during the Wakandan/Atlantean conflict and that he allowed Namor into the Necropolis several times during the conflict. As a result, Shuri banishes T’Challa from Wakanda's capital city.[17]

During the 2013 "Infinity" storyline, it is shown that Shuri is the head of the Wakandan School for Alternative Studies.[18]

When Wakanda is attacked by the Cabal during the "Time Runs Out" storyline, Shuri sacrifices herself by staying behind in order to hold off Proxima Midnight so T'Challa can escape.[19] Her death is later confirmed when her spirit is seen among those of the past Black Panthers.[20]

As part of Marvel's 2015 branding All-New, All-Different Marvel, T'Challa is shown trying to revive Shuri's body. Shuri's soul had transcended to the Djalia which was a spiritual plane consisting of the entire memories of Wakanda. There Shuri trained under the tutelage of a griot spirit who had taken the form of her mother, Ramonda. As they trained the griot spirit shared the memories of not only Wakanda but also before the nation had formed. With the help of Manifold, T'Challa was able combine his technology and Manifold's bending of reality to bring Shuri's soul back to the physical plane. After her revival Shuri had been imbued with the power similar to that of the griot spirit. She had then been informed of the events taking place in her absence including the rogue Dora Milaje and the rebellion led by Tetu and Zenzi. Shuri had then set out to confront the rogue Dora Milaje and convince them to join forces with T'Challa in order to stop the rebellion and the march against the Golden City, which she was successful in doing. With the united power of Shuri, T'Challa, Manifold, the Dora Milaje and the forces of Wakanda, Tetu was defeated although Zenzi had escaped. As the rebellion came to an end Shuri joined Wakanda's council that had been established by T'Challa.[21]

[safiyaxkhalil]

meet safiya!

Cleo’s back! With an updated bio! With a new face! And a new name! And age! She’s from Egypt this time instead of Spain! With Cordelia being a wee bit younger! And an NPC! Still broke Emmett’s and Dilan’s hearts though. Oopsies. 

Safiya Khalil, rich billionaire who is the CEO and creator of the international chain dinner and a show global seafood restaurant Amphitrite’s Cove and the marine wildlife sanctuary and rehabilitation center and aquarium Minnow’s Sanctuary, located in Providence Peak and with a new location coming soon to Hilo, Hawai’i. Also a philanthropist. Also the mother of Cordelia Lopez-Khalil(-Chambers). Also a budding marine biologist who’s slowly working on her masters through the University of Alaska: Fairbanks Online. Also in love with Emmett Chambers. Wants to marry him, grow old together, be Lucky’s mama again, and have his babies. Trying to figure out how to tell him all of that after breaking up with him due to being scared of losing him like she lost her first husband, Miguel. Full bio’s down below. Bye bye.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: teen pregnancy, car accident, death, escorting

For as long as Safiya can remember, she loved the sea. She loved its mystery and beauty, how it enchanted and inspired countless of people before her. How so much of it has been discovered but even then, still just barely scratching the surface. She loved how she felt at home with the sea. For as long as she can remember, Saf wanted to dedicate her life to giving to the sea. As sort of a repayment for all that the sea has given to mankind. And she soon would. But how she got to that, she discovered, wasn’t her initial plans.

Restaurant owners Tarek and Rashida loved their little girl from the moment they discovered they were having her. Living in Port Said, life was good. But as the girl was beginning to grow older, they eventually decided that moving somewhere new could be a good thing for them. Eventually, the Khalil family moved from Egypt to Hilo, Hawai’i when Safiya was four years old. Two years later, they would all eventually be able to become American citizens. While they still made sure to visit their family back in Egypt during the summer, they were happy on the little island. Especially Safiya. With her hometown located on the Mediterranean Sea and her new home located in the Pacific Ocean, all it could do was reinforce her love for the sea. Growing up on the island, she would basically wake up early in the morning to be able to meet up with her friends to go swimming and surfing before school, and then just to head back to the water right after the bell rang. For the longest time, she had considered becoming a marine biologist. And if she somehow wasn’t out in the water, then she was at her family’s restaurant where she helped them with cooking. Another love of hers that would eventually change her life for the better.

Eventually, pricing in Hawai’i became too unbearable for the Khalil family and they eventually moved in-land. They made their new home in Nashville, Tennessee when she was thirteen years old. Going from living the ‘aloha’ life of Hilo to the ‘yeehaw with a dash of racism and homophobia’ life of Nashville was… unexpected. And for the longest time, she hated it. For years, she’d been planning on moving back to Hilo for college, to go back home. That is… until she turned sixteen. A boy came into her life and she fell hard and fast for him. He truly carried that Southern charm people hear about and was a truly good person. Her parents adored the young man and approved of their relationship. Everything went so fast and suddenly, they found themselves pregnant. Safiya had been terrified of losing him; Instead, he asked her to marry him. They gave birth to Cordelia Khalil when they were both 17 years old, marrying when they were 18. Their daring little Minnow bringing much joy and happiness to their young lives. They were happy those first couple of years, moving to Los Angeles for school. Safiya doing a double major in Marine Biology and Business. All was well... Until one night, Saf lost her husband in a car accident. Her heart was broken when she lost him, yet she had to keep going. Both for herself and for her daughter.

Being both a widowed young mother and a college student in Los Angeles is… not an easy thing. Working multiple odd jobs at a few seafood restaurants and theaters, while also working as a high-end escort for some of Hollywood’s elite to make some extra money, she did everything she could. As much as Safiya didn’t want to, her hands were tied and escorting made good money. She was able to provide for her child and for herself, no matter how badly she was treated. However, the young woman eventually came up with an idea. Not long after she graduated from college at the age of 22, she started up a small dinner and a show Mediterranean and MENA seafood restaurant in Santa Monica.

At first, business was slow. But eventually, business began to pick up. Amphitrite’s Cove became a hot spot for both locals and tourists alike. It wasn’t long until they had to find a new and bigger location, expand the menu to include seafood from all around the globe, and create more acts. Soon, two more locations in Los Angeles happened. And then eventually, more locations popped up in Southern California. By the time Saf was twenty-eight, locations up and down the West Coast, along with a location in Seward, Alaska and her old hometown of Hilo, Hawai’i popped up. She’d also had been working on locations in Denver, Colorado, St. Louis, Missouri, and Nashville, Tennessee. Soon enough, she went international. Having a few restaurants across Europe, Central and South America, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, the Pacific Islands, and Australia and New Zealand. She eventually quit all of her other jobs, especially the escorting one. She made agreements with all of her clients that neither she nor they would ever discuss their previous relationships. They would invest in her business, she would remain quiet. And an empire was born.

And then nearly five years ago, she began to work on a new location more in-land: Providence Peak, Colorado. The adjustment of leaving Los Angeles for Colorado hadn’t been too easy, especially for then fifteen year old Cordelia, who eventually turn eighteen and graduated high school not too long ago. The girl now about to turn twenty. But along with working hard on her growing empire of Amphitrite’s Cove, she has also been working hard on being a perfect mother for her daughter. She always says that her daughter is her greatest achievement and her most wonderful treasure. Safiya’s main priorities have been raising Cordelia and expanding her empire, working on adding more locations across the East Coast and eventually more within the Heartland of America. Who’s to say what the future may hold, but Safiya’s little empire is becoming bigger and bigger. And nothing’s going to stand in her way or ruin the life she has built for herself and her daughter. She’s even opened up an aquatic wildlife sanctuary and rehab center called Minnow’s Sanctuary in Providence Peak three years ago, named right after her daughter. For so long, after all the horrible shit, life was good.

And things have now gotten better. Cordelia has returned back to Providence Peak, having left due to college. Nothing could describe how much Safiya missed her daughter, how being reunited makes her so happy. However, remembering that Dela is an adult now is... well, very hard to do. Despite having been so close, the two are butting heads constantly. Have been ever since Dela declared that she wasn’t going to attend the university in Providence Peak. Safiya loves her more than anything and wants her to be happy; She’s just struggling with remembering to pull the reigns back in. All Saf knows is that she would do anything for Dela. She’s her baby, no matter how old she gets.

[vannahfanfics]

One Good Turn Deserves Another

Category: Angst 

Fandom: My Hero Academia

Characters: Izuku Midoriya, Eri

Additional Tags: Vigilante!Class 1-A

Trigger warning for themes of child abuse!

Izuku’s lips were curled into a cold, smug smile as his bright eyes beheld the lofty penthouse suite displayed by the floor-to-ceiling glass panes framing the luxurious condominiums nestled between the beach and the sprawled city complex. Izuku perched on the balcony railing of the adjacent condominiums’ penthouse complex that he was currently sharing with twenty other young vigilantes looking to score a quick buck in the chaotic, unforgiving, cold-hearted world they lived in. They’d all seen terrible, horrible things that prompted them to turn their backs on society’s definition of “hero” and carve their paths. To this day, Izuku marveled at the miracle of their coming together to form one of Japan’s most notorious heist organizations. 

“Has she left yet?” Katsuki grunted as he strode out of the open set of glass doors. His heavy boots thunked against the smooth stone bottom of the balcony. Izuku’s emerald eyes remained fixed on the spread of clear glass several yards away, particularly on the thirty-something-year-old woman running a blow dryer through her voluminous brown hair. Izuku was mildly impressed with her haircare routine; even from the considerable distance, he could see the ripples of her hair gloss with the fluorescents’ unflattering light. Her bathroom was as large as the standard bedroom, but that didn’t mean the condos invested in slightly better lightbulbs. 

“Not yet,” Izuku responded without looking at his number-one partner-in-crime. “We still have fifteen minutes until her suitor is supposed to pick her up.” Katsuki only grunted in response, watching with disdain as the older woman smoothed nonexistent creased from the sapphire blue dress that hugged her figure in every scandalous way possible. Izuku could almost hear her six-inch-heels clacking as she exited the bathroom to cross through the walls. She disappeared into the bowels of the suite to head towards the penthouse door. 

“What’s this broad do again that makes her richer than God?” 

“She’s the assistant CEO of a software development company specializing in programming high-tech support items.” Indeed, the infamous burglars had targeted her after multiple magazine spotlights and television specials revealed her lavish life’s intimate details, down to a complete tour of her pompous penthouse home. The exposés had been mainly focused on her widowed status, chronicling her tumultuous rise to fame after her husband’s sudden death after only a few years of blissful marriage. Izuku remembered the bitter tears streaming from her eyes as she reminisced about her loving husband. The waterworks had cemented in his mind that she was the perfect victim for their newest scheme. 

Katsuki and Izuku both straightened slightly as the receivers in their ears buzzed with static. 

“Hey, hey!” Izuku could hear Denki’s broad grin in the fuzzy audio of the transceiver. “The John’s in the building and heading up to the penthouse.” Izuku pressed the respond button to answer, still crouching on the railing by balancing on his metal-plated boots. Denki always served as their mole, because his easygoing and sunny personality just lured people into a false sense of security so easily.

“Is it time?” Hanta called as he poked his head out of the open glass doors. 

“Almost.” Hanta stuck out a thumbs-up before vanishing into the room, shouting for Ochako and Mina to go out onto the balcony for Phase II of the rob-the-rich-lady plan. Ochako trotted out onto the lengthy stone structure, chewing on a licorice candy as she leaned against the railing beside Izuku. 

“If only I’d lived like that, life could’ve been so much different,” the brunette mourned sourly as she tore off a large chunk of the red candy and crushed it between her teeth with excessive force. Izuku laughed dryly with a nod of agreement. 

“I would feel bad because she’s a single mother, but wait until the world sees the reports of employee abuse we mailed into the news networks,” he laughed gleefully. Sure, they stole and occasionally beat people to a bloody pulp, but only people who deserved it. Many of the common folk revered them as a troupe of Robin Hoods, stealing from the obnoxiously wealthy and abusive to aid the poor and struggling. At least, that’s what many of them told themselves to justify their questionable deeds. Try as they like to harden their hearts to their bitter realities, sometimes their human sides tried to nose back into their lives. 

“She’s leaving,” came Denki’s quick report in their transponders. Izuku could hear girlish giggling and the baritone droning of a man in the background of the audio. Denki, disguised in a janitor’s outfit, whistled as stood with his mop and side-eyed them. “Heading up. Be there or be square.” 

“All right. Denki’s moving in to disable the motion sensors,” Izuku reported. Mina had joined them on the balcony, and she enthusiastically punched the air with her fists. 

“All right! Let’s bleed this bitch for everything she has!” the pink girl crowed. Izuku languidly stood up on the metal railing, balancing his center to stand at his full height with only the thin rail cementing him to the building. Ochako skipped over to touch Mina with her pink finger pads, and the girl immediately floated up a few inches from the balcony, giggling as she did so. 

“I can never get used to how weird this feels!” Mina trilled, laughing joyfully as Hanta pushed the back of her head to make her body somersault in the air slowly. As she righted herself, Izuku grabbed her gently by the elbow to drift her to the balcony rail. “All right! The Mina Rocket is ready to go!” she declared. Izuku grinned widely, then flung Mina to send her sailing across the gap between the buildings. The few patrons lingering by the pool failed to notice the pink vigilante floating in the sky in the dark fringe of the lofty condos. Katsuki snorted as Mina bumped into the window with a gentle smack. She hurriedly grasped onto the building’s thin stone rim before she bounced off. She hovered beside the building, staring at the red blip of light within the condo’s dark recesses that indicated the security system was still armed. 

“How are you doing, Denki?” 

“Me ‘n Yaomomo are almost in position.” Momo had also been deployed to the condominium, posing as a member of the cleaning staff. By now, the security officer should be passed out from a sleeping drought so their bonafide genius could replace the camera feeds with loops and replaced footage to eliminate the evidence of their involvement before it even existed. The video would show that Denki and Momo had gotten off on entirely different floors, when in fact, they would proceed to the penthouse to assist in the heist. No one would ever be the wiser that two moles had been planted in the staff. 

There was a reason they’d evaded Interpol, the Japanese Bureau of Investigation, and the Hero Commission for so long, after all. The young group of vigilantes dotted all their I’s, crossed all their T’s, and checked them twice. 

“The cameras are set,” Momo reported, whispering not to wake the slumbering guard. “The footage is good for about an hour. Let’s make the most of it.” 

“Almost done,” Denki hummed in the same channel. A faint crackling of electricity sounded as he essentially fried the security system controls. Faintly, Izuku could see the red light blip green. 

As soon as Momo and Denki reported in, Mina melted the glass with her acid, reducing it to a goop steaming on the wooden floorboards. Mina worked quickly and efficiently to carve a large hole into the window, then daintily stepped into the living room to tut at the blackened, smoking area rug. As soon as she safely entered the penthouse, Ochako released her Quirk, allowing Mina the land on the plush carpet and appraise the lofty home. 

“All right, guys, let’s move in.” Izuku used his Quirk to propel himself across the divide, bending the railing as he blasted off it. He’d bend it back later. He landed deftly in the center of the living room, clicking his tongue at the sheer obnoxiousness of the interior decor. It probably cost more than all of her employees combined made in a year. Disgusted, Izuku made a point to bend the metal floor lamp in half, exposing the wire to make sparks jump from the now-frayed metal pieces. While the others quietly used their Quirks to jump into the penthouse and Denki picked the lock so he and Momo could stroll in, Izuku set to ransacking the place to discover where the software mogul hid her stacks of cash. The others began pilfering everything valuable in sight; Tooru and Asui sprinted to the master bedroom, keen on scoring the jewelry the woman had been sure to show off in her many interviews. 

Izuku ignored the triumphant hoots and hollers as he meandered down a hallway. Just to be thorough, he opened the side closet, disinterestedly pulling out the Egyptian sheets of every color and numerous comforters to fling them into a pile on the floor. Nothing hid behind the cottony masses, and he almost abandoned the effort until he spied a suspiciously square seam in the wood peeking out. 

“Hello,” he grinned and crouched down to pry the false floor up with his fingers. Izuku had been expecting a hidden stash of cash or coins, perhaps a safe containing embezzlement or fraud documents. 

He was not expecting a pair of bright red eyes and a pale round face to be peeking up at him. 

Izuku froze. He blinked, and the pale face shrouded by the darkness blinked back. He continued to hold up the small nook entrance, oblivious to Katsuki stomping down the hall toward him. 

“Oi, what the fuck are you- what the fuck?” The blond hissed in a breath, making the small form within the crawlspace cringe in fright. With a flip of his index finger, Izuku bid Katsuki to turn on the hallway light. As he complied, the white light cascaded over Izuku’s hunched form to crash into the small space, illuminating a very tiny, disheveled little girl. Her red, puffy eyes slowly blinked as she regarded Izuku with a mixture of curiosity and fear. 

“Are you here to steal me?” 

Izuku almost lost it. Literally. He become so infuriated that his Quirk jumped out, sending red streaks and green lighting blazing across his skin. Clenching his teeth hard and breathing steadily through his nose, he managed to force his power back into control and give the little girl a strained smile. It was just so hard not to go ballistic and tear the entire penthouse upside down, because this was the most pathetic little girl Izuku had ever seen. Her white-gray hair framed her round face and her red eyes glittered like blood moons in the light. A little horn protruded from her forehead. Why the hell was this child locked in a crawlspace in a goddamn hallway closet while the penthouse owner gallivanted off on a booty call? 

“Yeah,” Izuku smiled pleasantly. “Yeah,” he repeated, convincing himself to commit to the radical change in plans. “That’s right.” His heart crushed in on itself as her eyes widened and she beamed brightly. She flung herself forward with a delighted squeal to wrap her thin arms around Izuku’s neck, burning her face into his sternum. The girl immediately began bawling loudly, spreading snot and tears all over the spandex of his suit. 

“Ungh… I… I’m so happy… I-I’ve been waiting so long for someone to know I was here… That I existed…” Izuku didn’t have the heart to tell her that he had no earthly idea she was in the penthouse, let alone related to the woman. “Mommy… Mommy locks me in here because she doesn’t want people to know. She hates me; she tells me so. She says I need to suffer, so I’m locked away to be forgotten. Just like everyone forgot Daddy, she says,” she blubbered between wails and cries. Izuku’s hands remained limply at his sides, too stunned with the cascade of events to properly comfort the girl. Her crying had attracted the attention of his cohorts, and they crammed into the small hallway to observe the strange happenings. She began to sob harder. 

“I didn’t mean it… I didn’t mean to make Daddy go away. It was an accident. An accident.” She palmed her small horn, sniveling, and it took Izuku a few seconds to puzzle out that the little girl’s Quirk had likely manifested and killed her father. It wasn’t common, but certainly not unheard of. Children with powerful, uncontrollable Quirks posed real and present dangers. The girl sniffled as she rubbed her eyes with the heel of her palm. “Mommy says it’s my fault. She says that my punishment is to be locked away and feel what it’s like to be forgotten. She tells me that one day she’ll forget me too, and I’m going to die, all alone.” 

Katsuki began cursing profusely under his breath, sparks popping from his palms as his fury mounted. 

“This is fucking ridiculous; are we gonna fucking stand for this? This bitch has her daughter locked in a fucking hole in the wall and is out there schmoozing some fuckin’ asshole-! I can’t; I fuckin’ can’t, I need- Ooooooh…!” As he grew more and more enraged, he stomped off into a side bedroom and began flinging furniture around with his herculean strength. Izuku had regained some semblance of his wits, so he hugged the small girl tightly to his person and petted her long silvery hair. Suddenly, she blinked at him. 

“Wait… You aren’t here to kill me, are you? Did my mom… Did she finally…?” As her red eyes flooded with fresh tears, Izuku hurriedly shushed her and pressed his cheek against the side of her head. 

“No, no, that’s not why we’re here at all.” 

“That’s right! We’re thieves!” Tooru beamed theatrically as she jumped over, waving her gloves around ecstatically. The little girl’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head upon witnessing an invisible woman for the first time. “We’re gonna steal you away to happier life!” The girl’s eyebrows shot up, and she craned her head to look at Izuku. 

“That’s right!” he confirmed with a cheesy grin. “Stealing is what burglars do best, right?” The girl squealed as he hoisted her up with his hands under her armpits. Her little legs kicked happily at the sudden rush of air around her. With a smile, Izuku plopped her against him, one beefy arm hooked under her comparably tiny frame. Her little hands rested on his broad shoulder, and her bright smile illuminated the condominium better than the sun ever could. When a few more loud crashes, thumps, and curses drifted down the hall, she looked worriedly towards the room Katsuki had stamped into. 

“Is he okay?” 

“Yeah, he’s just sorting out his feelings,” Denki laughed as he sidled up. “Hiya! What’s your name, squirt?” he asked as he playfully shook her hand. 

“Eri,” she giggled. 

“Eri! What a cute name,” Kyoka appraised with a nod. The others greeted her jovially as Izuku carried her into the living room. Her eyes widened when she beheld the overturned and broken furniture. 

“What are you all looking for besides me?” 

“What kind of burglars would we be if we didn’t take your mom’s money?” Shoto quipped monotonously as he resumed emptying drawers. Izuku flushed with embarrassment at the boy’s bluntness, and Eri screwed her face up into a frown. 

“Mommy isn’t a nice person. She takes money from the company and robs the workers; I hear her say so on the phone. She laughs about it.” Eri glanced concernedly up at Izuku. “What are you going to do with the money?” 

“Uh! Oh, um, we’re not gonna do anything bad,” he reassured as he strolled over to the gaping hole in the window. “We’re honest burglars. We steal from bad people and share it with good people.” It was true. They’d made anonymous donations to charities and underfunded schools and local businesses, built a children’s park overnight for a low-income neighborhood, and committed countless other good-Samaritan deeds. Of course, some of that they pocketed for personal interests and paying off essential figures, but hey, it was an investment for more heists and more good deeds, in the long run. At his explanation, Eri hummed satisfactorily and hugged his neck, her cheek squishing against his. 

“I see. That’s nice!” She then inhaled slightly as the wind whistled through the window, ruffling her hair and nightgown. Izuku smiled sympathetically as she gulped, peeking down at the ground so very far below. “Are we… Going to jump?” 

“Yeah, but it’s okay. It’s how I came, you know. We can make it! I’m going to hold on real tight to you,” he reassured her jovially. Eri nodded slowly, rotating her head to peek back at his friends, who had resumed rummaging around the apartment. Katsuki had satiated his ire and stalked back into the main room to oversee the operation. “Don’t worry about them. They’re just finishing the job. They’ll probably stay a little while, because… Well, as we like to say, one good turn deserves another.” 

The tone in the room shifted immediately. It grew dead silent as Izuku’s unspoken order dropped the temperature of the room several degrees. His grin and emerald eyes were eerily bright as he eyed them over Eri’s head. “Right, guys?” 

“Right,” Tenya whistled as he picked up the sheets in the hall and began shredding them into thin strips of cloth. Silence descended as the vigilantes began searching the penthouse once more, but their minds were no longer on cash and evidence, but something else entirely. Eri blinked repeatedly as she struggled to grasp the shift in the tension and gave Izuku an inquisitive stare. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Izuku smiled and patted the top of her head. “When tomorrow morning comes, everyone will know you exist.” Eri’s blood moon eyes widened as a big grin slowly spread across her round face. 

“Really? You mean it?” 

“Every word,” he promised. “You gotta swear, though, to keep a secret.” Eri nodded vigorously. “You can’t tell anyone about who rescued you. It’ll be a secret between just us, okay? Pinky-swear.” Izuku held up his scarred pinky, and Eri readily looped her tiny one with his, linking them in an eternal promise. “Good. Remember, one good turn deserves another. We saved you, so you help us keep our identities safe so we can keep helping other people.” With that, Izuku hugged her tight and activated his Quirk to once more spring between the two buildings. She inhaled wondrously as the wind rushed through her hair, and looked up to see the starry night sky after so long deprived of their soft, simple light. 

~~~~~~~~~~

As Izuku had promised, Eri’s story was blown wide open alongside the software mogul’s scandalous finances and business practices. Izuku and the others had left Eri asleep in the penthouse suite with all their documents and scathing evidence of Eri’s abuse and the money the woman had stolen from her business partner. They dropped an anonymous call to the police to inform them of the girl’s location, and then retreated to a safe distance within the city to watch the media massacre unfold. 

The woman was discovered first. She was brought out by police not visibly harm but clearly scared within an inch of her life. Being suspended from a penthouse with only a decorative chair and some Egyptian cotton sheets to anchor you to safety would do that to a person. Next, when Izuku and the others dropped the call, the flocks of the press began to babble theories as the police swarmed into the adjacent penthouse. They’d also given anonymous information to the news media, who immediately jumped on the tragic tale of the little girl. Eri’s eyes were huge as the cop carried her carefully out of the condo, amazed by all the noise and activity developing around her. Izuku could just tell by the teary smile on her face that she was thinking, They know I’m here. They’re happy I’m safe. 

When one of the reporters shoved a microphone into her face and demanded to know who her rescuers and mother’s assailants were, Eri just smiled sheepishly. 

“It’s a secret. I can’t tell. You know, one good turn deserves another.” 

Izuku grinned to himself, biting down on his bottom lip in satisfaction. 

Sure, they weren’t saints. They’d stolen, and assaulted, and publicly slandered plenty. However, seeing that little girl’s smile broadcast on the big screen for the world to see, ready to leave an arduous life behind her and step out into the light, reminded Izuku of why he’d turned to such an existence in the first place. 

Real heroes made real change through whatever means necessary. Because, as he said… One good turn deserves another, and one bad deed brings down righteous fury.

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