#get it together. put him in 18th century France for all I care

[lord-ofthe-frogs]

People don’t even make crack fics anymore, they just go on c.ai

[asitrita]

Part 2

So this is my second part of the Frain hc. This is a bit more about them as individuals and how it may affect their couple dinamics, maybe? So it is more based on historical analysis, kind of. I feel I ramble way too much. Anyway, here we go.

First, I must say that I think Himaruya got their relationship dynamics right, more so the last years! For example when he shows Spain being a bit passive aggressive towards France, I thought that was spot on, very Spanish of him, particularly when France is somewhat involved (I’m talking about the time Antonio reminds Francis that he kind of owns him a dinner or something like that).

About their background... I imagine them as kind of close family, actually (that doesn't stop me from shipping them, I really don't care, it's fiction after all). I have yet to make up my mind on whether I imagine Hetalia characters as begin really biologically related or not, but in any case, their relationship would be that of first cousins. I do imagine at some point they saw each other as siblings, during the Roman Empire, and I do imagine they were related even before (Celts and Iberians, yes, there were also Iberian tribes in the very south western coast of France). They had a similar upbringing, in the sense they were regarded as “barbaric kids to be civilised” and both became heavily romanised nations, but had similar experiences growing up, plus they grew up together, kind of (also, Hispania supported and was integrated within the Gallic Roman Empire for a while). However, they became estranged after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, and even though during the Middle Ages their relationship started off in good terms (even very good terms, at times), it ended up like a roller-coaster, so to speak XD Summing up, their relationship to me would be that of first cousins, sharing that sense of familiarity, but still very different from one another.

In terms of history I feel Spain kind of developed some sort of inferiority complex, maybe? He didn’t used to have it in the pass, but he developed it from the 18th century onwards, and most prominently in the 19th century, a feeling he hides in his passive aggressiveness. At the same time, I feel France used to have that feeling as well, but prior 18th century. However, the way he hide his insecurities was putting on a mask, creating a façade and projecting a better image of himself for others to like him better and for him to feel better about himself as well. And he succeeded. This leads me to believe that Antonio would struggle a little bit more with his emotions and find difficulties in expressing them, occasionally coming up in the wrong way, while Francis would be more “in control” so to speak, but on the negative side, this also leads people to perceive him as "colder" sometimes (not that he doesn’t struggle with his feelings, but can manage them a bit better, at least in front of other people). 

This arrogant and prideful façade (and sometimes not so façade) of Francis will also bother Antonio a lot, so this may lead to some conflict between the two of them. Plus, Antonio is also very proud himself, and although he may seem arrogant, I feel his arrogance comes from a place of insecurity (while that of Francis is more of a mix, it used to be a way to protect himself from his lack of confidence, but it slowly became part of his personality when he became an empire and influential nation in the second half of the 17th century). Add proud but insecure Antonio to proud, confident, and somewhat arrogant Francis and you have yourself a Molotov cocktail. I do think there would be a lot of petty bickering in their relationship about silly things (food, wine, you know, neighbour and Latin countries things), but in a friendly harmless way. They wouldn’t have big fights often, but when things get serious, you wouldn’t want to be around.

I imagine Spain being very insecure about how others see him, and it is not exactly an inferiority complex, at least not always, it is rather about expectations. What he is really like, but how others expect him to be or act like. This would be hardly a problem he would have only with France, in fact, I think this is a problem he would have with every single nation, even with Portugal at times. But in a relationship with Francis these insecurities would become more obvious.  This is a bit silly, but it resonated with me, so let me explain. I once read (can’t remember where, or whom wrote it) that 19th cent. French were in love with Spain, but not with the actual Spain, but with their idea of Spain, that of 18th and 19th Orientalist stereotypes of Spain. French were not really in love with the real Spain, but with a foreign stereotypical idea of Spain that was actually very very distant, and at times almost opposite, to the real Spain. I guess in a relationship Antonio would be wary and worried about whether Francis really loves him for who he is, or for who he expects him to be. However, at the same time, in a conference of British historians (scholars on Spanish history, really), they said French historians were always the ones who understood Spain the best, and the only ones who really got to know how Spanish history worked, and why Spain acted the way it did at each time. So, Antonio’s insecurities are most probably unfounded and Francis really really loves him, but he does need to demonstrate it quite often lest he wants Antonio to become paranoid and feel he’s just a luxurious and exotic trophy. 

Also, I have to say, Spain is quite the Francophile even if many deny it XD And mind, I do think there are many things France does Spain does not like one bit, or is even disgusted by, but there are still many things he likes about France as well (he won’t admit it, though, because France is way too full of himself already, no need to inflate his ego even more u.u).

On a lighter note, and a little bit off topic, but linking to points 5 and 6 above, there’s this new theme park in Spain based on Spanish history (mind, it is only based on, you’re not going to see much real history there, just different historical settings, and it relies a little bit on stereotypes too, though not too much) which is being a complete success. It really is astonishing. And even though it is certainly not real history, it does a hell of a job portraying some key events in Spanish history as heroic deeds. It really brings up patriotism, which is something Spain I feel sometimes need (it’s not good to overdo it, but being a constant masochist is not a great idea either). Thing is, the park is French XD I mean, its creator is French, the company is French, and they have the same park (based on French history, obviously) in France. They have projects all over the world, but the first place outside of France they decided to expand to was Spain. And many people in Spain are “complaining” (secretly loving) the idea of “We Spaniards hate or ignore our own history and it has to be the Frenchies the ones to come and teach us to love it and be proud of it”. Again, this links with my hc in point 5, in which I believe Francis is actually very supportive of Antonio in their relationship, and helps him a lot to gain confidence on himself, at least now a days (in other time periods Francis was actually the very reason Antonio felt insecure, but times change and Francis must make up for it u.u).

Edit because I forgot to mention the name of the theme park 😱: Puy du fou España, in Toledo, which is one of the most beautiful cities in Spain, by the way (you should check the one in France too, they’re both awesome). And here is the playlist of their park in Spain in case you don’t mind the spoilers. Love it.

And this will be it for now. I’m sure I’m missing a lot of ideas and thoughts I have about them both individually and together as a couple, but I think they are too many and too disorganised in my mind to make much sense of them. Thanks for reading 😊

Part 1

[robininthelabyrinth]

This is a very vague plot but I would love to read an Emperor or very powerful WWX fic from you. I enjoy Boashan Sanren’s Emperor!WWX AU and I also love fics where WWX really is powerful and free to kick ass and just wreck shit. I really think your take on these tropes would be an interesting one and enjoyable read for all. Thank you for all the fics and your efforts in the fandom so far. Take care yourself. ☺️

fictional 18th century France in which the entire century is happening at once - part 2  

- for part 1 see: ao3 or tumblr -

Wei Wuxian came to Nie Huaisang for advice.

Well, technically, that’s not quite right, Nie Huaisang reflected. Wei Wuxian, when faced with a situation that exceeded even his formidable talents, reverted back to his old ways in times of severe crisis. Namely, he ran back to ask for advice from his adopted family – which by this point consisted only of Jiang Cheng, what with the majority of the Jiangs having perished in the infamous massacre. 

(The newspapers had dubbed it “le massacre des lotus”, a poetic way to elide the horrific mess of blood and death and despair that it had actually been.)

Naturally, Jiang Cheng didn’t have any idea what to do with the hot potato he’d been handed, and so he, and Wei Wuxian with him, came to Nie Huaisang, who always knew what to do. Who else did they have to ask?

Sure, Nie Huaisang supposed they could have gone to seek the advice of Lady Jin, formerly Jiang Yanli, Jiang Cheng’s older sister, but luckily Jiang Cheng was self-aware enough to know how much of a political disaster that would have been. Regardless of her personal merits, of which Nie Huaisang was certain there were many, the former young lady Jiang had married into the Jin family, a move that was widely viewed with suspicion. 

After all, the spectacle of yet another wealthy noble marrying another wealthy noble in exactly the sort of thing the Revolution and the abolition of noble privileges had been meant to stymie – and this particular marriage especially suspect given that everyone knew that the Jin family’s politics leaned heavily monarchist, having only just barely refrained from becoming émigrés themselves by the thought of the financial advantages they thought they could get following the fall of the Sun King.

For the Jins, the marriage had been a coup, giving them a claim to legitimacy in their new era; for the Jiangs, it was far from being the best move, politically speaking, no matter how much they swore that it was a love match.

It must have been, for the normally astute Jiangs to make such an unforced stumble.

The marriage itself was bad enough, but if Wei Wuxian, grand (if highly unorthodox) hero of the foreign wars, was seen consulting with the Jins, allowing them to influence him…well, it wouldn’t end up good for anyone, except maybe the ones who wanted to overthrow the Revolution and reestablish the rule of the Wen dynasty on the basis of the divine right of kings.

Apparently, chopping off the heads of the last set wasn’t enough to warn the rest of them off.

Fucking émigrés.

At any rate, that was how the whole mess had ended up in Nie Huaisang’s lap.

“I’m not sure what you’re looking at me to tell you,” Nie Huaisang said, idly fanning himself. That wasn’t exactly in fashion either – fans were very much seen as an affectation of the previous political order – but it was garnished with the appropriately patriotic rosette and anyway, everyone knew he liked fans, useless self-indulgent dandy that he was. Good only for throwing parties and keeping an active salon for his own entertainment, albeit one very in vogue and coincidentally very popular with all the famous revolutionary thinkers of their day.

Besides, no one in their right mind was going to claim that Nie Mingjue’s little brother wasn’t sufficiently revolutionary.

“Don’t pull your good-for-nothing stunt with me,” Jiang Cheng said, rolling his eyes at him. “I was there when it all started, remember?”

Jiang Cheng had lucked in to being there when it all started, since unlike many of the other people Nie Huaisang had so carefully invited to his salon, Jiang Cheng had been invited purely on the basis of being an old friend from school. That he’d become a hero of the Revolution instead of being imprisoned and executed after the massacre of his family by the increasingly paranoid and dictatorial Sun King was his own good fortune and hard work, naturally, but he wouldn’t have even known where to start if it hadn’t been for Nie Huaisang and his connections.

“I remember,” Nie Huaisang said. “I also recall that you and Wei Wuxian broke ties long ago, isn’t that right?”

Obviously that little façade had been entirely political.

It would have been awkward for Wei Wuxian, darling of the armies and terror of the continent, inventor of a brand new form of warfare and at least half a dozen new pieces of artillery, to be so closely tied to any one noble family, no matter their history together. It would have led to accusations that the Jiang family was seeking to take advantage of the Revolution to strengthen their own power, no matter how passionate a revolutionary Jiang Cheng was personally - the Jin sect had already started spreading rumors, casting allegations, implications, smears...

Their show of very publicly disowning each other had put an end to that.

“Don’t play dumb,” Jiang Cheng said impatiently, because he knew that Nie Huaisang knew that it was all bullshit, even if the newspapers Nie Huaisang bankrolled pretended to swallow the bait down whole. “Are you going to help us or not?”

“Of course I will,” Nie Huaisang said, rolling his eyes at him. “We’re friends. But because we’re friends, I’m going to tell you flat out that you already know what the choices ahead of you are and you know which one is the best move. What you want is for me provide you with any other options, and I’m not going to be able to do that.”

“This is just insane!” Wei Wuxian exclaimed. He was pacing around the room, face pale and cloak black, as looking dashing as always. Nie Huaisang wanted to get out his paints and force the man to pose for him and maybe a dozen or so of his closest artist friends; it would be stunning. “I can’t – why would they ask me? A few years ago, I was just an artillery captain! Son of a servant and a runaway novitiate!”

“The whole point of the Revolution was to favor merit, not birth,” Nie Huaisang reminded him. “And anyway, who cares that you were an artillery captain back then? You’re a general now. The Lion of Yiling.”

“The Menace of Yiling, the Fiend of the Burial Mounds, the Nightmare of Europe…” Jiang Cheng murmured, recounting some of the less polite versions. Nie Huaisang waved his fan at him – he wasn’t helping.

“Your brother is a general, too,” Wei Wuxian pointed out, a little desperately. 

It wouldn’t help him.

“Mm, he is. He’s also nobility of the sword - well, saber - from a line that has existed for generations, even if we did have rather ignoble origins,” Nie Huaisang said. He was not without sympathy for Wei Wuxian’s predicament, but really, some things were obvious. “We all know he’s the incorruptible and all that, but it’d be far too easy for the newspapers - and our enemies - to paint him as having done it all for his own selfish interests. There’s a reason he announced all the way back at the beginning of the wars that he wasn’t interested in political power when he was done, that he’d retired like a modern-day Cincinnatus. Who would have trusted him as commander-in-chief if he hadn’t?”

“Me,” Wei Wuxian grumbled. “Sane people, if they’re thinking straight! Your brother is incorruptible. He doesn’t even like war, even if he’s damn good at it. People should be chomping at the bit to get him to be the one – the one to – !”

“They are,” Nie Huaisang said dryly. “The innocent ones and the ones egged on by the Jin family both. They know the only way to tear down his influence is to get him to make a mistake.”

“And you won’t let him do that,” Jiang Cheng said knowingly.

Nie Huaisang snorted. What did Jiang Cheng know? “I didn’t need to say anything. He was offended on principle by the very thought of it.”

All three of them sighed in unison – Nie Huaisang a little long-suffering, Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian a bit dreamily.

It was a good thing Nie Huaisang had long ago accepted that every young man in France between the ages of twelve and thirty four, at minimum, was at least a little in love with his brother, or else he would have found it all far more aggravating than he did.

“To get back to the point,” Nie Huaisang said a moment later. “There’s simply nothing for it: you have to be the one to take it. No one else will suit half as well as you.”

“Why does someone have to take it at all?” Wei Wuxian demanded. “The principles of the Revolution -”

“Because we can’t function with these endless wars on our borders, as well as within them,” Nie Huaisang said, losing patience, and both Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian scowled, not wanting to accept the truth of what he was saying. “We need a stronger executive than we have right now, simply put. As for the form of that executive, well, the Revolution simply happened so fast that people are refusing to accept it without at least the trappings of the ancient regime - even if it’s not quite the same as the last time around. And as for why you, that’s because you can be trusted to shepherd it, to let it grow to the maturity it requires, and we will not fear you clinging to power when the time comes for it to return.”

Wei Wuxian scrubbed his face. “You trust me too much.”

“Not really,” Nie Huaisang said with a shrug. “You’re upright, moral, selfless…it helps that you’re exclusively interested in men, of course. No heirs means no dynasty.”

They both started spluttering.

“Oh, I’m sorry, had you not realized that yet?” Nie Huaisang barely bothered to hide his smirk behind his fan. “I thought it was obvious. You flirt with women for sport, not profit, and of course there’s your taste in pornography…”

“Back to the subject!” Wei Wuxian shouted, his normally shameless face flushing bright red. “Back to the subject!”

Nie Huaisang snapped his fan shut, making them both jump.

“All right,” he said. “Back to the subject: you have to become emperor, Wei Wuxian, or else someone else will, and they’ll be worse. I’m not saying that you’ll be good at it, or that you’ll enjoy it, or that it won’t end up with you exiled to some island in the middle of the ocean for thirteen years before making a miraculous return to save the country from itself –”

“Oddly specific.”

“Be quiet. What I’m saying is that you have to do it. The army supports you because you’re their darling, the people support you because of your victories in the war, the Jin and the other aristocrats support you because they think they can manipulate you through Jiang Yanli, the Lan and the other members of the Church…well, to be frank, most of them think that you’re a horrible blasphemer, which they think about all of us, but if you agree to let them crown you they’ll get over themselves and endorse you anyway. Even the foreign nations that we’re currently at war against would support your ascension to the position because the greed for power of a single man at least makes sense to them and accords with their understanding of history, as opposed to our Revolution, which is new and makes them afraid of what they might lose if it’s allowed to live. In short: it has to be you.”

Wei Wuxian sat down heavily on the couch. Jiang Cheng went over and put his hand on his shoulder.

After a few moments, he cleared his throat. “What about the rest of them?”

“The rest of them?”

“The other revolutionaries. What will they think? Your brother – he’s one of the most ardent proponents against the institution of the monarchy. How can he be happy with an empire?”

Nie Huaisang went and sat next to Wei Wuxian, pressing a nice pastry into his hand. “You went to the same classes I did, Wei Wuxian. You know that in ancient Rome, the position of Emperor - the imperator power - was originally established in the form of the ‘dictator’,” he said. “A magistrate granted absolute power in extraordinary times, for a limited time, for the purpose of rescuing the Republic.”

The most famous example of which was, of course, Cinncinatus, the man his brother was so often compared to. 

He thought Wei Wuxian would be a good example of that selflessness as well.

“I did attend class, and more often than you did,” Wei Wuxian said with an uncalled-for amount of snark. “And I remember very well that in ancient Rome, the institution of the position of Emperor meant the death of the Republic.”

“But not this time,” Nie Huaisang said confidently. “That’s what all our enemies will think, yes, but in truth you’ll be a dictator in the old-fashioned sense of the word: you’ll take the power, you’ll do the work, and then, when the Revolution has progressed enough to continue on its own, you’ll step down. My brother would support something like that. They all would.”

“But what if I don’t step down? What if the power goes to my head and I start to see myself as – as essential?”

“Three things,” Nie Huaisang said. “First, you’re an arrogant piece of work who already sees yourself as essential, and it hasn’t made you go crazy yet. Second, you’re fundamentally lazy and indolent at heart – take it from someone who knows – and while you’re very industrious if you think it’s your duty or the right thing to do, if given a chance to do the right thing by not doing work, you’d jump at the chance.”

Jiang Cheng looked as if he would protest the characterization, but Wei Wuxian nodded. He’d always loudly dreamed of retiring to the countryside to be a farmer or a mad scientist or something, and if Jiang Cheng had always thought he was joking then Nie Huaisang, at least, had not made that mistake. “And the third thing?”

“If you really do end up fucking it up, my brother will turn Baxia on you.”

Jiang Cheng choked, and Wei Wuxian snorted. 

“That’s oddly comforting, actually,” he said, and smiled. “Okay. Fine. You’re right – I’m the only one that can do it and do it right. And since that’s the case, I’ll accept: first the position of Consul, and then, as necessary, the position of Emperor. But you have to help me – you, your brother, Jiang Cheng…even Wen Qing. I insist on it; I won’t let her get executed just because of her name.”

“I can work with that, and really, no matter what the Jin say, I don’t think that’ll be a real issue. Having a daughter – well, cousin, but who’s counting – of the former dynasty working for you is a good move,” Nie Huaisang said. “Set her up with something that’s both important and yet non-political so people don’t feel threatened…revitalizing the hospitals and improving public health, maybe. She’d like that; didn’t she always want to be a doctor instead of a princess?”

“Anyone else I should make sure to add in?” Wei Wuxian asked. His eyes were avid and serious, which he rarely was in peacetime; Nie Huaisang looked forward to the day when he could be frivolous and light-hearted again. 

Still, it was good to see that he was committed.

“Jin Guangyao is the least objectionable of the Jin family, even if he is a belatedly recognized bastard,” Nie Huaisang said. “He’s more treacherous than a snake, but since we know that, we should be able to manage him appropriately. Put him in charge of the police and the spy network; he’ll do wonders with it.”

And probably end up assassinating his father, but in Nie Huaisang’s opinion that wouldn’t be that bad of a thing either. He resolved not to mention it to the others.

“Jin Zixuan isn’t objectionable,” Jiang Cheng put in.

“No, he’s very pretty,” Nie Huaisang agreed. “Your sister can hang him on her wall as artwork.”

“…he really doesn’t have many other talents, does he?”

“I’m given to understand that he spends money very well,” Nie Huaisang said dryly, and both men winced: as a dandy, Nie Huaisang had the most experience in such things. “You should also take Lan Wangji into your administration.”

“Lan Wangji?” Wei Wuxian’s face was a bit red. “Doesn’t he hate me?”

“After all the polemics he’s written in your favor, you still think he hates you? Just because of your little tussle back at school? Please get over yourself.”

“They’re in the Revolution’s favor, not mine…”

“Actually, no, he’s right,” Jiang Cheng said. “There are definitely some explicitly in your favor, and he wouldn’t do that by mistake - not with how eloquent a writer he is, even if he’s practically a mute in person. But...Nie Huaisang, what role would you put him in? He may be from a family that’s closely affiliated with the Church, but he’s not actually a priest himself – and anyway, if we were going to have to appoint an archbishop to help support us, I’d rather it went to someone like Xiao Xingchen. Everyone likes him.”

“And the fact that Xiao Xingchen is beholden to no one and interested in charitable works to the exclusion of all else is an extra bonus,” Wei Wuxian said, showing that he did, in fact, know some politics underneath his thick-skulled appearance. “But that’s a good point. What role did you have in mind for Lan Wangji?”

“I mean, ideally he’d be Empress,” Nie Huaisang said breezily, and enjoyed seeing Wei Wuxian’s face heat up and Jiang Cheng start spluttering again, “but since that’s at least ten years out, might I suggest appointing him as your chief of staff, and his brother as your foreign minister? That way you can keep Lan Wangji nice and close by, his aura of righteousness and habit of policing everyone around him will help stop the flow of corruption, and it’ll appear as though you’re using him as security against Lan Xichen – nice and distant and not at all corrupt, even as his writings continue to make the populace swoon over you. Jiang Cheng can continue to lead the navy, as he does now, and my brother the army; we can work out peacetime posts for them later on.”

“Hold up,” Wei Wuxian said. “Go back to why he’d be the Empress…? He doesn’t even like me!”

“That’s not the problem with that idea,” Jiang Cheng squawked. “Wei Wuxian..!”

Nie Huaisang went to pour drinks.

His work here was done.

[ashilrak]

M and V for the FanFic Ask Game?

M: Got any premises on the back burner that you’d care to share?

I have this AU I call the french whore AU and basically in it Percy travels back to 18th century France when Versailles is at its height so that's where the Gods are. He's looking for a way to get back so he goes to Versailles and finds Apollo, and he realizes the only way he's going to get Apollo alone is by sleeping with him. And sure once they're alone in a room somewhere Percy could bring up all these thing but he decides that he's made it this far, he's going to full send it. So he does. At some point Apollo complains about medical developments at this time because the transition from the one-body to two-body model is messy and the four humors? Mans has Opinions and this is a time to put my research to good use. And then blah blah blah Percy gets back to his original time and him and Apollo fall back together. Aphrodite is occasionally involved.

V: If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

I'm assuming collabs don't count, but probably got to be your friend now baby (I would like to move in just a little bit closer) by @stardustupinlights because the idea of Apollo having a seven step plan or whatever it is is absolutely hilarious and just...too good to pass up

// Fanfic Ask Game

[writings-of-a-hufflepuff]

Prompt List #9 - Historical Aus/Prompts (Requested)

@viseriyen I know your focus was more 18th century France, but I never covered that during my degree, my focus was more 19th century Britain. This has a variety of historical aus/prompts, they won’t all be relevant and I can’t guarantee their historical accuracy for France, but I hope they help, give you ideas etc. 

“I can’t...you know I have no control over my marriage. I can’t even divorce him...I have nothing to hold against him.” “Then give him something to divorce you for.” “And tarnish my good name?” 

AU in which character a is desperately in love with character b, but can’t divorce their husband because divorce laws make it nigh on impossible for ‘wives’ to divorce their husbands without a ‘legitimate reason’. 

Intense heated love letters because we have to keep our distance and can’t do anything that would jeopardise our positions or our reputations. But, I can send you lusty love letters that you hide under your pillow instead. 

Illegitimate child/unwed pregnancy and the trials of being together, loving your child together but knowing they have little standing in society and the way people treat you because of that.

Fan language AU -> https://raulersongirlstravel.com/language-of-fans/#The_Language_of_the_Fan 

My parents are trying to marry me off and you're the latest person they’ve brought to show me off to and I don’t want to like you, but I kind of do. You clearly don’t want to be here anymore than me. 

The smallest touch is the most intense. 

You went off to war and come back after a long campaign the papers have been reporting on. You have appear gruff, mean, and cold to everyone else, but are soft with me. 

The typical trope of hardened, gruff character a who melts around character b. 

(19th c) I’m the town’s school teacher and you’re the gruff wanderer/traveller/cowboy/outlaw/etc. That’s come to town. You help me fix the school house and wrangle the little demons I teach. 

Sweetheart trinkets, like embroidered handkerchiefs, engraved jewellery, hidden message rings, carved trinkets etc. Especially a ‘here I made this for you or I had this made for you’. 

Letters that were never sent. After character a’s death the letters are found and posted to or given to character b revealing the unsaid feelings. 

We compete for top spot in school in spelling, mathematics, science etc. School rivals.

Character a bathing in a river, character b awkwardly stumbling upon them all apologetic or alternatively character a bathing in a river and character b protecting them from some no good ruffians. 

Horse rides; for leisure, maybe character a was stranded and has to share a horse with character b, being stuck in a carriage together. 

Childhood rivals who finally see each other after years of being apart, maybe because of boarding school/finishing school or otherwise. The horrible realisation that your rival is now hot and also can keep up with you in conversation. 

Those gentle kisses to the top of a hand or gentle touches between gloved hands. Gentle hands!!! Gentle kisses!! All demure and totally appropriate but with hidden meaning and heat. 

Childhood friends who haven’t seen each other since they were little and are now betrothed and oh my, you’re beautiful/handsome and I am not prepared for this.

We’re betrothed but have only ever communicated through letters and this is our first ever meeting and i’m petrified you aren’t going to be the person I know through letters

Perfume scented letters, secret code, love poems, and dried flowers. Sent long distances to you with love. 

Contraception catalogues and the very specific packaging of sheaths (aka early condoms) as things like pill boxes, ladies power boxes, cigarettes, etc. to hide them. Do with this as you will. 

I am spinster, you are a bachelor and we have a rivalry because how dare you get paid more than me and while i’m compared to a rotten egg. Alternatively, I am spinster by choice and refuse to marry, but you are making this very very hard. 

Gals being pals, boys being ‘mates’, the known cases of boarding school love between same sex couples and also we’re both spinsters/bachelours and work together in our intellectual studies and we’re totally not in love...no sireee. 

Oscar Wilde had a thing working class and military kink so do with that what you will, i’m sure you could make a upperclass/working class au/couple. One’s rough, resilient, hard working, and one’s dainty, far too spoiled and brattish but they both like each other somehow. 

You’re gruff and rough/snappy, rude, but I can see how sweet you are to horses, animals, kids, and I know there’s a softer side beneath all of that. 

It’s my first ‘season’ and you save me from all these men/women sniffing around me trying to get my attention. 

Scandalous private time i.e. we’re supposed to be chaperoned but here we are in the garden on our own together or in the woods alone or in a small corner without a chaperone and what would people say. 

Character a defending character b’s honour. 

You’re my second in a duel/I’m your second in a duel, please don’t die

All the duels, duelling each other, duelling for the other, defending the other’s honour etc. 

You look beautiful but dear god why are there so many layers! 

I just spent an hour drawing you a bath bucket by bucket because I love you, but i’m a hot mess right now as a result. 

You break social convention for my comfort. I.e. something like you forgo allowing people to watch our wedding night because you want me to be comfortable or you refuse to allow some other stupid tradition that you know scares/intimidates/upsets me. 

Over the top professions of love. 

“I would die, without an answer to my feelings. I would die here. My breath would choke in my throat, my blood run cold, and my selfish heart stop. I cannot live without answer, without knowing whether my feelings are returned or not.” 

Character a being the dotting husband/wife/partner and helping character b get out of all that ridiculous clothing so they can cuddle and sleep. Who needs maids and servants when you have a life partner. 

I want a partnership, a kindred spirit, a soul mate, not a servant.  You want the same thing. I am awed by this.  (possibly + we’re rivals, childhood enemies etc.) 

Your family don’t approve of me, and mine don’t approve of you. I wish we could simply run away, but that’s a foolish dream. 

Educated woman expects man to talk about her wandering womb and how education will make her insane and barren, instead finds man actually wants to hold an intellectual conversation with her and they strike up and unexpected friendship and then love. 

Character a denying themselves of character b because they don’t feel good enough or because they feel it would be selfish maybe because they’re in a war or because they can’t provide what they feel character b deserves. Character b is not here for this bullshit. 

We get trapped in a small cabin in a snowstorm together wild west au. 

We get trapped in any small space in any time period au

I would say we should stop having children but I love each and every one of them and I love you too. Large family AU.

We’ve just lost our child in infancy, grief, hurt/comfort. 

You’re in labour and i’m terrified for you. I am not allowed in the birthing chamber and the midwife would murder me if I tried. 

Alternatively, I refuse to not be present for the birth of our child and don’t care what anyone says. I'm here to support you and will be physically in the room. 

You’re competing for my affections but you never had to compete because you always had them. 

You do not have to duel everyone for me over the smallest slight, look now you’ve gone and hurt yourself and I suppose I’ll have to give you my favourite handkerchief to deal with it.

I am pro royalist and you are pro-republic. I should hate you, you should hate me, but god if you aren’t all consuming. 

You’re one of my suitors and the gifts you bring me aren’t jewels or flowers, but books, microscopes, telescopes, knowledge. I like the way you think and seem to seem me.

I am nearly trampled by someone’s horse in the street, but you step in just in time to get me out of the way even though it puts you in danger yourself

Despite the cost of sugary treats you always turn up to my parlour with some sort of sweet and I know they’re not the cheapest. 

Anything involving a copper bathtub is a vibe. 

I always look for your seal on my letters. Yours is the first letter I read and the one I treasure most. 

I have kept every note, every little, every little thing you’ve ever written or drawn for me.

If images inspire you you might find my other blog @theillustratedmagazine helpful. It has 20th and 19th century illustrations. 

[noforkingclue]

ok so i loved that story and i got this idea that i HAD to wright but idk where to go from here

It’s been a few months since he paralyzed you, he took care of you and spent almost every second with you. He even finally killed the doctor once and for all when she tried to rescue you. When something serious like this happens and you go into a state of shock and denial and your body and mind eventually catch up.

   He got you ready for bed and was just laying down and cuddling you while you slept when it  finally hit him like a freight train. He REALLY DID paralyze you and he killed his oldest friend for trying to help, not just hurt KILLED. When he cut into your back he justified it by telling himself you’d be safer but that was just the tip of the iceberg.

   He looked at you sleeping against him and he felt like he was going to be sick. He gently picked you up and put you back in bed before quietly walking to the bathroom.

  He white knuckled the sink as he stared at his reflection as he recalled the past year and how he’d broken you, mentaly, physically, and emotionally. “What in the name of rassilon did you do koschei.”

  He slaughtered the doctor and her companions, blew up planets, murdered thousands, and not even because he said he would if you didn’t listen. Word got out around the universe about what he did and he was so ruthless that even the daleks and cybermen stayed away from him, well at least they did until he finally eradicated all of them.

   He made himself the most feared, dangerous being in the universe to the point that people would probably feel safer going to the time lord victorious or the valeyard for help.

  And then there’s what he did to you. What you had was beyond stockholm syndrome.  He did so much to your mind that even if he did try and fix it, it was so drastic that the shock of it would put you into a coma you wouldn’t be able to wake up from.

  He would play with your mind and hypnotize you, poking and prodding and cutting out things, just so you wouldn’t fear him but no matter how much he played with your mind there were things that still lingered. Like how even though he took out the bit where he caught you in the closet and hurt you, you were afraid to go near the closet.

There was a buzzing in his head and he felt like he would pass out until he heard you call him. 

  You felt the master get up to go to the bathroom but that was almost half an hour ago. “Master, are you ok?.”

  His head jolted up at the sound of your voice, he took a deep breath to try and compose himself before he left.

  He looked at you smiling up at him and felt his hearts jump into his throat, “Hi angel sorry for waking you.”

  “No it’s fine, you were just in there for a while and i thought something was wrong.” 

  He went around the bed and sat down pulling you into his lap, one arm wrapped protectively around you and his other hand running through your hair. “Shhhh i’m fine, just go back to sleep.”

  You nuzzled into him as you felt yourself drift off back to sleep.

  When he looked down at you holding on to him like it was the only thing keeping you safe, he couldn’t stop the tears from falling.

  He was normally very caring and attentive but the past few days even more so. You had many beautiful clothes but when you were ready to get dressed he brought in dozens of boxes and bags.

  He looked at you, smiling and rubbing his hands together before handing you a box and looking at you eagerly. 

  You slid off the ribbon and when you opened the lid you gasped and almost dropped the box. 

   “It’s an 18th century ball gown from france.” He knelt besides you and gently held your hands. “I know how much you love looking at all those dresses so i got you some, along with some other things.”

  He handed you a little bag, you carefully took out the tissue paper and pulled out an intricate bottle of perfume. You stopped for a second when you realized how difficult it would be to get dressed. “I love this so much but how-”

  He cut you off, immediately knowing what you were going to say “I’ll help anyway I can, I just know you always wanted to wear dresses like these.” He cupped your face and looked into your eyes like he was searching for something.

   You noticed a sadness, it’s been building over the past few days but looking at him like his, he looked like he would cry at any second.

  She was looking at him with concern but he had to keep it together. “Angel?, do you remember how you got paralized?.”

  You looked at him a little confused. “You know i don’t know.”

  He stood up and leaned down and gently kissed the top of your head before bringing over some boxes. “I know, i’m sorry i was just hoping that it would trigger a memory.”

  You decided you wanted to go for a picnic, you decided to just wear a simple sundress. He picked a beautiful little planet that didn’t really have much of anything living on it, just fields and rivers. You rested against a tree near a stream and watched a butterfly as he set everything up.

  He picked at his sandwich, he felt too sick with guilt to really eat much.

  You looked at him and he could tell you were worried. “I know something’s bothering you, you look upset whenever you’re around me, did i do something wrong?”

  He felt his hearts drop to his stomach as he looked in your eyes still, so bright and full of love that he didn’t deserve.

  “NO! No it’s fine ……. Just thinking about something and I’m not sure it’s going to work properly.”

  “Maybe i can help you?.”

  “No, it’s a surprise for you, and besides that i wouldn't’ want you to get your hopes up”

  Ok so he didn’t REALLY have a plan but there’s something he’s been thinking about making since that night. You had a very simple wheelchair and he thought about looking for dalek parts to make you a telepathic one. 

  He snapped out of his thoughts when he looked over at you smiling at the butterfly that landed on a cupcake 

  After the picnic he left you to do whatever you wanted in the tardis while he worked. You didn’t know what he was working on that could have made him so upset or why it needed so many dalek parts. You tried talking to him but he would gently shush you and go back to work so you just spent the evening playing some video games.

  You were laying on his chest as he gently held you. It was too late to change and undo what he’d done and he could never bring you back to earth. He considered this a type of quiet petance, if he can’t change anything he would try with every fiber of his being to keep you safe and happy and that meant keeping ANYTHING that could trigger your memory away.

Ok. this was AMAZING!!!!! Thank you so much for submitting it!!! :D

[sparklyjojos]

THE SAIMON FAMILY CASE recaps [10/13]

In which we meet a young wordician and the detectives finally stumble upon a breakthrough in the case.

--

PART 7

Three days before August 19th, a few other detectives from Nihon Tantei Club propose they can help with the Saimon Family Case. Ajiro might take them on their word if the next incident doesn’t clear anything up. However, he’s afraid to mix anyone else into this, seeing as a single case stretching for so long is already pulling their attention away from other cases.

In fact, Ajiro reveals to everyone that he’s considering withdrawing from the Club entirely; he’s grateful to everyone who would hate to see him go (especially tearful Kirigirisu), but he still has his pride as a detective. If no progress in the case is made soon, he will be forced to make that decision. Two young detectives, Raiouji and Mikuruma, outright declare that they will quit too if push comes to shove.

Three days later Ajiro and Kirigirisu are faced with a new incident in the Saimon Family Case when Kyuuzou dies from a hornet sting.

On the same day, Raiouji and Mikuruma are killed when a reckless truck driver hits them on their usual bike ride.

As soon as they get the news, Ajiro and Kirigirisu stop their investigation in Tsuwano and return to Kyoto to learn more about what happened. Witnesses testify that the truck driver (who also died in the crash) didn’t even attempt to brake before hitting the two young detectives. The police finds stimulant drugs in the truck’s cabin, states that the man was probably using them, and files the case away as a normal traffic accident.

Raiouji’s and Mikuruma’s joint funeral ceremony is held a day after Fujita Kyuuzou’s wake, and unexpectedly a few Saimons decide to go to Kyoto to attend it: Soga Tensui with Miku, Taishi with his wife Yurine, Hyousen with his son Hyousai, a few members of Fujita-gumi, even shy Takayoshi.

Miku says that they wanted to bring Juku along at first, but decided against it, as him wearing sunglasses throughout the entire ceremony could be seen as rude by other people. It’s still unknown just what made the boy so strangely beautiful after his brother’s death.

(Kirigirisu has had some very outlandish theories about it come to his mind. If we define the twins’ previous beauty as being “90% perfect” for each one, then maybe after one died, the other one now somehow counted for two, and the accumulated value tipped over the point of “100% perfection”… This sort of ridiculous theories. Kirigirisu has no idea why he even thought about it.)

As they talk with the family, Hyousen mentions that he saw Ajiro’s grandfather Soujin yesterday in Tsuwano, showing up in the Fujita household once everyone else left after Kyuuzou’s wake. Hyousen acts quite friendly towards them, what with his late father and Soujin having been sworn brothers and all. There is some uneasiness in Hyousen’s behavior that wasn't there before, but one can expect it from a son who just lost his father... from someone who keeps losing his family every month. He says that his wife Shima couldn't show up, as she's been feeling sick lately.

Takayoshi exchanges a word or two with the detectives, but leaves in a hurry once his brother Taishi approaches (unsurprising reaction, considering the two's past). Taishi isn't as friendly as everyone else and claims that he's only here because he has another business in the prefecture anyway.

"The other Kotensui lives in Kyoto," Taishi says. "That is, the kid that provided Kotensui's voice, Ryuuguu Jounosuke. We have something to do at his house."

Ajiro seems to know the name Ryuuguu. Or rather, he knows about Ryuuguujou, the family’s palace so splendid it’s often called one of the two great mansions of Northern Kyoto (the other being a place called Geneijo). So this strangely named Ryuuguu Jounosuke has to be a young noble. Apparently when his ancestor Yatsutarou was designing the palace grounds, he took inspiration from the Saimon family’s garden, which led to him becoming friends with Saimon Taishin.

The Ryuuguus offered the Circus financial help many times, but the Saimons always refused to take any money from them. However, Taishi can tell that the Circus is pretty much over now with so many performers dead, and wants to ask the Ryuuguus for help—not even asking for money, but for a few of their koi so he can repopulate the depressingly empty pond.

It feels like Taishi’s sense of loss is connected less to their fish, and more to Akio; perhaps his sudden desire to get the pond back to normal comes from subconsciously wanting his brother back.

The bright spot in despair is that Taishi's and Tensui’s relations are getting better lately. Taishi states that if anyone will be able to keep the Circus going in the future, it will be the three child geniuses: Yomiko, Juku, and Jounosuke.

“That boy is a true wordician,” he says of Jounosuke. “A magician of words.”

Apparently Jounosuke has been travelling all over the world with his parents since he was born, which contributed to his knowledge of an astounding number of languages. He likes words so much he even named some of the buildings belonging to the Saimons, like Sanasou and Shakuya. For some reason he also likes to call Tensui yossha no ojisan (well, Tensui kind of is an "alrighty guy", but it's still a strange way to address him).

That last innocuous fact seems to pique Ajiro’s curiosity and he wants to have a word with Jounosuke.

--

And so, on August 22nd, Ajiro and Kirigirisu ride to Ryuuguujou together with Taishi and Yurine. It’s easy to see how rich the Ryuuguus are; their private grounds could probably fit an entire Disneyland, and a sleek limousine takes the guests to the palace, a giant black building with a tall tower in the middle. Ryuuguujou is surrounded by a western-style garden on one side and an eastern-style one on the other. In fact, the entire building was designed to resemble an European castle on one side and a Japanese keep on the other, down to the internal decor.

A butler shows them inside, where they meet Mr. and Mrs. Ryuuguu—Kintarou and Kaguya—who dress like they just got here in a time machine from 18th century France. They welcome the guests in a pretty exalted manner, both seeming constantly cheerful. They are without a doubt the weirdest people Kirigirisu has ever met, and that’s counting all the strange detectives he works with. Maybe that’s just how people living in palaces are.

Apparently Kintarou and Kaguya don’t always dress like this, but choose between many outfits from different eras on a whim (and even invite the detectives to borrow costumes and join their dress-up game if they like). They travel abroad for most of the year and because of that take special care to keep their friendships going whenever they're back in Japan. They like to consider anyone they meet as a potential great companion.

Their endless chatter is a bit exhausting, so even if the couple is extremely friendly, Ajiro and Kirigirisu are glad they can leave for the eastern garden to search for Jounosuke. Kirigirisu is actually a little worried for Mr. and Mrs. Ryuuguu; they seem so trusting and ready to help everyone around that maybe someone could easily abuse their friendship for nefarious purposes.

The detectives find Jounosuke feeding koi in the garden. Even in the summer the boy is wearing all black, including an elegant hat, gloves, and a long cape (but at least the shirt under that cape is sleeveless). He looks at them with curious big eyes, a happy smile on his face.

“Oh, so Mother and Father have made new friends,” he says when they introduce themselves.

Ajiro makes a comment that as expected from someone called a wordician, his speech sounds very intelligent, then asks about his age.

“Ryuuguu is now ten, in fourth grade at school," Jounosuke answers in third person. "Are you friends with yossha no ojisan? You called Ryuuguu a wordician, which means you know people from the Circus, and the one who knows the most about Ryuuguu there is yossha no ojisan, so you probably came to talk with Ryuuguu on his request.”

“This child is quite a detective,” Ajiro comments in amused surprise. “Maybe we should employ him in the future, huh, Kirigirisu?”

“Are you detectives?” Jounosuke puts two and two together quickly.

“Yes, we are detectives. We’re investigating a case and we would like you to help us with something.”

“You want to know yossha no ojisan’s secret? Um… but Ryuuguu promised he wouldn’t tell anyone.”

“I see. Then I won’t ask about it. You were the one who named Sanasou (山鴉荘) and Shakuya (杓屋), right? Could you tell us the origin of these names?”

“Oh! Sanasou has the kanji for raven (鴉) trapped in the word for a mountain villa (山荘), but it should actually be written differently. In the word for sake kasu (酒糟), there's this kasu (糟) that can also be read as sou. And by looking at Sanasou and changing sou to kasu you get Sanakasu (山鴉糟), which sounds like Saakasu—“Circus”! “And Shakuya is where they keep sharks, so it’s a shark room, shaaku-room, shaaku-ya.”

These are… quite the wordplays. Ajiro seems intrigued by the last one.

“I don’t know if you did that on purpose, Jounosuke… but that kanji for shaku (杓) means a dipper. I think the shaku in Shakuya may mean a constellation called the Big Dipper… and it refers to one other thing too, doesn’t it?”

“Um, that one is a secret.”

Ajiro gives Kirigirisu a conspiratory wink. Jounosuke may be smart, but he's still a child, so Ajiro can try and get the secret out of him in a roundabout way, by checking what topics the boy doesn't want to talk about.

“By the way,” Ajiro says, “in the aviary at Sanasou there’s a big dove figure called Onikaru-sama. Was that name also created by you?”

“No, Ryuuguu thinks it’s been called that since a long time ago.”

“Do you know that name’s origin?”

“Ryuuguu knows… and won’t tell.”

“I think that Onikaru-sama is not quite its actual name. Instead of O-ni-ka-ru it should be pronounced On-i-ka-ru, right?”

Kirigirisu has no idea what the difference is, but Jounosuke makes a troubled face. The boy’s not a very good liar, that for sure. Even if he stays quiet, Ajiro is pelting questions at him and presumably reading out satisfying answers between the lines.

“Tell me, did yossha no ojisan tell you anything about the word juuku?”

“Juuku… that’s the name of yossha no ojisan’s son, who’s a few years younger than Ryuuguu. Actually, Ryuuguu has never met him before.”

“Certainly, juuku written like the number nineteen is also Saimon Juku’s first name. But have you perhaps heard something else about juuku?”

“Huh? Ryuuguu doesn’t understand…” This time Jounosuke seems honestly confused.

“Then… have you heard of Golgo 13?” Ajiro for some reason names a manga series about an assassin for hire. What does that have to do with anything?

“Um, no… when Ryuuguu thinks of the shape of the word juuku (十九), the only thing he's reminded of is Senmaru (千丸)...”

That last word sends a cold shiver down Kirigirisu's spine.

Senmaru is a common nickname for the crossing at Senbon Maruta, the same place where Raiouji and Mikuruma were killed in an accident mere days ago. This has to be just a coincidence… right?

Kirigirisu doesn’t really understand what this entire conversation meant, but Ajiro looks completely satisfied and thanks Jounosuke for the help.

“Can Ryuuguu show you an illusion to end with?” the boy asks. “It’s the best, even yossha no ojisan was surprised! Is it okay if it breaks your watch?”

“It’s alright,” Ajiro says presenting the arm with his watch. “What gets broken can be fixed. It’s only fair to help you show us an illusion, considering how much you helped us today.”

Jounosuke reaches forward with one gloved finger, lightly pokes Ajiro’s watch—and it instantly stops working, the hands freezing in their tracks.

“I see…” Ajiro seems strangely satisfied for having his watch broken. “You’re like the opposite of Uri Geller, making clocks stop instead of restoring their function…”

“Jounosuke!” shouts a new voice. A teen girl in a white dress is walking their way with a stern face. “How many times did I tell you not to break other people’s things? I am deeply sorry, we will cover the cost of repairs …”

“No, it’s alright. My watch was already acting strangely and I wanted to repair it anyway. You must be Jounosuke’s older sister?”

“Ah, yes. My name is Ryuuguu Otohime. I’m sorry if my parents and brother were bothering you…” She sounds quite mature and like the only normal person in this family. Well, they do say that children either end up highly similar to their parents or become their complete opposite. “I’m not sure how to explain it, but what Jounosuke just did wasn’t an illusion. He has a strange power that lets him break every mechanical device he touches. It just suddenly showed up last year, around the same time when he started wearing all black.”

“It’s still a kind of magic,” Ajiro states. “As long as one acts like there is a secret method behind the performance, even a supernatural power is illusion. I think it’s wonderful to have abilities that other people don’t have.”

--

Soon, Kirigirisu and Ajiro prepare to leave against the wishes of Kintarou, Kaguya, and especially Jounosuke, who would love for them to stay and hang out all night. (Taishi and his wife do spend the night, since they live in another prefecture).

The detectives get a taxi back to the city. The slightly bizarre frenzied atmosphere from before turns into grim silence as they approach the crossing of Senmaru.

A class of small children is following their teacher through the crossing, and for a short moment Kirigirisu is sure he spotted Juku and Joukei among them—but that can’t be, Joukei is not around anymore. He takes another look. The two children he saw are actually a pair of a boy and a girl, perhaps also twins, both their backpacks having the name TAMEI written on them. [Which implies these two are Dakushoin and his sister from the other JDC books. What a nice little cameo.]

“Boys, be ambitious,” Ajiro says suddenly.

Huh? The popular phrase shounen yo, taishi wo idake? Ajiro doesn't elaborate what he means by it, instead adding another non-sequitur.

“We are the ambassadors solving the mystery of the magic show.” [Ore-tachi wa, kijutsu shou no nazo wo toku taishi nanda.]

Ambassadors? Kirigirisu truly has no idea what Ajiro means by those strange phrases, but has a feeling they aren’t just random gibberish.

--

Ajiro and Kirigirisu return to Nihon Tantei Club’s office, where everyone else (except Shiranui and always wandering Soujin) is waiting for them. Some of the detectives, especially Shiranui’s group, seem fed up with Ajiro doing things on his own and relegating responsibilities of the representative to others; even if he still gets cases solved, he falls behind as a team leader. Arito Tarou points out that Raiouji and Mikuruma were likely killed because of the Saimon Family Case, so Ajiro should at least tell everyone what’s really going on.

Ajiro can’t deny that those two deaths could be connected to the Case; if that’s the truth, he’s taking full responsibility. Even if it was just an accident, Ajiro admits he has to either abandon the Saimon Family Case and go back to his duties, or pursue the Case and abandon his position instead. He decides that if he doesn’t solve the Case until the end of September 19th, or if the deaths of Raiouji and Mikuruma turn out to really be connected to the Case, Ajiro will quit the Club.

Kirigirisu immediately announces that if Ajiro’s going to turn in his resignation, then he’s quitting too.

Soon everyone except for our two main detectives leaves the office for the night. Kirigirisu walks to the nearby Lawson to buy them something to eat. When he comes back, he notices a gorgeous white car parked under the building, then meets its owner on the stairs inside. Short and thin, with a white suit and the atmosphere of the Godfather—it’s Ajiro’s grandfather Soujin, who hasn’t shown up around for over a year. As always, his presence is overwhelming, making it obvious why the man was once called “Ajiro the God”. Soujin is happy to see Kirigirisu, but apparently is so busy he already has to leave.

Back in the office, Kirigirisu discovers that another old detective showed up in his absence, Shiranui Zenzou. Apparently Soujin gave him a lift here. Did the two Ajiros and Shiranui talk about the Case?

“We did,” Ajiro answers. "The Saimon Family Case that’s been confusing us for a year took grandpa all of three seconds to figure out. Well, it’s not that he solved it, but he gave us an important hint. The truth behind the Case that boils down to a single word.”

Shiranui interrupts him, saying that he doesn’t really know what’s going on, and his own method of reasoning (basically “doubting every single detail”) is still focused on whether Kyuuzou was actually stung by a hornet or not. Ajiro explains that while a stinger really was found in the victim’s body, the hornet itself may have not existed; anyone skilled enough in voice mimicry could emit a convincing buzzing noise. It’s possible that the murderer used a prepared stinger to kill the victim, making it look like an unfortunate accident.

Someone skilled in illusion and voice mimicry… Soga Tensui is apparently pretty good at both.

“If we were to guess the truth based on all the data we have gathered, everything would point to Tensui being the culprit,” Ajiro says. “However, a single word from grandpa forced us to abandon our previous theories and go back to the drawing board. This word is kuroyashi. Yashi may refer to the merchants and peddlers of a tekiya yakuza group, such as Fujita-gumi. Kuroyashi would mean “a black peddler”. And if you switch black and white around, what do you get?”

That would be shiroyashi… which sounds suspiciously close to Shiroyasha, the masked murderer.

The Case is finally one step closer to being solved.

--

[>>>NEXT PART>>>]

[kshitij1997]

Hello again!

I hope you're all doing well! I have to say, I'm enjoying writing this far more than I thought I would.

For those who were confused as to who the giants of Europe were in the previous chapter, they were namely Great Britain, Austria-Hungary, the Russian Empire, and the Ottomans, to an extent. I forgot to add that detail in the previous chapter, sorry 😉.

All frozen characters belong to Disney, all I own is this head-cannon and the original characters.

Let's continue :D

Chapter 3: A Collapse, some friendships, a wedding, and possible parenthood

Agnarr sometimes had a habit of zoning out and biting his lower lip while listening to Iduna sing, a quirky quality Iduna found adorable, and always ribbed Agnarr about it in good humour. Agnarr on his part, always found it fascinating and endearing how Iduna was always drawn to nature, and how a nice cup of brewed hot chocolate always lifted her spirits. He also felt a sense of pride when he saw how quickly she learnt the ways of the European royalty despite being a mere commoner. Sure, the beginning was a little rocky with Iduna making small mistakes in conducting herself, but what she may have slightly lacked in conduct and tradition, she made up for it in emotional intelligence and choosing her words carefully, and most importantly her good humour and candour. Ah, the things lovebirds discover and like about each other when they court. While the people were wary of her northern ancestry at first, they soon warmed up to her due to her kindness and sincerity of her desires to want the best for them.

But, while these two were building their own corner of paradise, big changes were happening in Europe. The Emperor of France was finally cornered in a defeat two years after that damned invasion of the Russian Empire. Napoleon was finally ousted from power and exiled to the island of Elba. Fair enough, Europe agreed, for the troublemaker to be kept away from the mainland, like the naughty kid punished to stand outside and think about what they have done. France came to Arendelle for help again, however by now Arendelle was done with them, having reached an understanding with the Russians and the crown of Corona, and the Southern Isles and Weselton only too happy to fill up the vacuum left by the French.

Still, the king was wary of the Southern Isles and Weselton, what with the Southern Isles royal family being notorious for their bonds of blood thinner than air, their tendency to breed like rabbits, and their famed history of going at each other's throats. As long as Arendelle didn't get injured in the crossfire, the King didn't really care, but he could have done without the acrimony, as the present king of The Southern Isles was a little eccentric, but he was fun to hang around with. As far as Weselton was concerned, it was a royalty of crooks and gangsters to king Agnarr. They had little class, lesser respect, and both the duke and his successor never found an opportunity to turn any event into a money-making machine, as they worshipped their riches, and no people, land or race was sacred enough to not sacrifice for them to achieve their ends. The Russians Tsars on their part were never very popular among their own people, and they were regular subject to assassination attempts and revolts, so the Russian empire too couldn't be the definitive reliable ally. Moreover, Alexander was closer in age to his father, so while their interaction was always warm and cordial, king Agnarr always felt distant from the Tsar. The one true ally and possible friend to Agnarr was King Reginald of Corona and his queen to be, lady Sophia of Southern Austria, who bonded with Iduna over their mutual good fortunes and friendship. When the friendship between the kings was on rocky terrain back in 1812, it was the two ladies who made the peace;

"I have all the respect in the world for Agnarr, and the way he has tried to manoeuvre his kingdom through this crisis, but I can't see my husband to be turning the other on this one, Iduna. Reginald feels betrayed, and he's not too keen on being forgiving yet."

"I understand and that position Sophia, but Agnarr didn't have the luxury of making a good decision from that mess. He tried to please everyone, as was expected of him, and everyone has taken advantage of it. He has bent over backwards trying to make amends for his father's harsh stance and the former French emperor's megalomania, for which he was gotten nothing but ridicule and contempt. He and I are desperately trying to find someone in this moment of chaos and trying to escape the witch hunt."

"It's not just a witch hunt, it's also restitution. The European monarchy has had an axe to grind with king Runeard, now they feel cheated and angered by how he's ignoring them to fight his own countrymen. I can't say I blame them, what with how the 18th century ended and the 19th began." Said Sophia, with the horrors of the Napoleonic wars fresh in her mind.

"They may have their reasons, that doesn't mean we don't have our own. Agnarr also has his own father to contend with. Do you really believe he wanted all this to happen? His father was backed into a corner by his French friend, he couldn't refuse him after what happened in Spain. Agnarr tried to minimize the ensuing forest fire, but his efforts were not appreciated." Iduna defended her beau.

"Don't get me wrong, we fully appreciate his endeavour in that direction, however it was an admission of weakness on his part, and as we have both come to know, weakness is not received well in our circles." Sophia said empathetically.

"This is all moot, as Agnarr is not being given a chance to correct his father's errors, and he wants what's best not only for Arendelle, but also for the stability of Europe. He is making sincere attempts at reconciling with his friends, spending far more effort at retaining those who are close to him than acquainting and dealing with strangers." Iduna put her foot down.

"The strangers being Corona's immediate northern and western neighbours, correct?" Sophia inquired with a faint smile on her lips.

"Yes, and he would appreciate and hold the true friendship strong through thick and thin." Iduna replied, making her point here.

"I have a couple of observations to make." Sophia started after a few minutes of ruminating on the subject. "Go ahead Sophia" Iduna pressed on.

"Agnarr is lucky to have you, and you have learnt well a trade completely alien to you." Sophia grinned. Iduna blushed despite getting used to the praise and replied with a smile, "Thank you, Sophia. I have a very good and supporting companion whom I'm fortunate to have in return. I also have come a long way from tripping over the coattails of the king of Bavaria, and almost setting him on fire. I have on good authority that he still doesn't like me." Iduna added with a smirk. Sophia laughed heartily at that for some time, remembering the pandemonium that had happened at the Bavarian king's wedding anniversary four months ago; in the May of 1812.

She calmed down at length, and assured her, "Alright, you've made your point Iduna, leave Reginald to me. I'll convince him. Soon, this problem wouldn't be a problem anymore." Iduna beamed at that "Thank you so much, Sophia. You don't know how much this means to both Agnarr and me." Iduna said with genuine gratitude and relief in her voice.

"You are most welcome, Iduna." Sophia beamed with satisfaction. "So, when are we all getting the much-awaited wedding invitations for the romantic, noble and adroit couple?" Sophia teased.

"Well, we are romantic, arguably noble and rumoured to be adroit, but we are still fourteen or fifteen at best. You tell me Sophia, when shall Europe see Corona and Austria-Hungary join hands in matrimony?" Iduna asked cheekily in return.

"Ah well, I'm ready now, but we both know there are other things at hand first." Sophia sighed.

"True, but at least we can put this particular business behind us" Iduna assured.

"Yes, and just in time for both of us to leave" Noted Sophia.

The two friends embraced and wished each other safe travels.

Iduna remembered the conversation that had brought the two nations together two years ago, quite fondly, and had grown very close to Sophia in the meantime. As King Agnarr and King Reginald forged the new order of Europe post Napoleon, European society keenly baptized them as ' The northern brothers '. As for the queens-in waiting, they maintained a healthy correspondence, discussing all joys and tensions, and forged a nigh sisterly bond. It wasn't surprising to for Iduna to be the first person to know about the wedding date and being Sophia's maid of honour, and it was inevitable for king Agnarr to be king Reginald's best man.

It was a happy and lavish affair in October 1814, with royalty coming from as far as the Ottoman Empire, Macedonia and Egypt. Sure, now Corona had ideological differences with the Ottomans, but that didn't stop the Sultan from helping himself to the finest offerings of king Reginald's palace kitchens. The then-king of Great Britain sent his regrets, but that could be forgiven as the poor monarch was already half-mad and blind with age. As for the ever-dignified Tsar, he blessed the union with prosperity and a long lineage. He may have been a party mad youth in his time, as were all the Romanovs, but his Tsarina had tethered him to a dignity that he quietly enjoyed. The king of The Southern Isles was particularly interested in the lineage and advised king Reginald to secure the succession as soon as possible.

"The Tsar's blessing is good and all, but I'd wish king Christian the eighth of The Southern Isles had more time to educate me on the subject." Reginald said glibly to Agnarr after making sure the father of nine children was out of earshot.

"I don't know about the king, but Sophia would definitely fucking kill you when she hears that." Laughed Agnarr.

"Hey, Iduna taught you to have a brutal sense of humour! That lady is magnificent" ribbed the king of Corona.

"I agree wholeheartedly. Do you think king Christian will reach double-digits with his kids?"

"He's definitely getting close, even if he's up there in age. I'll wager at least eleven before he's done." teased Reginald, before his queen quietly twisted his ears.

"You two clearly have way too much fucking time on your hands" scolded the inebriated queen; well, it was her night too. "I'm sorry, dear. It slipped out; I didn't mean anything by it." wailed the king. "Yeah, we'll see about that." challenged his Austria-Hungarian better half.

This silly exchange lightened up the ballroom, with The Southern Isles King and the Duke of Weselton cackling in the distance and even the stoic Tsar grinning good-naturedly.

"Hear hear, the true power of Corona!" Proclaimed Iduna, appearing as if out of nowhere with her signature mug of hot chocolate.

"Hey darling, you got your way after all" said Agnarr, graciously admitting defeat to an earlier bet he made with his belle.

"Damn right." Iduna replied, holding her hot chocolate mug high up. Then she spoke "I'm so happy for them, the whole thing was textbook." "Yeah me too, they are a fine couple, we are good at this, we should do this more often." Agnarr said.

Then Agnarr turned wistful and grim and said, "I wish the French leader came, they have been our longest supporting allies, even if our relations have soured in the last few years."

"The surviving bourbon king is old and obese; we can't expect him to travel such a distance without incident." Mused Iduna.

"Still, he could have sent a representative, would have meant everything. I know from experience that this can't end well." Agnarr said quietly "Now why didn't he send any message?"

As if to answer his question, a messenger entered the ball room and made a beeline for the centre "Pardon me for this ugly interruption but listen all. Napoleon Bonaparte has escaped the island of Elba, has garnered support back in France and has usurped the bourbon monarchy again. King Louis the eighteenth is on the run, requesting asylum in Corona."

The European royalty may have had various grim reactions to this worrying news, but the Tsar summed it up best "That fucking devil."

It was a tough few months for the northern brothers ahead, along with the rest of Europe. Napoleon, the crazy genius that he was, had managed to find the backing of the crown of Spain, the Italian peninsula whom he had promised freedom from Austria-Hungary upon his conquest, and some nominal support from the Ottomans, who were only too happy to stick it to their problem neighbour up north.

But Napoleon's star was on the fall, suffering terrible losses despite some early victories. Despite that, it took the combined forces of the Russians, the British, Corona, Austria-Hungary, The Southern Isles and Weselton to destroy his presence forever in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The kingdom of Arendelle chose to maintain the supply lines for its allies instead of sending actual soldiers. Upon Napoleon's defeat and escape from the battle, the Tsar called for his head once and for all, but the duke of Wellington and Iduna intervened to exile him to St Helena's instead. They reasoned to avoid making that statement by rationalizing that France would be better left intact than scrambled by Napoleon's Execution.

Three weeks after the European powers decided Napoleon's fate, king Agnarr married now queen Iduna in a simple private ceremony, worlds apart from the celebration at Corona months ago. Of course, the close friends and allies were invited, and even though they had the odd Duke of Weselton grumbling about the lack of pretence and grandeur, king Reginald and queen Sophia lifted all spirits by announcing that they were with child.

"You magnificent bastard, you did it!" shouted the king of Arendelle as he gave the king of Corona a bear hug. "Right back at you, you scoundrel." bellowed Reginald.

"Well done both of you, but remember, this is but a beginning." The Tsar grinned.

"Oh your majesty, you're making us nervous" King Reginald replied in good humour.

"Thank you for taking my advice to heart, king Reginald" said king Christian, clearly pleased with himself.

"I suppose it makes the paltry Arendelle wedding ceremony worth it" grumbled the duke of Weselton.

"You make me sad, duke. I think you might either be clinically insane, or drunk on an empty stomach. Seeing the empty glass in your hand, I guess the latter." teased Christian, to which the duke merely grunted.

"Come with me, I'll introduce you to a poison far better than money" winked the king of The Southern Isles.

Agnarr merely laughed as Reginald relaxed his fisted hands after the duke left with the king, and within the span of a few minutes, was dancing his best impression of a chicken.

"He's clearly forgotten all his troubles"

"Good for him."

"Ah lighten up Reggie, I doubt you'll remember in the morning either."

"Hmm, I guess."

Agnarr grew serious and put his left arm over Reginald's shoulder, who returned the gesture.

"All the best for your parenthood."

"All good fortune for your married life as well, brother."

Agnarr gave a big smile before calling out: "Iduna, sweetheart, come here and bring Sophia with you as well."

"Here I am" Iduna warbled, clearly enjoying the first time she had ever been drunk, hanging onto Sophia's shoulder, who merely found it adorable. By this time, king Christian had also managed to calm the duke down after thoroughly enjoying the duke's dancing and 'mating calls' himself.

"Let's make a toast" Agnarr raised his glass as he collected Iduna in his right arm.

"To the lost" Agnarr said at length.

"To the lost" echoed the queen and everyone else.

"Skall to that" king Christian being himself, followed the duke shrieking "Caw Caw!"

Overcome with emotion and love, king Agnarr kissed his bride Iduna, who was so emotional at that point that she let out a long kulning for the occasion and buried her face into Agnarr's chest. She said with her voice cracking from tears, "If only my family could see me like this." King Agnarr whispered back kindly, "I know, I miss my parents too." The king held his bride close till she was well again, her eyes shinning with tears of joy. Reginald and Sophia watched the pair fondly coming closer themselves.

"I love you, Agnarr." "I love you too, Iduna"

"Not fair" Sophia remarked, trying to lighten up the mood, "she gets drunk then sings like an angel and tells people that she loves them, I get drunk and get into a quarrel with Reggie."

"We all have our charms, love." grinned Reginald.

Hmmm, this is getting somewhere, well thank you for sticking with this story!

Next time, we will see the sisters we have been waiting for :D

As always, constructive feedback is always welcome.

[maksylmyheart]

t's a balmy evening in June, the air rich with the smell of fresh flowers, the breeze rustling the trees and wafting the distant lilt of music on strings. The magical is meeting with the practical here: the idyllic beauty of a Provencal wedding reconciled with the aching realities of spending an afternoon walking gardens and gravel paths in a pair of heels. Instead of slipping away to gaze lovingly into one another's eyes, the bride and groom excuse themselves for a quick wardrobe change so that she can be more comfortable at the reception—not a fairytale romance, but the real world kind.

But just as it seems that the evening might be coming back down to earth, wonder reasserts itself. As they make their way back to their guests, the blue kiss of twilight turns buttery yellow under strings of lights woven between a lane of stretching plane trees, their friends and family seated for a feast beneath the glow of the lights.

"We just kept taking deep breaths and trying to take it in because I think that was one of the most impactful moments," says the bride, Meryl Davis. "We'd been dating for a long time and we've loved one another for a long time, and yet the experience of sharing that moment with each other was so beautiful. It's probably my favorite memory ever up to this point."

And that's some stiff competition: after all, for an Olympic medalist and Dancing With the Stars champion, there are plenty of spectacular memories to choose from.  

How Meryl and Fedor Got Together

Hailing from the suburbs of Detroit, an international hub for professional and competitive skating, Meryl Davis spent much of her young life training to achieve the heights of Olympics greatness that she reached with partner Charlie White at the 2014 winter Olympics, when the duo took gold in ice dancing.

"I didn't have to move away from my family or across the country or to a different country in order to pursue skating, which is pretty rare," she explains.

Meanwhile her now-husband Fedor Andreev, himself a professional skater, was in some ways the opposite—born in Russia, he moved to Canada as a child with his mother, Marina Zoueva, who would later go on to be Meryl's longtime coach. From there, he lived in a number of cities, including several years living and training in Detroit.

"We certainly got to know each other within the context of sport and within the figure skating community," said Meryl. "Fedor was five years older than me, and when you're young, that that feels like a big difference. So we are friends who've sort of blossomed over time."  

With such busy lives, the couple didn't begin to date until 2010, around the same time Fedor was preparing to retire from competitive skating. Not that retirement slowed their pace down much; in the years since they got together, Fedor graduated from the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business (Meryl is getting her anthropology there as well), Meryl earned first a silver and later a gold medal at the Olympics before retiring from the competition, and both have continued managing active careers on and off the ice.

Starting Their Adventure Together

"Adventure and travel has always been a part of our lives," explains Meryl. "I've always traveled to with figure skating for competition and I think I just gained an early appreciation of how much a sense of place can impact your experience. And then with Fedor being from Russia and moving to Canada, New York, Hong Kong, Detroit, he's a worldly person, so that's really been a part of our lives as a couple; traveling and experiencing different places."

They brought that love of travel home with them, too. "When we were renovating our home in Detroit, I wanted to incorporate sort of a French countryside element. I stumbled upon this Instagram account where this woman was sharing the renovation of an 18th century farmhouse in Provence."

The property in question was Le Mas des Poiriers, a 65-acre farm outside of Avignon with a seven bedroom farmhouse and cottage owned by Connecticut couple Shauna Varvel and her husband, who spent three years renovating the property after purchasing it in 2015.

"I was just completely fascinated by her eye for design and authenticity of the renovation, making sure to maintain the integrity of the home and the property," says Meryl.

When Meryl and Fedor got engaged in the summer of 2017, the property felt like a natural fit for their ceremony.

"Fedor and I visited the property and we both just were completely in awe of this magical place," says Meryl. "There's something about that part of the world that inspires you to embrace a slower pace; just sitting down and enjoying a meal and a glass of wine with your family and friends. That's really what we envisioned for our wedding, just really trying to be present and be in the moment."

Planning a Wedding Overseas

Despite their love of travel and the dreamy locale, a wedding in Provence did require some careful consideration, though.

"We spent a lot of time going back and forth trying to decide whether or not a destination wedding made sense because obviously it's an investment for not just us and our families, but for our guests as well," says Meryl. "Ultimately we felt, especially after talking to a lot of our friends and family who were like, 'oh, we'd love to come,' that adventure is just such a part of our lives and we were excited to utilize this opportunity to do that, not just together, but with our friends and family."

However, the couple were mindful of the fact that the style of their wedding meant foregoing some of the now-standard wedding extras. "Once we made that decision that it was going to be the destination, we wanted to keep everything else as simple as possible," Meryl explains. "I didn't want to ask people to do anything or plan any other trips, so I decided not to do a bachelorette party or a bridal shower. We just wanted everyone to have a good time and enjoy it and not feel obligated to do anything other than show up and have a great time."  

As for the technical aspects of the planning, the couple relied on event planners Matthew Robbins and Luis Otoya of Matthew Robbins Design for all of the details.  

"Matthew is the preferred event planner of the homeowner, so she introduced us to him and Luis. They were the first wedding planners we really spoke to and we were sold right away," says Meryl. "It feels like planning a destination wedding in Europe for just under a hundred people should be really stressful and complicated, but our planners made it such a pleasure and so easy."

Breaking With Tradition

For two people who have spent much of their young lives globetrotting and competing on the world stage, it's hardly a surprise that Meryl and Fedor aren't exactly your typical couple, nor could theirs be your typical wedding.

"We really want the weekend to be a reflection of us and who we are as opposed to just sticking to tradition for the sake of sticking to tradition," explains Meryl. "We stayed together throughout the week in France instead of having separate rooms or not seeing each other the day of the wedding. We wanted to enjoy the day of the wedding together and, and enjoy what an exciting time it was in our lives."

The couple chose to read personal letters to one another in place of classic wedding vows. Meryl's uncle, Cam Davis, served as the officiant for the ceremony.

Instead of a large bridal party, they chose to get their families involved in other ways. Meryl's uncle, Cam Davis, served as the officiant for the ceremony, and her brother Clayton was the man of honor. Fedor's cousin, Danielle Vincent, owner of beauty brand Kimiko, served double-duty as both his best lady and as Meryl's makeup artist.

"It was nice to have that personal touch, to have family doing my makeup," Meryl says. She adds, "I actually had the hairstylist that I worked with during Dancing With the Stars in 2014 come with us and she did my hair throughout the weekend, so that was really fun as well."

Both of Meryl's parents walked her down the aisle to her favorite song, "The Swan" by Camille Saint-Saëns.

"For me it was all really pragmatic, tactical things that I cared about," says Fedor. "That probably tells you something about our personalities too, but I wanted to not draw the ceremony out too long because the summer gets pretty hot and people are wearing suits. So we wanted to keep it as intimate as possible—maybe 10 to 12 minutes total."

At the reception, the couple opted for a parent dance instead of the typical father-daughter dance. "My dad and I danced while Fedor and his mom were also dancing." Meryl laughs, adding, "That was more because my dad doesn't like being the center of attention."

The Proposal

Of course, their wedding wasn't the start of their less-than-traditional streak. "I think Meryl would not have loved a super traditional proposal," says Fedor, "So it was a bit of a challenge kind of planning it."

In July 2017, as the couple were planning a trip to Napa with Meryl's parents in conjunction with a business engagement in San Francisco, Fedor decided to use their shared love of the outdoors and hiking to create a unique memory.

"I decided that it was a good idea to pop the question on a hike that we had never done before," he laughs. "I had no clue how challenging it would be. Because I had never been on the trail, I didn't know where the perfect place to do it would be, so several times I started taking the ring box out of my backpack and then was like, 'Whoa, no, abort, abort.'  It ended up working out on the back of the loop, right as we were going over a crest overlooking the ocean, I was like, 'Well, it's now or never cause there's only a quarter of a mile left.'"

"I always like taking pictures of the ocean and then when I turned around and put my phone down, Fedor was on one knee," Meryl explains. "That was a really beautiful emotional moment, just the two of us in the woods overlooking the ocean."  

The Ring

"The year prior [to our engagement] we had been on vacation in Santorini and Fedor was admiring some watches in a jewelry store," says Meryl. "I stumbled upon a ring I just loved, and apparently Fedor took note. When we got home from our vacation, he began designing and seeking out the perfect yellow diamonds."

Fedor jokes, "Apparently I was the only person to ever come to jeweler with a full PowerPoint presentation on what I wanted. I did a lot of research and I just wanted to make sure that it really captured everything that was important to Meryl."

Their Something Blue

While her engagement ring features yellow diamonds, the colors for the wedding went a different direction, inspired by Meryl's family.

The five-tiered wedding blue and white cake by Catherine Pierard from Provence-based Made In Cake.

"When I began telling [our wedding planners] Matthew and the Luis what I envisioned, it was sort of an elevated backyard dinner in the summer, with flowers that felt like they could be taken out of the garden," says Meryl. "Just very warm and welcoming. And for me, when I think of like warm and welcoming, I think of sitting down to family dinner around a table of blue and white Chinoiserie. That has sort of been our family tradition; my grandmother has collected those pieces for as long as I can remember."

Meryl's grandmother's collection served as the inspiration for the five-tiered wedding blue and white cake by Catherine Pierard from Provence-based Made In Cake, as well as the table settings in vintage china from Le Bazar de rêve by Veronique for the Brunet Frères Traiteur meal, with table linens from Linen Way and Juliska napkins.  

The food for the reception was catered by Brunet Frères Traiteur.

For the flowers, they kept to the blue theme with an equally familial inspiration.

"My parents still live in the same house in Michigan that I was born in, and Michigan summers are truly spectacular," says Meryl. "We always had these gigantic blue booming hydrangeas that just for me are the epitome of, you know, running barefoot through the grass and just being in the garden in the summer. It just felt like home, and it was also elegant."

The Dress

In keeping with her style, Meryl and her stylist Cynthia Cook Smith chose a Monique Lhuillier dress in a subtle neutral instead of the classic white.

"It was an interesting experience picking the wedding dress, just because ice dance tends to be very theatrical and ornate and, and costume design has been a really enjoyable part of our sport for me; I've always designed costumes with my mom."

Meryl's mother Cheryl Davis helped her get ready.

"Coming in, I thought, 'Do I really want something that looks like a skating dress or to purposefully gravitate away from what I would wear on the ice and make it very simple?' Ultimately, I just decided, I know what I feel comfortable in. We went shopping at a lot of really wonderful boutiques in Los Angeles, and actually the dress that I ended up picking was the very first wedding dress I ever tried on. It just felt like exactly what I had envisioned for the wedding. It was whimsical and it felt as though it would fit into the backyard garden setting."

Meryl and Fedor, right before he saw her in her dress for the first time.

Oliver Fly Photography

"The one thing that was actually traditional [about the wedding]," Fedor adds, "was that I didn't get to see the dress or Meryl wearing the dress prior to the wedding day. It was absolutely breathtaking getting to see Meryl walking out of the house. It was just extremely, extremely elegant."

The Reception

"One of the things that we were most struck by was just how surreal it was to have so many of the people that we love most from different parts of our lives together in one setting," says Meryl.

Along with their families, the happy couple were joined for the celebration by friends from school as well as colleagues from the skating world including Brian Boitano, Kristi Yamaguchi, Madison Chock, Evan Bates, and Meryl's partner on the ice, Charlie White and his wife, Tanith Belbin White.

"We were really emotional and overwhelmed by just what a once in a lifetime experience that was;, that collection of people who meant so much to us," says Meryl.

To maximize their time with their guests, the couple chose to extend the festivities with a pool party at the venue on the day after the wedding as well as an extended wedding week with their nearest and dearest.

Meryl changed into comfortable dancing shoes for the reception.

"It was a really nice way to connect with everybody in a very informal way," says Meryl. "Weddings go by so quickly, especially when it's just the wedding itself. We stayed in the house for a little under a week. Getting to experience the wedding weekend and then continue this celebration and spend time with our closest family was really special. We didn't want it to fly by, we really wanted to try to purposefully be present and take in as much as we could."

Photographs by Oliver Fly Photography; Event Planning by Matthew Robbins Design; Venue: Le Mas des Poiriers; Cake by Made In Cake; Catering by Brunet Frères Traiteur; Styling by Cynthia Cook Smith; Makeup by Danielle Vincent

Lauren Hubbard

Writer Lauren Hubbard is a freelance writer and Town & Country contributor who covers beauty, shopping, entertainment, travel, home decor, wine, and cocktails.

[whiskynottea]

An Interruption in the 1st Law of Thermodynamics.

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Chapter 17, Chapter 18, Chapter 19, Chapter 20, Chapter 21, Chapter 22, Chapter 23, Chapter 24, Chapter 25, Chapter 26, Chapter 27,  Chapter 28, Chapter 29, Chapter 30, Chapter 31, Chapter 32, Chapter 33, Chapter 34, Chapter 35,  Chapter 36, Chapter 37, Chapter 38, Chapter 39, Chapter 40, Chapter 41, Chapter 42, Chapter 43, Chapter 44,  Chapter 45, Chapter 46, Chapter 47, Chapter 48, Chapter 49, Chapter 50

AO3

A huge thank you to @theministerskat who puts up with me, and keeps betaing this story, 51 chapters in!

Chapter 51. Zambia 

Jamie had been right about one thing. It wasn’t the same.

Everything had changed. My timezone had changed, and two more hours crept in between us. Jamie’s obligations had doubled as he got further into the semester, and his free time became limited. My schedule in the medical program kept me occupied from eight to four-thirty, and then with afternoon clubs, I missed Jamie when he was waking up, and I couldn’t stay awake long enough at night when he’d get back to his dorm.

But the biggest change was the unmitigated disaster our communication had become. Or lack thereof.

The volunteer house had no wifi connection, and I had to walk to a nearby cafe to talk to Jamie, something that was impossible to do during the week since the only time he was able to call me at was midnight.

So I bought a Zambian SIM card and texted him. A lot. It still wasn’t enough, but it was the best I could do. I missed his voice. I missed seeing his face. The few times we attempted a video call all I had managed to see of him was a frozen image. Sometimes clear, sometimes blurred, because he had moved before the connection lagged. I had laughed the first time at the image of Jamie with his mouth open, his eyes turned skywards, as his voice came through the speaker with a relieved ‘finally’. I had thought the problem with the internet connection was random, and it would be better the next time we’d call. It didn’t.

We continued texting, trying to keep our lives intertwined. We sent pictures -- pictures that were pushing the limits of my patience because most of the time it took more than one failed attempt to get them through. Our messages often turned into long monologues, as the other was busy or sleeping. And then, when we had time to check our phones, we found long monologues in return.

That was how I found myself staring at a white piece of paper, brow furrowed, determined to write something that would be more intimate than a text on his phone.

My dear Jamie,

No.

My love,

No. Damn it! How was I supposed to write a whole letter when I couldn’t even write a greeting?

My sweet Scot,

Yes, that’s better.

My sweet Scot,

It’s me, your Sassenach, writing a letter to you, as if we live in the 18th century. I miss our century, to be honest. I miss proper internet connection. This 2G thing sucks.

I paused in my writing, sure that I wouldn’t give a damn about the internet connection if Jamie were with me. With a sigh, I shook my head to scatter those thoughts away. He wasn’t here, and he wasn’t supposed to be. Biting my lip, I continued, trying to focus on the positive things that had happened during the two weeks I had been in Zambia.

Being here is like moving into another dimension. I knew it would be different, but I never would have imagined people living on the same planet as us having such different everyday lives. I thought I was prepared when I landed in Africa, having finished the online training at home, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. I omitted telling you last week, but I panicked so much the second day I was here, that I started crying that night in my bed. It’s silly, ridiculous, and it makes no sense, but I felt lost. Alone. It was the first time that I could become lost and Lamb wouldn’t be there to search for me. I had to make it on my own. We had no guidance on how to live here and it seemed so hard to build a life from scratch in a country where I couldn’t even communicate well enough to buy something to eat. I was terrified, Jamie. And I didn’t tell you, because I knew you didn’t want me to come here, and I felt guilty and ungrateful for the chance given to me. Anyway. I’m much better now. I met Louise and she has pretty much made everything easier. She arrived two weeks before I did, and helped me a lot during my acclimation here.

Livingstone is beautiful. It’s rural and wild. Louise said we might visit the Victoria Falls next week, so get ready for pictures! It will be awesome to explore a bit, there are so many things to do!

I know I haven’t said much about the people I’ve met here, but they are usually around and it’s weird for me to be writing about them while they are looking at me. Louise is from France, that much I have told you. She’s a free spirit, straightforward, unabashed for what she says or does, but she’s also sweet and funny. She’s always smiling -- I don’t know how she does it. Sometimes I just want to start crying when I see the scarce medical resources available here. The equipment is limited, the clinics are under-staffed, and the patients too many. But then, that’s the reason I’ve come, right? To help. I decided to help in the children’s department, although I was really tempted to volunteer for the maternity one. Louise opted for the HIV treatment.

For the home-visits, I am usually paired with Margaret. She’s from Virginia and she’s really shy. She often gets lost in daydreams, but she is also so very patient and calm. During these visits we are supervised by Chikondi, which means ‘love’ in Chewa. Isn’t that great? Chikondi is a local caregiver and he’s amazing. His English is very good and he explains every little detail for us to understand what he’s doing and why. We mostly observe and assist him with small things now, but we’ll be able to do more once we get more experience. Yesterday we sat for almost an hour after an examination, listening to the stories of an old man who has been living alone since his wife passed away last year. They had five children, but they have all moved away. We were almost ready to leave, when he looked at me for a long moment and then just started talking. I couldn’t understand a word he was saying, but Chikondi started translating immediately. The man’s words rolled out in his deep voice, taking their time, but his eyes danced as shared his memories with us. And when he finished telling the last story -- how he made fun of his wife for her cooking, but they both knew she was the best cook in the village --  we gathered our equipment to leave and he rose too, saying that it was time to go to see his girl, because she was waiting for him.

It was impossible not to cry as I watched his dragging steps towards the cemetery. Chikondi said that listening to our patients and giving them comfort is just as important as the medical care and health education that we provide. In that moment, I felt as though I’m here not only to help heal their bodies, but their souls too. And it struck me that we’re not so different after all. It’s magical to be human and live, and feel and remember. And to be a human who has love and time to share with others creates a beautiful, inexplicable feeling. Like you suddenly realize you’ve been breathing your whole life, but you now relish in the action, something so simple, and yet so important.

We have been seeing the same giraffe I told you about every time we go for home-based care to the village nearby. We decided to name it Mani. I’ll take a picture tomorrow, so you’ll get to know him too -- I hope he’s a he.

The volunteer house is nice. We have a pool outside the house, and a BBQ, and we’ll probably organize a get-together tomorrow. Week days are way too busy, so it’s only Saturdays and Sundays that we have time for ourselves. Jeremy and I started a Reading Club and we spend almost all of our afternoons there, reading to the children. No matter their level of poverty or their illnesses, children smile a lot. I’m starting to believe that’s the common denominator that keeps us human. It’s strange, how the laughter of children brings adults together. It feels like they are the reason we can all function in the same equation. And most times I think that looking at tiny humans running around, playing, yelling, singing, is what keeps me sane and gives me purpose.

We’ll start health talks at the local schools next week. It’s mind blowing how important health education is. Even the simplest issues, like hydration, hygiene, and nutrition, have to be discussed. I’m excited to get into these classrooms, even more so because that’s where my mom volunteered.

I’m happy to be here, but I miss you, Jamie. I miss you so much. And I’m thinking of you all the time, I hope you know that. There are so many things I would like to share with you. Even the simplest things, like a flower or a sunset. Even though you wouldn’t care about them at all. At least the flower. You might have liked the sunset. We’re talking about going bungee jumping. I wish you were here so we could jump together.

Sometimes at night I dream that you hold me in your arms and I sleep better for it.

I’m now thinking that sending letters might seem really stupid to you, so don’t feel obliged to reply. We will text anyway.

I love you.

Claire

I finished the letter with a wistful smile, folded it, and wrote Jamie’s address on the envelope.

“Claire!” Louise waved from the door. “Are you coming?”

I secured the envelope between the pages of a book in my luggage, and headed outside. I would stop by the post office first thing tomorrow.

“What were you doing, Miss Bennet?” Robert raised an eyebrow, but his gaze didn’t leave the book he was reading.

“Ha, bloody, ha.” I replied, refraining from replying to his question.

At that moment, I realised that I had forgotten to mention Robert in my letter, but I didn’t know how to describe him to Jamie either. He was the oldest one here, but he didn’t talk a lot and his cocky behavior always made me wonder why he had volunteered in the first place. He was working in the adult department and organized the Math Club in the afternoon, so we didn’t really interact during the week. He was the actual reason, however, I didn’t participate in the Math Club. I didn’t want to be stressed during the afternoon activities, dealing with his sour behavior. Jeremy was much closer to the type of people I would usually be friends with.

“So, are we doing the BBQ tomorrow?” Louise asked, clapping her hands enthusiastically.

I shrugged and saw Margaret’s anxious gaze passing across all our faces, waiting for anyone else to speak first.

“I think it’ll be cool. We haven’t really spent much time together.” Jeremy was lying in a deckchair, and he rose on his elbows to look at us. “What do you think, St. Germain?”

“Why do you keep calling him by his last name?” I inquired, narrowing my eyes at Robert as I took the seat next to Louise.

“I don’t know.” Jeremy furrowed his eyebrows, as if he had just realized he had been doing that.

“I don’t mind,” Robert said. “All my friends call me St. Germain. Not that any of you would ever be anything close to my friends,” he added, and I grimaced.

“Of course your Highness,” Louise mocked him in return. “So, it’s decided. We’re doing the BBQ tomorrow.” She bit her lip, then, and looked around. “Where is Helga?”

“She had an additional first aid training session.” Margaret fidgeted with her skirt, then fixed her gaze on the swimming pool tiles.

Louise saw me observing Margaret, and she leaned closer to me. “She’s getting better. When I first came she hardly talked to any of us.” Seeing my questioning glance, she continued. “She’s not well. Her boyfriend died last year. Cancer.”

“Oh my God,” I whispered, trying not to seem upset in case Margaret chanced a look at us. She didn’t, but Robert did, and when his eyes found mine there was an expression on his face I couldn’t quite decipher. Something between loss and understanding.

Well, that was new.  

I had no idea Margaret’s time here was part of a healing process for her, and that made me realize I hardly knew anything about my roommates’ lives outside of Zambia, and certainly not enough to reach any conclusions on their characters. Maybe Robert had been an arrogant arse who began to change his attitude after volunteering. Maybe he had realized there was something more important than his little insignificant world.

“I’m in for tomorrow,” he said in his deep voice, eyes back on the pages of his book. I had seen him reading it the previous day and I had already read the book, but never mentioned it to him. It wasn’t that I wanted to start a conversation with him.

Louise shot me a questioning stare. “Yes, yes, I’m in, too,” I agreed. “Margaret?” It took her a moment to come back to reality and I noticed that her eyes were moist. “Will you come to the BBQ party tomorrow?” I asked, trying not to add any pressure to my tone.

She nodded and smiled, the colour of her eyes a deep chocolate brown that made me smile back.

“Perfect!” Louise stood up, stretched, and declared, “We have to go shopping.”  

“Will we invite the rest of the volunteers? The locals? I’m sure Chikondi would be glad to come.”

Robert rolled his eyes, but Jeremy agreed with me. With Louise’s and Margaret’s nods, he left the house to inform everyone about our little party.

“Tell them to bring food and drinks!” Louise shouted after him and he waved his hand, signaling that he had heard her.

Margaret rose from her chair, coming to ask Louise about the food and I joined them, looking at Robert over my shoulder. “Well, are you coming? Or do we have to do everything while you lounge here with your book?” I sneered at him.

He heaved a heavy sigh and rose, leaving his book on the table next to my chair. “Happy?”

“Whatever you say.”

“Let’s go!” Louise nodded towards the street and linked her arm with Margaret’s, leaving me and Robert behind. Robert smiled at Margaret when she turned to look at us, a real smile, and it was the first time I noticed that he had always been kind to her.

Maybe he’s not that bad.

When he looked down at me, a sly grin replaced the smile on his face. “Nice hair.”

I resisted patting my hair, even though I could feel that my curls had gone wild with the humidity, but I couldn’t resist huffing.

No, he’s definitely a prat.

Five minutes later we were in the town center, checking the food counters. I stood in front of a bowl of caterpillars, wondering if any of the rest had tried them. Chikondi had told me that ifinkubala were delicious, fried and served with tomatoes, onions and nshima, the staple carbohydrate of Zambia. They certainly didn’t seem delicious.

“Don’t even think about it,” Robert drawled, glancing at the bowl with disdain.

I wondered if Jamie would try them. He was always so adventurous with food. Seeing that he had eaten haggis regularly, I could easily imagine him eating caterpillars. I took a picture with my phone, smiling at the woman behind the counter, intending to send it to him when we went back to the house.

“Are you done?” Robert asked in a bored voice.

“Yes, I’m done,” I replied keeping my own voice as flat as possible.

“Let’s go then. I think we stayed long enough in the vicinity of fried insects.”

“They’re larvae, actually.”

He rolled his eyes, making it obvious how mundane he found this information. “I want to buy vitumbuwa for my afternoon tea,” he stated, as if I was in his service and I should buy them for him.

I struggled for a moment, trying to remember what vitumbuwa was without asking him. He must have seen my face because he snickered, “The fried dough balls with sugar.”

“Oh, right!” I smiled. I wanted to buy some of them too. And even though I wouldn’t admit it out loud, he was right -- they would be perfect with tea.

I checked my phone for any messages from Jamie, but I realized it was still too early for him. I saw his smile in my background picture, however, and smiled back, as if he could see me.

Jamie would definitely eat caterpillars. And if he’d like them, he would try to feed them to me too.

For the first time in the two weeks since I had arrived in Zambia, I found an advantage on Jamie staying back in Michigan. At least I could avoid the caterpillars without a battle now. Chuckling, I walked next to Robert, who shot me a strange glance but proceeded with his search for vitumbuwa, ignoring me further.

Not caring a bit, I smiled again. Today was Saturday. And that meant I could go to the cafe and call Jamie the moment he woke up.

Chapter 52

[dangermousie]

Happy 2019, which I rang in with some fantasy and scifi

Gods So, anyway, here is what I have been reading lately

OLD SCHOOL FANTASY

You either love the 80s/90s stuff or find it old-fashioned enough to set your teeth on edge. Luckily, I am in the former camp.

Melanie Rawn, the Dragon Prince - first in her trilogy, this is part fantasy novel (dragons! politics! magic!) and part a delicious bodice ripper romance (true love! mind wipes! ripping of clothes!) You either love that stuff or you don’t. Like a lot of old-school fantasy, it tends not to have too many shades of grey characters, but sometimes you just want the hunky prince Rohan and beautiful magician Sioned to be gorgeous and noble and heroic and sexy and ripping each other’s clothes off. 

PS. I got it for the cover. Do me, Rohan!

I am certainly getting the second book in the series.

PPS. Trigger warning for sexual assault of both hero and the chief female villain. It’s a VERY 80s book. 

Jennifer Roberson, Tiger and Del series - I love this!!! I tried and failed to get into her Chronicles of the Cheysuli, but Tiger and Del is great great stuff. (Also, if you are looking for POC protagonists, look no further than Tiger.) Tiger is a great sword dancer from the south, Del is a sword master from the North. Together they overcome traumas, defeat enemies and their pasts, and save the world occasionally. Oh, and fall in love. This is a wonderful, wonderful series from beginning to end, with two such complex and complicated protagonists (and how awesome that Del is often emotionally unavailable, vengeance driven, scarred and yet viewed as loved and loving. And Tiger is just amazing.)

Judith Tarr, Spear of Heaven (Avaryan Respendent) - This is the second book in the second trilogy in Tarr’s interconnected six book series (first trilogy is Avaryan Rising and takes place long before the second.) First off - Rising made me insane. I loved the first book, but the last book made me rage because Tarr wanted me to root for characters I wanted to murder and view as bad or misguided the characters I came to love. It was a bold gamble, but it failed. Still, I love Tarr’s prose (it often reads like poetry), I often love the characters she creates, and while the plot is hard to explain (it deals with the royal family and its use of magic, and worldgates that allow interplace travel failing, is the closest I can come to it), it’s so well-written, I don’t even care. Also, POC protagonists galore. And romance.

Kate Elliott, King’s Dragon (Crown of Stars) - The first book in the seven book series. I’ve posted about it recently, so I won’t do too much, but it’s gorgeously written and well thought out and I am in love with slowly discovering her sorcery power and recovering from trauma Liath and illegitimate son of King and commander of his troops, intense as hell Sanglant. HOWEVER OMG I MUST PROTEST because at the end of book 1, Sanglant is captured by that world’s version of Vikings and is now a slave of their chief magician who has put an iron collar and chains on him and made him one of his killer dog pack and by that i mean LITERALLY THREW HIM AMONG HIS DOGS TO SEE HOW LONG HE CAN FIGHT THEM OFF AND KEEP THEM IN CHECK AND BE TREATED AS SUBHUMAN AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY FAVORITE CHARACTER OMG AND SANGLANT IS ALL YOU CAN’T BREAK ME BECAUSE MY HEART IS WITH ANOTHER AND NOT WITH ME MEANING LIATH AND I NEED TO STOP. 

YA FANTASY

I am a sucker for YA fantasy even if I am much too old to be the intended audience. 

Mindee Arnett, Onyx and Ivory - our heroine used to be a noblewoman, but when her father tried to attack the King, she left and is now running messages in the desert. However, scary dragons are now appearing in the day, her first true love Prince Corwin has reappeared, and she may or may not be in danger due to her hidden magic. This is lovely and smart and well-written and it’s such a rarity to have two good, highly competent protagonists who act even while they angst. 

ROMANTIC SCIFI

This section should just be entitled “where were Rachel Bach and Sara Creasy my whole life”

Rachel Bach, Paradox Series - this trilogy is everything you ever wanted and never were gonna get - tough as hell heroine, a deliciously intense and angsty romance, Universe saving, conspiracies, mystic stuff, alien beings. Basically go read it and then wave your Devi x Rupert flag with me. Short summary is mercenary Devi really wants to become one of King’s elite guards, and to do so signs up with a trader named Caldwell, whose ship mysteriously gets attacked super often and short stint with whom often leads to guard positions due to extra combat experience. She quickly begins to discover everything is not what it seems. Oh, and the ship’s cook Rupert is surprisingly hot and surprisingly good with a gun. 

Sara Creasy, Song of Scarabaeus/Children of Scarabaeus duology - OK, this is mega smart (don’t read when tired) and twisty twisty twisty, but I confess that I was mainly in it because of Edie, a genius bio tech, coerced into helping with something Universe-changing, and Finn, a slave with a muting collar (for being on the wrong side of a rebellion), who is made her bodyguard because a chip will kill him if he is far away from her. This set up has my name on it OH YES. I loved Edie’s emotional integrity as much as I loved Finn’s endurance and the whole duology is AWESOME and EMOTIONAL and BRAINY at once. 

BRING OUT YOUR GUNS

I happen to like military fantasy some time, and both Wexler and McClellan are long-time favorites. 

Django Wexler, The Price of Valour - this is book 3 in The Shadow Campaigns five book series, which combines magic and 18th century France in a way. If you are looking for lesbian protagonists, this is a book for you, since one of our three narrators is Winter - Colonel in the army of that Universe’s version of Napoleon (only better as a person). The other two are another colonel - Marcus d’Ivoire and the ruling queen - Raesinia. The equivalent of French revolution is eating everyone alive in this installment, Winter is fighting in the war and trying to keep her relationship with first love Jane going, Marcus gets drawn in to help Raesinia save the city, Raesinia copes with not being able to ever die and being hunted by Priests of the Black (and I ship Marcus x Raes btw), and the whole thing is, as usual, awesome.  

Brian McClellan, Wrath of Empire - second in his Gods of Blood and Power series. I don’t love it as much as I do his Power Mage trilogy (I miss Tamas, who held that series together, and don’t feel as invested in the characters from the previous trilogy who appear here as much as I did there - Taniel is a good example) but it’s still solid and fun and Bill Sykes is a force of nature and Bo and Nila are back and Ka Poel is a lost Dynize Princess and I still ship her and Taniel in a terrified “don’t kill me” way so all is good. 

NEWBIE BUT GOODIE

S.G. Prince, Elvish - this is the author’s first book and the first in a series and I want more yesterday! Elves and magic and war and love and loss and gorgeous prose and OMG I SHIP THE MAIN COUPLE TO DISTRACTION.

[lullabymichelle-blog]

I must admit, I always had a crush on Gaston, from Beauty and the Beast. Yes, he was an idiot, but I loved his character design. I imagine a world where he got over Belle and knew another girl.

The girl’s name is Claire. She is Gaston’s wife, but aversely to most girls he had known, she was strong tempered and had a silver and often viperine tongue. When he married her, he knew exactly what he was getting into. He would spend a whole hour trying to avoid her killing every single girl that dared to lay eyes on her husband. 

But when she’s calm, she takes care of their house, reads to him when he gets home and enjoys teasing him until he kisses her. They do complement each other, as Gaston thinks she is the only one in the world that can compete with his beauty, and she knows he’s the only one that can make her calm and not die trying when she gets mad. 

So, AU’ full story under the cut if you like :D...

Gaston just let her go. She wasn’t into him, he got it, so he moved on, it was her loss.

Soon, news about Belle’s wedding with that beasty prince came to town. She had broken the spell, and now she became royalty. Totally out of his league now, but not that he cared much anymore.

A few months later, he was summoned by one of the richest men from the area. As a hunter, he was asked to provide food for him and his family, in exchange for payment. So he accepted, a job as good as any other. 

After a few months, he was carrying his hunting bounty to the noble’s house, when he saw a little lass for the first time: She was short, her hair was silver as the moon and her skin as pale as snow. He couldn’t see her eyes, as they were following a lecture while she was in the garden. Well now, never in his life he had seen someone who could beat his own beauty.

He got close to her and said hi. To his surprise, she lifted her eyes and stared right to his. She nodded slightly, and he knew he was doomed. She had greeted him, a commoner, even when it was against common customs to greet a stranger and that he had that macho aura around him. She didn’t ignore him, nor looked down on him, but she also didn’t throw herself to his arms as many girls from town. Then he knew he had to own her.

When he asked the noble about the girl, he noticed that the man seemed uncomfortable. At first he claimed he didn’t know who he was talking about, but then the little lass walked in the room. So he introduced them; she was his oldest daughter, named Claire due to her light appearance. She offered her curtseys, but she kept her face free from emotion. His inner self was screaming to achieve a smile from that stiff lady.

As time went on, he found himself visiting the manor more often than before. Sometimes Claire would go out to the gardens, but most of the time she spent her days in her room. But when he was able to approach her, he never could get that promised smile. He started to notice that most of the time she seemed depressed, she had one heck of a bad temper and was sarcastic and would scold him for his bad manners, but she was never rude to him, even though his lack of  subtlety. And boy, he knew she wasn’t that patient, as he had heard the screams and fights with her parents, followed by the sound of broken plates and slammed doors. What a hell of a pretty, little girl.

After many attempts, he gave up. He wasn’t going to achieve something by his ways, so he stopped, and began listening. She would start reading him beautiful though sad poems  soon after he stayed in silence. Surprisingly, he found himself still awake and enjoying her company, longing for their meetings, wondering how her soft hair would look tangled around his rough hands, and hunting with all his might, so she could taste something from he had got specially for her delight.

One day, his curiosity won over, and he asked her how could a girl as beautiful as her be single. She choked, piercing him with her eyes, but she had built some trust towards him, so she told him his story.

Long turned short, she was born in a family that often bore girls who married higher ranked novelty. As the first child of her generation, her parents expected her to marry the prince from France in the future, but their hopes burnt to ashes when she was born as white as snow, as  beliefs said kids with her hair color and skin where evil and people thought they carried misfortune. When she was rejected by the royal family, her parents thought she still had hope. But no one would want to marry her for something as stupid as her appearance. So she had grown up in that manor, away from society and constantly hearing that she was a failure, that she couldn’t manage to fulfill the family’s expectations and that the family’s honor had been damaged by her.

When she finished telling her story, she could see rage into his eyes. She was right. Gaston couldn’t believe it, it was plain 18th century and people still believed those kinds of superstitions.

“Marry me” He said. She opened her eyes wide opened, but regained her composure pretty fast, “I’ll ask your father for your hand, tonight”.

“Calm down, Romeo. He won’t let you. He plans to send me to a cloister as soon as I reach majority”.

He wouldn’t take it. Over his dead body he would let her beauty and grace get rotten in such a place.

“Then... scape with me. Let’s run away, come to my town. Everyone there respects me, no one will hurt you there”.

“What? Have you gone mad? My father will get you killed by dawn, pretty lad!”

“He has no power where I come from. No one knows you exist, he has kept your existence a secret as good as he can. I’ll let him know that if he tries to chase you, everyone will know about his run-away daughter, and as I am incapable of harming you this way, only you know about this. He will care about his family, his honor, and he will let us go away”

Claire stood there, frankly surprised. Amazing, this young fellow proved himself to be more than the pretty face she always thought he was... she didn’t had any attachments towards her family, so she cared a rat ass about her own reputation. But there was only one thing that kept her from accepting his offer.

“Gaston, I really appreciate your intentions, but you can’t play with a lady’s heart like that. A lady will think that you have feelings involved and get the wrong idea. You deserve to be happy with someone you love, someone happier and light hearted”

She almost fell back as she saw him moving so fast towards her that she couldn’t react. He grabbed her by the waist and lifted her, making her spin in the air as easily as if she was a doll.

“Is that one your only objection?” He asked, blissfully.

“W-what? How dare you touch a lady like this! L-let go off me, Gaston!” 

He stopped and put her back to ground, smiling.

“A lady is the most foolish and hardheaded woman I have ever met, and I fell in love with her just the way she is”

And grabbing her head closer to him, he kissed her. 

...

They did run away, and yes, her father had tried to chase them, but as expected, Gaston was really respected in town, and no one dared to lay a finger upon the newly weds. Her father gave up, secretly feeling relieve as she had finally gotten married. After a few years, he would even send presents and support to the couple once in a while.

As Gaston had promised her, she could freely go around town and she wouldn’t get insults because of her looks nor people would treat her differently from others. He had made it very clear, to whoever made her feel excluded or sad in any way possible, he would make their life’s a living hell and then he would spread their bodies across the nearest forest to feed the wolves. Everyone knew you don’t screw with Gaston. 

He would also work really hard to give her everything she could wish, from jewelry to dresses, so she would be the luckiest woman in town by having him as her husband. She really didn’t need anything, but she gave up trying to convince him. He liked to show her around beautifully dressed. 

And of course, she was aware that she was married to the most desired man from town, so shortly after getting married, Gaston realized that she could be amazingly possessive and jealous, while she would get mad whenever some girl started drooling about him. He found it kinda cute, but he also cherished his life and safety, so he stopped flirting around, finding it incredibly easy as he had the most beautiful girl in the world, he was sure. 

And they lived happily ever after... well, not always happily, because each one had their own flaws to fight against to, but they stayed together and had each other’s backs, so they decided to call that happiness.

....

If you read this far, thank you so much for doing it! And please, forgive my English and any grammatical error or spelling mistake, as English is not my first language and I live in a hispanic country. And most important, excuse the excessive use of the word “as”, I really felt like I used it too much but I’m too lazy to change it. I hope you liked it! :D Yeih for villains redemptions!

“

[chemicalperfume]

Ruriiro no Toki (Moon Troupe 2017)

I saw the play on 5/6 in Umeda Theater Drama City, and it happened to be a very memorable show full of firsts: first solo lead for Miyaruri, first solo heroine for Umi, first show as a member of Tsukigumi for Reiko, and first live zuka small theater show for me. :’D It was also my first time seeing a live show by a troupe other than yuki or hoshi (i have my favourites and also the luck for my trips to coincide specifically with my favourites, apparently). I wasn’t planning on seeing it at first, but I am very glad I managed to. Plot summary for Act 1 (to not spoil it completely since the show is getting a dvd release) and my thoughts under the cut:

Plot:

Peniless actors, Simon and Jacques sneak into Chateau de Chambord -rumored former residence of the now long-missing Count de St. Germain- with the intention of searching for valuables to steal and ease their poverty situation. By chance, they find a hidden door leading to a secret room filled with treasures and a little box that contains a mysterious sphere of lapis lazuli -the Philosopher’s Stone. Over the room also hangs a portrait of the Count, which to their astonishment, looks exactly like Simon. In on them walks Theodore, the Count’s now elderly valet who was loyally waiting for his disappeared master’s return for over 60 years. He greets Simon as the Count de St.Germain, and Simon plays along to save the both of them from getting arrested for thieves. The two young men see this unexpected situation as an opportunity to rise up in society and live the good life among the aristocracy they’ve always dreamed of. Simon puts his acting skills to work and assumes the identity of the immortal and wondrous alchemist, the Count de St. Germain, making a triumphant return to the court of Versailles, enchanting everyone with his stories and his predictions with the Philosopher’s Stone. Jacques poses as his valet, Theodore, at his side. Marie Antoinette consults St. Germain about an ominous, recurring dream she’s been having, but he comforts her about its possible meaning. In Versailles, corruption and opulence reign, while the country’s finances are in a terrible state. The King and Queen are way too influenced by their close courtiers to pay attention to Minister of Finance Necker’s warnings about growing dissatisfaction and miserable living conditions among the populace. Maximilien Robespierre and his comrades are riling up the people to revolt. One day, Simon and Jacques’ old travelling troupe is brought to the Petit Trianon to perform in front of the Queen and her entourage. The two of them are stunned to see their old pals in Versailles, and quickly excuse themselves for the day to avoid being recognized. Marie Antoinette is impressed by the star performer of the troupe, Ademar, and offers her a position in the Royal Dance Troupe*. Ademar is a young woman of humble background who resents the aristocracy and Marie Antoinette as its symbol, because of the state they have brought France into which led to her parents’ death. However, she gives in to the peer pressure and half-heartedly accepts the Queen’s proposal. The clash between the aristocracy and Necker’s prudent warnings lead to his dismissal. In a corner of the palace, Count Province urges the King to send the military in Paris to suppress the brewing unrest that has spread all over following this dismissal. The King is ultimately convinced. Jacques and Ademar happen to overhear this conversation. Ademar’s hatred for the aristocracy only grows. She spots Jacques listening in too and finally finds out what happend to him and Simon. Jacques, disgusted that the aristocracy is willing to do such a thing to their own people, people like him and his friends, decides to adandon the court and tips off Robespierre about the imminent military action. Jacques tells Simon about the plan and urges him to leave this life behind, but Simon is too absorbed into the identity of the Count de St. Germain and refuses. The two friends part for the first time, as times are changing and France is moving closer to the brink of the French Revolution.

Overall: This show exceeded any expectations I had going in, which made me very happy since they happened to gather 99% of all my favourite Tsuki people (including brand new, shiny, fresh off the transfer oven, Reiko). It is not to say it was flawless. Harada-sensei could have given it a more concrete, less vague/open ending imo, and some characterisation fell short (see below for more on that), but it is an extrmely solid show, with stunning and at the same time somehow simple visuals, and AMAZING music, oh my god, can this soundtrack be on iTunes right now. I found myself immediately absorbed in the world of this play, was completely floored by the intermission, and even the aforementioned issues withstanding, left the theatre quite fascinated. One of Harada’s best originals, I dare say. When the show was announced I assumed the director would go for a fictionalised Count of St.Germain, going for an excuse to make Miyaruri a libertine in 18th century France. Which, lbr, would also make a great premise for a show, but I’m glad I was wrong, because the “we have no idea who/what the Count was, Simon just happens to look like him and runs with it” device was clever, and added extra mystery to the premise. Miya and Reiko, although acting together for the first time, make a fine brotp, and there are many layers to both of their characters, but mostly in the relationship between them. The whole play was very much about identity and relationships between people, and how relationships between people change in different contexts. I do wish the whole thing between the main 3 leads, in particular, actually went somewhere, but as i saw it, there is a lot of food for thought behind every layer in this play, every decision, and lots of room for the audience to deduce and fill in the blanks for themselves (occasionally *too* much room...), which is something that often counts as a plus in my book. On the technical side, the costumes were very elaborate and the set included a huge spiralling and rotating staircase which stood for more than just being a convenient, impressive-looking set piece. I also especially loved the secret door/panel set with the huge lizard on it. The (remotely controlled!) light sphere that served as the Philospher’s Stone was another very contextually important, plot-relevant prop, in a show where light usage was very cleverly handled.

Miya Rurika as Simon It feels almost unreal that this woman is getting her first solo lead show only now, at ken-15 (!), never having experienced a Bow lead, but Miyaruri somehow was not as firmly tracked as, and in the way of other, younger, way more pushed people her entire career, so here we are. 2 years ago, I plain couldn’t imagine her leading a troupe. She’d proved me wrong recently in Manon and King Arthur, now she got to directly melt my face off. Simon was a great role for her. She pulled off the long, curly wig like she was born with it, and performed her character and all his stages of growth and change with incredible heart and skill. She made the process of positive travelling actor Simon taking on the identity of the Count and almost losing himself completely in this newfound position of luxury, power, but above all being needed, flow inevitably, magnetically, beautifully. At one point, after he and Jacques disappear, Ademar laments the new lead actor’s terrible line delivery and points out Simon would have done it better. Later in the play Simon recites that same line, and I felt the difference to my very core. Her acting was solid, her dancing was fluid and expressive, her singing envelopped the hall, her chemistry with other characters was palpable. This woman has earned her top feathers. Hopefully she’ll get them some day.

Tsukishiro Kanato as Jacques For those who have spend less than 5″ on my blog, I am currently a Yukigumi girl over anything else in this life, and I am not even going to lie here, this being our precious Royal Dimples’ first show in her new home, is at least 50% of why I wanted to see it in the first place. I was happy to see she was fine. Reiko was a very good combi with Miya and blended in with tsukigumi very well. I felt she’d substantially leveled up compared to Maximilian or Aoshi, which is exactly what she needs and a big part behind this transfer as well, I am guessing. Jacques starts out joined at the hip with Simon, his loyal BFF4E, his trusted sidekick in life, but where Simon becomes the Count, rather than impersonate him, Jacques never loses his pragmatic view on things, never losing sight of his commoner roots, and in the long run choosing what he always knew, instead of the facade he came to know. Their fallout is both inevitable and bitter, and Jacques goes through several stages of character development, which Reiko handled great. While I adore her, I believe there is still tons of room for her to grow, especially in the acting department, and in this show she convinced me she is currently undergoing this process, taking steps to get there. The carefree Jacques of Act 1 who provided (unexpectedly!) many a comedic moment with his pal, is miles away from Jacques the Jacobin of Act 2, and there is even more after that. Unexpectedly #2, for someone this impossibly pretty, she has quite the stout, manly otokoyaku aura on stage, which personally took me by extremely pleasant surprise. In the finale she got to lead the musumeyaku, being lethal and illegal with her winks while doing so. Take care of this one for us, Tsukigumi!

Umino Mitsuki as Ademar Little-known fact about me, probably: Umichan is one of my most favourite people in the entire company right now, and I was THRILLED when the news she landed this role dropped. She makes a breathtaking team with Miya and Reiko, and she is an angel on stage. I could hardly breathe during her ballet scene, she was every bit a flower fairy. Her singing has noticeably leveled up, and she acted out Ademar’s strife and strong character with passion. The only issue lies not with her, but with Harada-sensei, who admittedly gave her little to work with. Harada is known for being kinda hit or miss and mostly miss with how he writes musumeyaku parts (especially lead musumeyaku parts), and I am very sad to say, that looking back at it, I can’t help feeling he kind of dropped the ball with Ademar too. On the one hand, I found it refreshing to be reminded that a lead musumeyaku doesn’t need to be romantically linked to someone to exist as the main female character in the story. Nor does she need to be nice and forgiving and inhumanly sweet. Ademar is largely driven by negative feelings: revenge for her parents, disgust for the pampered aristocracy who lives in a fishbowl and drives most of the country to live in misery. I also can’t say she was shafted for stage time, and she had without a doubt her standout singing and dancing numbers. Her duedan with Miya in the finale was heart-stoppingly beautiful, they complement each other visually to the nth degree. On the other hand though, the more I sit on it, the more I realise she is not very plot-relevant after all, especially in Act 2, most of all at the very end. We know little about her besides the very basics, and we also see much less of her than the other 2 main guys to figure her out more, and by the end this lack of depth becomes noticeable. “Okay chem, but this is just a 2h-long show, with a finale, there’s time limits and stuff” you’ll tell me, but I really don’t see how they couldn’t have spent 2 minutes of exposition/reminiscing or a short flashback scene to flesh out Ademar’s bond to the other two guys a little more. It is what it is though, and I am still happy for Umi getting this lead. Fingers crossed she gets many many more in the future!

Shirayuki Sachika as Marie Antoinette ALL OF THE ABOVE SAID, this show gets full marks for non-tracked senior onnayaku usage, for this very role. We’ve seen 50 Marie Antoinettes in recent years, but Sachika made the part not seem overdone to death and back, what kind of brilliant, award-worthy achievement. Her Antoinette was poised, majestic, adult, and somehow very human, very realistic. Closer to a real-life queen of the time, rather than a fictionalised image of one, she absolutely murdered the part, and made me once again realise how valuable and at the same time criminally underused seasoned onnayaku are. To be perfectly honest, Sachika’s Antoinette felt more like the main female character of the play than Ademar. She had probably an almost equal amount of stage time,  influences every single character, and very clearly affects Simon, who develops feelings for her (romantic? respect? affection? protectiveness? it’s up to interpretation, but they’re definitely there). She is a symbol in the play and at the same time very much a human being, and Sachika brought out both aspects as if she was born into this position, living it her entire life. I immediately saw why (Sakihi) Miyu respects and looks up to her so much, I saw a lot of her influence in Miyu’s acting here. We need more substantial roles like this one for senior onnayaku, learn y’all.

Uzuki Hayate as Robespierre Toshi seems to be getting good treatment lately, and that is awesome, because she is so talented, and has a very commanding aura on stage, she only deserves the best treatment. Robespierre was technically the sanbante otokoyaku role, which doesn’t say all that much in this play since everyone under the 4 roles i just talked about, didn’t get *too* much to do, but it was still a very decent role, and she still did an excellent job of it, leading the ensemble numbers and the revolution and stuff. She also got to lead the otokoyaku number in the finale, and wear a sparkly jacket, GET IT, Toshi. Special mention to the her hidden second role: she opens the play as Theodore, the -original- Count’s now elderly valet, and she was so good at it, I did not even recognize her.

Kizuki Yuuma as Necker Mayupon gets her own paragraph, because this is me and my blog, and I am never subtle with my bias okay. She rocked her ‘stache, was probably the one person not here for St.Germain’s fancy nonsense, and she also had!! a SOLO!! on the staircase!! Not Roi Arthur levels of yay, but still good in my book. Her stage presence remains double that of her experience years, and it’s stunning to behold. ♡

Other people: Kouzuki Ruu was Louis XVI, and considering she was Necker in 1789, it must have been an interesting experience for her to play both sides. She was elegant and also funny in her “inspecting” St.Germain up close bit. Takasumi Hayato was quite slimy as Count Province, the King’s brother. Her voice tone and body language oozed “I wouldn’t spit on a peasant if they were on fire” at all times. Kagetsu Miyako was a very spunky Countess Polignac, and she delivered perfectly to my very high expectations of her (she’s a delight to watch and i low-key love her). Hibiki Reona was ...there as the head of the travelling troupe, but honestly the part was tiny anyway. Harune Aki was unfortunately completely wasted in the general court ladies group, even if she had most of the lines that didn’t go to Nacchan. Yumena Rune was adorable as Philippo, the kinda useless troupe guy that had to replace Simon as the main lead. Kanoha Toki had barely 3 lines, in the troupe members ensemble. Hayaki Yuuto, Tsukasa Ren, and Kashiro Aoi (♡) were Robespierre’s 3 bros, mostly following him around, discussing revolution stuff with him and almost had the same stage time as him. They did a fine job for their part, altho I felt Tsucchii was overacting. Extra shoutout to all the babies who were St.Germain’s “shadows” and brought on the kurotenshi realness, down to the silver wigs.

Very much looking forward to the dvd release so I can revisit this beautiful play!

[headquartersforlievmuses]

► Aidan Waite

Aidan Waite was a 261 year old vampire turned by Bishop in 1779 during the American Revolution, in which they were both soldiers. Aidan is seen as an anomaly in the vampire community since he has been attempting for the last several years to be a "clean" vampire and live off of blood bank bags instead of live blood. While many vampires look down on him because of this, many fear him due to his horrifying past reputation. He is best friends with Josh and Sally, and attempts to live morally despite his inherent nature.

In his human life, Aidan was the son of Edmund Waite, the owner of a printing press in the 18th century Boston area. In his earlier years, he hoped that one day he would take over his father's printing press business.

He was happily married to a woman named Suzanna, and the two of them tried unsuccessfully for many years to have a child. After two stillbirths, Aidan made a solemn oath to God that he would live his entire life in virtue and servitude, even if he lived to be a hundred years old, if God would just grant him a child. Miraculously, his wife gave birth to a healthy son soon after, whom he named Isaac. 

By the year 1779, a state of war had already existed for several years between the American colonies and the British Crown in what would become known as the American Revolutionary War. Aidan left home to fight, eventually becoming a highly praised soldier in the Continental Army. It was during a battle that he stumbled upon a man named James Bishop preying on the body of Aidan's comrades. He also witnessed Bishops black eyes and blurred speed. As Aidan chased after him, Bishop continued to run behind trees and bushes to stalk Aidan as prey. He finally stopped and came appeared behind Aidan. Aidan promptly tried to kill him for dishonoring the soldiers that he fed on. Despite the fact that Aidan had a musket and Bishop did not and that Aiden had stabbed Bishop directly in the stomach, Bishop easily defeated and restrained Aiden to his vastly superior strength and experience, and threatened that he would kill Aidan´s troops in a camp nearby. Aidan begged that their lives be spared, and Bishop agreed, on the condition that he would turn Aidan into a vampire.

Aidan awoke a new vampire and discovered his enhanced hearing and discovered his hunger shortly thereafter. Despite Bishop warning him not to go back to his people and go with him to start his life as a vampire, as he would surely kill any human he encountered, Aiden believed he was not bound to Bishop and walked back towards his human companions. Upon wandering the forest, he encountered his friend Benjamin and while saying that he was fine, he grabbed Benjamin upon seeing his wounded arm with a cloth soaked in blood. Benjamin was helpless as Aiden easily restrained and fed on him until he died, something Aiden was outraged for. Bishop appeared later and Aiden angrily came at him for leting him go and kill his friend, though Bishop, in a blurred, accelerated motion, grabbed and shoved Aiden aside, causing him to stagger. He then said that he needed Aiden to learn of what vampires do to humans and that while Aiden would think that he would not make such a mistake again, especially now that he is immortal, he would always do so. Aiden still left Bishop again.

Confused and afraid, the newly turned Aidan found his way home and hid in the family's henhouse, where his wife Suzanna discovered him drinking blood from chickens. Suzanna, who had been told that Aidan was dead, was overjoyed yet terrified, and kept him hidden from everyone else, including Isaac. Her secret was discovered, and the preacher of the local congregation accused Suzanna of witchcraft, believing that she had been consorting with the Devil to resurrect her husband. 

She was lashed to a rock and suspended in a river from a rope by the townsfolk, and by the time Aidan and Isaac arrived, she had already gone under the surface and presumably drowned. After telling his son to run away and not look back, Aidan slaughtered the Reverend and all the other villagers involved in the execution. He never saw his wife or his son again.

Aidan lived the next 150 years in the Boston region, serving Bishop and the other leader vampires of the Family. Not much is known about his life during this time except that he acquired a reputation of ferocity and inhumanity committing numerous killings. He was the most feared vampire of the Boston area, and he mentions that he also fought in the American Civil War for the Union army, including the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000 casualties.

He was drafted into the US army during World War I where, after taking bullets to the abdomen on the front lines in France, he took pity on Henry Durham, the medic who treated him, and turned him when he was accidentally stabbed by a French soldier who realized Aidan was a vampire. For the next twelve years, the two enjoyed the normal vampire lifestyle, with them having killed two young woman and one older witness during the 1920s. But Aidan lost control of Henry in 1930, when the lecherous vampire betrayed the vampire princess Suren and was banished from Boston.

Aidan was there when Bishop was announced the leader of the Boston family, and afterwards decided to set out on his own. He settled down in Montreal for a while but eventually moved back to Boston. On his return he decided to change his ways and started drinking blood bags instead of killing actual people. Aidan eventually found Josh being tormented by Marcus and Blue Collar, and took pity on him. They soon became good friends and Aidan helped Josh get a job as an orderly at Boston's Suffolk County Hospital, where Aidan had been working as a nurse.

The series begins with Aidan relapsing into his blood drinking ways with fellow nurse Rebecca, after losing control while having sex with her. He calls upon Bishop and Marcus to clean up after his unintentional murder, with Bishop being a captain on the Boston Police and Marcus working at a funeral home. Afterwards Aidan convinces his best friend, Josh, to rent a house together and attempt a normal life. Aidan discovers Marcus attacking dying patients in the hospital and angrily tells him not to recruit new vampires from the hospital to further Bishop's plans, while unbeknownst to him, they turn Rebecca into a vampire. Rebecca attacks her replacement at the hospital, a young naive nurse named Cara, revealing Aidan's intentions to not turn someone else into a vampire against their will.

As an individual, Aidan is calm, laid-back, soft-spoken, and on the quiet side. His years as a vampire have allowed him to see many things, including the best and worst of both humans and vampires. As a result, he is somewhat jaded and melancholic. When he was human, Aidan was a man of admirable character as well as a loving husband and father. This behavior continued shortly after he became a vampire. After the presumable death of his wife and the loss of his son, something in Aidan snapped, sending his personality down a slow but gradual spiral. Aidan eventually became bitter and vicious, during which he earned the sinister reputation among vampires, particularly in the New England area, for being a ruthless killer. He also enjoyed the killing and treated it as a game, dancing and singing while he brutally killed innocents.

At some point in his life, Aidan began to mellow, his personality reverting to where it is currently. His struggling abstinence from feeding directly from humans had at least a part to do with him mellowing. One of the earliest points that show the resurfacing of his kind and noble personality is when he first met Henry, where he had an honest conversation with the young medic about killing and began a friendship with him when the human saved Aidan's life. However, the point where he truly began to change is likely when he met Celine in the 1970s, as it was the first time in nearly two hundred years that he actually attempted to control his hunger for blood. However, upon leaving her Aidan eventually began slipping up, as he told Josh that he often tries to change but fails before starting all over again. However, he had developed a desire to live a human life and became determined to do so.

However, his darker and more violent nature often resurfaces in stressful situations or when he is near temptation, which always lead to negative consequences. His desire to kill and feed also return, as a way to escape the problems troubling him, as shown by how he wanted to kill Danny as a way to deal with what had happened to him recently in the vampire world. This side of his personality never truly goes away and at a subconscious level causes him to slip up even when he has been clean from live blood for months, with nothing being able to stop him. As shown in the alternate timeline created by Sally, if a stressful and traumatic event causes him too much emotional pain, he will snap and revert back to his violent personality, though he will continue to care for some people. 

At the end of the day, Aidan will always at some point fall to temptation and unlike his wife Suzanna isn't capable to resisting his nature forever. Due to knowing this, Aidan wants the best of both worlds despite how impossible that is: he wants to be free of vampires to live a normal life, but wants access to all the safety nets the vampire world offers. This desire for both leads to him often sitting on the fence on issues or helping the vampires if he fears that not doing so will put him at risk of losing help if he slips up. When being tortured by his wife Suzanna by being put through blood withdrawal, the stress caused Aidan to completely shifted into his darker personality and gleefully discussed his past, saying all the names of the people he killed while happily talking about how he killed them.

Unlike most of his kind, Aidan does not possess contempt for werewolves, as he took pity on Josh after finding Marcus and his friend ruffing Josh up in an alleyway. Since meeting Josh and Sally, Aidan has come to see them as his family, acting as the older brother of the trio. Aidan suffers from guilt and self-loathing, as a part of him knows that vampires are killers, and he must fight hard to suppress his innate killer. Constantly trying suppress his natural instincts makes additional stresses an unwelcome thing for Aidan. None-the-less, he is fairly level headed in most situations. Aidan is highly charismatic, especially when he wants to be. He uses this aspect of his personality to compensate for the fact he is almost incapable of telepathically compelling humans like other vampires can.

Aidan was 26 at the time of his recruitment. Being immortal, Aidan is physically frozen at that age and will retain that appearance for the rest of his eternal life. His vampiric appearance is characterised by his brown eyes becoming completely black and his lateral teeth (teeth right next to the front teeth in the very center of the set of teeth) becoming thick, long, and pointed, fangs. His appearance can be changed at will or if he loses emotional control such as if he is angered, frightened (such as when he woke nightmares in his vampiric appearance), or losing or struggling with his control of his bloodlust.

Aidan shares the common characteristics and powers that all vampires have. However, due to his extensive military experience and long life, he is a particularly skilled fighter, even among vampires; he has some proficiency with firearms. He is almost completely incapable of compelling humans like other vampires can, since he has not practiced in decades and was supposedly never that good at it to begin with. With the use of compulsion, Aidan can make humans see things that are not there by looking at their eyes (though apparently not directly and must simply make some eye contact and must also possible touch them, as seen with the two human girls he compeled when he was just holding on the shoulders and facing them), but has to convince said humans ahead time that what they are about to see is real. He is not as gifted at compulsion as other vampires as his compulsion will wear off in hours or drive the victim of compulsion mad, as seen when a cop that Aiden used his abilities by placing his hand over the man's face and head and made him forget about him and Bishop in his house and about himself resulting in his father's death. This work for a day before driving the man insane, causing him to shoot himself in the head and kill himself.

Due to the effect of the Virus on the vampire population, by the end of season 3, he was possibly the oldest living vampire.

Despite their having formally met in 2011, Aidan actually met Sally in the 1920s when she time traveled by magic and possessed a victim he was closing in on (an elderly woman) in an attempt to stop him but he is presumably unaware of this. Although Sally tells him that she'd encountered him in the 1920's, she does not reveal that she used possession so that that strange momentary interaction was in fact, with her, not the victim and it is unknown if he'd pieced it together himself but unlikely (since presumably, he'd have mentioned it on screen). Whether the interaction had altered Aidan's past is also unknown but clearly, it didn't do so significantly.

Verses

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