#lacey ventos

[elane-in-the-shadows]

Red Queen Fan Fiction - Blood Curse part 8

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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

Final chapter

Gisa POV

At first, all Lacey wants is me to accompany her when Tramy can’t. It’s difficult to separate her tasks from mere socializing: I think she doesn’t want me to know about her work as I’m not a Scarlet Guard member, and I still don’t intend to become one. Yet the same is true for every Silver I know apart from her. Cal, Julian, Sara, they all seek only their own benefits. Cameron’s told me as much though she wavers on Sara’s wishes. She mentioned Sara’s help in training her which comes close to praising for Cameron. Now the skinhealer is in Corvium along with Mare and Cal while Mr. Jacos sits between his papers, beakers and bulbs.

Lacey visits him frequently when she has me come along. I was curious the first time, but I learned it’s more small talk between them, mostly old stories with Queen Elara being blamed. Apparently, Lacey’s mother was a Merandus but her own family abused her at a young age and hurt her too deeply to heal. It left Lacey with an enduring hatred for her own kind. She doesn’t say this to Mr. Jacos but her words are lined with judgement and guilt.

What I don’t find out is whether Mr. Jacos prefers to remain ignorant or takes her insights to heart. I suspect she doesn’t really care either. She’s dissembling, wanting to keep him talking and having access to him – and his studies.

Julian Jacos likes to drone about his projects even more, to her rejoice. Though his reports aren’t very detailed, as I manage to understand them as well, thus I suppose it’s not enough for Lacey. She might’ve known these things from an early age while they just help me to patch up questions I’ve had for some time. But she keeps on smiling, to everyone she meets, and I play along, versed in this game as well. Yet I remember her expression, it’s same one she wore when I thought her to be a vain and air-headed rich Silver, a girl to be dismissed.

“Actually, Mr. Jacos is not as ignorant as you may think he is,” Lacey says to me when we leave the part of the archives he’s working at. “He usually prefers to be the enlightened one himself, who sees through our games and facades. Now he would’ve to agree with me instead, in the presence of a Red like you, and he’d rather argue with me but can’t.”

She glances at me and I meet her eyes. I wish she’d just go on, not play with me.

“It unsettles him,” she adds after the unnecessary pause. “Makes him wish to change the topic so he can prattle. Until he lets something slip.”

She looks proud of herself and it’s my turn to be silent and let her wonder. Seconds drag by.

“I thought about our earlier conversation, Ms. Ventos,” I say eventually. “About how I feel uncomfortable to be your … friend.” I take a breath until I have her full attention. Even though I’ve earned as much, her humbleness is hardly satisfying to me. “When you were the lady and I was the servant, I was always afraid, of every step and stitch I made. I could barely trust my mistress, Ms. Hadley, though she never punished me for real. But I could’ve lost my apprenticeship at any time, if I wasn’t good, talented, or diligent enough. Or if I messed up with a customer – someone like you – and drew rumours to the shop and a bad reputation to me. I would’ve been banished from Summerton.

"So I had to be perfect and I was. With every praise I collected, my fears vanished and I could dream of a better life. But when you and your kind entered, my self-confidence was replaced by nervousness.”

I’m good at keeping my tears at bay, I’ve been for a long time. “Ms. Barrow,” Lacey says with strange compassion, but I’m not finished.

“You Silvers don’t act logical, so what were my efforts worth? You could’ve gotten away with almost everything, if you wanted to damage me, and out of a whim. You had power over me, and I can’t forget that. Nor can I trust you when wariness is what kept me alive”.

But it didn’t help me in the end, I think. I offended the Silvers, paid for it, and lost my future. Maybe it was for the better, given what we were pulled into in the end. I shouldn’t wish back my old life, but I loved a not small part of it, of becoming a mistress in creating beautiful fashion.

Lacey had enough time to swallow my words. Again, her consternated face means nothing to me, it’s only the bare minimum. “I apologize for exploiting your position,” she says finally. It startles me. “I tell you I resent the other Silvers, yet I looked away when it felt easier. I … claimed I wanted to use my connections, but how can I say that when it took my capture to turn my coat for real?”

Warm winds and chirping birds are the only noises around us while I brush my tears away. Lacey holds her composure, of course, but it costs her. I see the fractures in her attitude, her conviction to be a “good” Silver. It’s gone, replaced by shame, and she’ll have to live with that. As all humans have to live with their wrong-doings, more or less severe.

“I don’t want to fight,” I say. “I want me and my family to be happy.”

“Yes,” she admits. “Thank you for telling me all of that. It’s never easy.”

I nod gravely. “So you fight for us, and I’ll help you.”

Days later, she asks for me again. Seems like both of us preferred other work and company for a little time, though I’m a little glad she approaches me again. Whatever she searches for, it can’t wait any longer. I should demand her to tell me about it, out of fairness. Accomplices need at least some kind of trust.

Yet we keep up our charade, displaying distance only broken in fractions of moments when we look at each other, smirking, while our unaware informant doesn’t pay attention. Today it’s the colonel who isn’t allowed to pay attention to my and Lacey’s connection. I stop in time before he opens a door, but he storms out of the room without hesitation and almost stumbles over me. I give him a glare in his daughter’s manner and I’m lucky he recognizes me, thus displaying a modicum of politeness. While he apologizes and I greet him, Lacey takes flight to Jacos’s archives. I wonder why she’s so careful, it’s possible Mr. Jacos or another person is telling the colonel about her comings-and-goings.

The colonel moves to pat my shoulder in a strangely fatherly manner but I step away. “You haven’t visited us in a while,” I remind him. “My mother is worried, the baby cries, and my brothers are nervous. Please, if something happened to my sister – “ I stop in a pleading voice though my concern is real. There has to be a reason they’re staying away for so long, yet the whole base is ignorant of these politics.

The colonel jumps at my bait. “I’m surprised, Ms. Barrow, your brothers already know about the broadcast this evening. Your questions should be answered then.”

I blink, startled. “Oh.”

He outstretches his hand again but only to touch my sewing basket. “It won’t be long until the return of our operatives,” he adds.

“I see,” I say, give him a placating smile and turn away. “Well, I have some shirts to deliver.”

He waves his hand in farewell, it’s almost amusing.

Lacey crouches in a corner of the archives, Mr Jacos isn’t there. I go to her and notice she’s occupied with an unremarkable door, fumbling at the lock with a lighter.

“What are you doing,” I whisper, “intending to melt it?”

She blinks, blushing silver. “That won’t work,” I tell her, “and would be impossible to hide. Let me.” I sift through my sewing basket to find a set of needles, picking those I can do without. “I would expect a spy to be a lock-picker. Now, you’re lucky Mare and I trained this.”

She chuckles. “I’m humbled, you’re wonderful. Actually, my cousin Cassie can open every locked door, but she’s a telky and that … can’t be taught.”

During the minutes I work at our entryway, she keeps looking out for visitors. “You don’t want Mr. Jacos to know?” I ask.

“He doesn’t go in there either, and I would’ve taken his key if he did. That part of the archives is practically a mystery.”

The lock clicks and I rise with a moan, giving Lacey a smug glance.

“Thank you very much, Ms. Barrow, I’m indebted to you,” she says and curtseys to me.

The room is dusky, dusty, and full of books and other papers placed in simple steel shelves. It’s not huge but totally crammed. The part I look through is hardly useful. Every book is written in code or languages I don’t know, and I’ve never been good at reading strange hands. Lacey went further down and skims through folders, probably type-written. I take a last try before joining her, with a small book with one page larger than the rest. I flip to it and see it’s a photo. Old, showing a lovely Asian young woman with black hair and a pale, rosy complexion. I turn it around to read on the bakside, “Irene Asada, Ardent, 16 y.” I shrug and approach Lacey. She’s obviously dissatisfied, switching from her paper to mine immediately. I don’ think she expected much but her eyes widen at the sight of the photo. Then she focuses on the book.

“You can read it?” I marvel.

“I speak a little of the Lakelands tongue,” she replies without looking up. “Some people in the north west do as well, like this writer.”

“And?”

“Oh, this is a prize,” she mumbles. “Irene is an Ardent brought by her parents … similar to me, umm, actually not, her touch is like a drug, not … sickening?” Lacey blinks, confused, and sits down. “An asset for the Grand Task … I don’t think it’s grand, it’s murder … but necessary … many healers have died so far … but more – “ She gasps. “Every one of the scattered bases is a new challenge … Irene’s helpful, people do her biding … then I – Oh!” She stops.

“What is it?” I insist, curious to learn, but she stares into nothingness.

“They killed them …”

“I thought so?”

“No, they,” she has to clear her throat. “I am a plague, the writer says. Oh, gracious queen.”

“Can you please explain?”

Lacey frowns at me and sighs loudly. “Imagine all skinhealers died.”

“Hmm.” Their presence is a relief, our Red medics are versed, but expensive. I flex my right hand. Without Sara, it would still hurt and be hardly useful, and Dad would still be in his wheelchair. Yet we dealed with our states –

“The Silvers don’t have medics,” Lacey says finally, weirdly calm. “If someone just coughs or sniffs, a skinhealer is called. You think we’re gods, Gisa Barrow? We’re only humans with weak, cursed blood. Spread an infective disease among Silvers and we die like flies without our magic healers.

"And that’s what happened to the Monfort Silvers. They lived in clusters and fortresses, but Irene and her trainer broke in, as the trainer had the ability to make people ill.”

I flinch as she slams the book shut. “I’ll give this to the general when she comes back. Maybe she reads the Lakelands tongue as well.”

I realize I don’t wholly believe her. She’s completely shaken by this revelation and able to incinerate the book in an instant. Perhaps she’s just like Cal, protective of Silvers. But she’s already left before I can speak up or take the book from her.

There’s an assembly hall at the base, but my family and I go to a smaller room, designed for meetings. “I’ve no idea how things are at home at the moment,” Dad says and shakes his head, excited about getting news.

“They hardly tell us anything here,” Mom adds.

“There aren’t only Nortans here, Ruth.”

“Still, should be better.” Mom is disgruntled, but I’m sure she’s curious too, like all of us. If my brothers and Kilorn know more already, they don’t show it. I cross my arms like Mom, but quickly change my position again, nervous without something to occupy my hands with. I glance at the officer preparing the screen for the broadcast, but he makes no announcement before the screen lights up. The picture is dark at first, apart from a silhouette standing in the spotlight. The camera zooms in and I gasp – the person on the screen, still in a half-darkness, is Mare.

“We’ll rise, red as the dawn,” she calls. Her face brightens slowly, like the only light in a storm. “Citizens of Norta!” she goes on and the picture changes. A stage becomes visible, with several persons on it, Mare in front of them. She steps back and I take a look at her companions, and for a moment, I fall back into the days of her captivity. Because at first, all I see are the metal princess and the fire king with her. I blink, again and again, until my vision clears. Not the fire king who tortured my sister, but Cal. Mare stands on the right side of the group, next to Diana. Cal’s in the middle, then come the metal girl and the Monfort premier, Davidson.

It’s not like then it’s not like then it’s not -

“You know me, Mare Barrow, as the Lightning Girl swaying from one side to another. As I had to fight to survive, I had to tear myself apart, to play roles dictated on me, but I never forgot my dream. To end the suffering of the Reds by Silver hands. Now Maven Calore ended the war with the Lakelands, but only to focus on slaying Reds more directly, actually those rising with the Scarlet Guard and anyone who doesn’t fit his restrictive worldview. Although his actions have torn apart our country, this is a chance for renewal, for Reds, Silvers and Newbloods.”

Her part is over, and the camera shifts to Davidson on the left. “Ladies and gentlemen, the country Ms. Barrow wishes for exists. I am Dane Davidson, the premier of the Republic of Monfort, and a Newblood. We have built a state with democratic values, a government consisting of elected representatives. After years of becoming a new nation, we procured contacts to the Scarlet Guard in Norta and the Lakelands, to support those brave Red men and women in their fight for justice and equality. Despite Maven Calore’s lies and accusations, we have found great allies with the Scarlet Guard who strive for peace between the bloods and races. They are a group which has only ever welcomed Newbloods like me, as well as Silver supporters.”

Diana goes to the front, with a stiff composure and a serious expression where Davidson appeared friendly. Of course, she only smiles for Clara.

“The Scarlet Guard,” she begins, “has seen itself confronted with vicious propaganda, set to undermine any further support and recruitment of the rebellion. We, the Scarlet Guard, could not let that stand, yet I and other commanders decided to prove our intentions and aptitude with actions instead of words which Maven Calore uses only for lies and deceptions. So we fought. We conquered and defended Corvium, freed Ms. Barrow and many more Newbloods from their captivity and forced service by the pretender king, and we reunited the soldiers of the choke with their families. While we’re glad about every person who decides to join our cause, we won’t conscript them like slaves. We want your loyalty given according to your own free will and conviction, or not at all.

"And thus, I’m happy to still find Prince Tiberias at my side, fighting for Reds, for what is right, and now determined to destroy the pretender and tyrant Maven, by taking back his throne as King Tiberias Calore VII!”

What?!

Diana shouted the last line like a herald, to my great shock. A smile shows on her face, but it’s not amused at all, more like flashing a dagger and gone in an instant.

Just when Cal is about to start talking. He doesn’t display the self-confidence of the previous speakers and shifts on his feet before he begins. Yet he finds his stance soon enough, like the royal he was raised as.

“Ladies and gentlemen, my lords, Your Majesties and dear subjects, these are times of change. I have faced these challenges personally, and I will continue to do so, even while seeking unlikely partners. Monfort and the Scarlet Guard have the grace of backing the claim taken from me, as does the royal House Samos of the Rift.

"The Norta I was born in, as were many others, exists no longer. But that should not make you afraid because with your help, I will build a new country which will offer generosity to Reds, esteem to Silvers, and respect for each other. This will happen in peace, as Norta and the Kingdom of the Rift have pledged to support each other, settled by the union of me and Princess Evangeline Samos, my future queen, who will help me along with the Scarlet Guard and Monfort, to create the country of Norta anew.”

Cal outstretches his hand to the metal princess and she takes it like the demure ladies in ancient stories, stepping forward with her “betrothed”. I cannot believe what this is. Mare stands next to the man she loves as he announces a wedding between him and another woman. And Diana? Proclaiming Cal as “king” after making fun of his regal antics behind his back and being impatient to see all crowns fall? None of this seems real or makes sense, yet it must be. I feel lost, confused, I need answers, I want Mare back and –

Princess Evangeline lets go off Cal, it’s her turn to speak. I force myself to concentrate. She waits, enjoying her moment in the spotlight, having the last words. Mare’s told me of her intricate dresses she molds from metals, suspecting it interests me. It does. But the princess’s outfit today isn’t a miracle of fashionable design, or a dress. She’s covered with tight sheets of metals, shaped like the uniforms her companions on the stage are wearing. She looks like a toy soldier made of cast iron, like a frozen mockery.

Yet her face becomes lively, determined and threatening, when she finally speaks. “To create King Tiberias’s visions, grand tasks lie in front of us, and they will not be easy to fulfil. As we will have to ruin and destroy before we can rebuild.”

The screen turns dark, the light in the room is on again. The colonel was wrong, my questions weren’t answered by the broadcast. So feels everyone in the room as their quarreling starts. 

Thanks to @calliopexclio for reading my first ideas <3

@mareshmallow @redqueenfandom @lilyharvord @clarafarleybarrow @mikey-waysjawline @universegamer @clara-farl3y @wrenskonos @runexandra @hannaharies @red-queen-united

Please tell me which prompt you’d prefer to celebrate 200 followers

[evangelineartemiasamos]

Did Lacey ever meet cal before

Yeah, they all met, more or less. Cassie’s mum Charlotte liked to drink tea with Julian Jacos to discuss nerdy stuff and bitch about Elara.

[wispisstillverybored67]

Wisp's Beloveds (F/O list! Finally!)

Will be updated as time goes on. Will be clarified as romantic, platonic, familial, or mixed messages. No crushes are filed under here because 99.9% of the time, they just become romantic.

BNA: Brand New Animal: (Sumire Kurokawa)

Michiru Kagemori

Shiro Oogami

Barballet Rosé

Nazuna Hiwatashi

Cookie Run: (Chai Tea Cookie) Clotted Cream

Werewolf

Pumpkin Pie

Twizzly Gummy

Black Lemonade

Cream Unicorn

Cocoa

Herb

Sorbet Shark

Cotton

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (Suriko Tomoe/Sayaka)

Aoi Kanzaki

Shinobu Kocho

Zenitsu Agastuma

Giyuu Tomioka

Kamanue

Rui

Mukago

Wakuraba

Rokuro

Enmu

Daki

Gyutaro

Kaigaku

Gyokko

Nakime

Hantengu (Sekido, Urogi, Aizetsu, Karaku and Zohakuten included)

Akaza

Douma

Kokushibo

Danganronpa (Sae Itoi)

Makoto Naegi

Rantaro Amami

Leon Kuwata

Mahiru Koizumi

Kotoko Utsugi

Kyoka Kirigiri

Dr. STONE (Chihiro Hikami)

Minami Hokutozaki

Tsukasa Shishio

Mirai Shishio

Fire Emblem

Nino (Summoner Wisp)

Edelgard von Hresvelg

Silvia

Veronica

Alear

Zelkov

Madeline

Zelestia

Pandreo

Seadall (Caprinta)

Friday Night Funkin' (Otoka Nu Me)

Taki

Ayana

Fullmetal Alchemist (Despair the Melancholic)

Ling Yao

Lust the Lascivious

Greed the Avaricious

Gluttony the Voracious

Envy the Jealous

Wrath the Furious

Sloth the Indolent

Pride the Arrogant

Genshin Impact (Yumishii Orochi)

Lumine

Venti

Sucrose

Chongyun

Yanfei

Mao Xiangling

Kamisato Ayaka

Kamisato Ayato

Naganohara Yoimiya

Dori Sangemah Bay

Pantalone (Flaminia)

Arlecchino

Columbina

Sandrone

Pierro

Focalors/Furina

Hazbin Hotel (Hana Blythe)

Vaggie

Niffty

Charlotte Morningstar

Velvette

Carmilla Carmine

Emily

Sir Pentious

Vento Aureo (Paulla Izza/Billie Jean Ojiro)

Aceto Doppio (listen, I refuse to accept that his first name is straight up Vinegar)

Risotto Nero

Ghiaccio

Melone

Prosciutto

Pesci

Illuso

Formaggio

Sorbet

Gelato

JoJolion (Mitsuki Rokkenjima-Yoshino)

Tōru

Hāto Higashitaka

Yotsuyu Yagiyama

Aishō Dainenjiyama

Tamaki Damo

Urban Guerilla

Kid Icarus Uprising ("Unshakable Ice Queen" Khione)

Pit

Dark Pit

Viridi

Kirby (Klarissa)

Adeleine

Marx

Magolor

Persona

Yuka Ayase

Fuuka Yamagishi (Ai Hidehiko)

Yosuke Hanamura (Reiji Toneido)

Rise Kujikawa

Chie Satonaka

Zen (Nanami Tojo)

Rei

Ren Amamiya

Pico's School/Pico's Cousin (Ezra Cruz/Nairise)

Cassandra

Damien

Cyclops

Alucard

Hanzou

Ozmoze

Leon (I gave Cy's cousin a name)

Kunikaze (Hanzou's previously unnamed "cousin")

Pokemon

Electabuzz (Erika F./Marie the Banette)

Morgrem (Erika F./Marie the Banette)

Blacephalon (Ultra Recon Squad’s Syris)

N (Hex Maniac Ellison)

Lear

Volo (Kimono Matriarch Cybele/Shage)

Acerola

Karen

Lyla (Silver)

Sterling (Silver)

Grusha (Mora Slate)

Quillon (Silver)

Danika

Arven (Mora Slate)

Giacomo

Mela

Atticus

Ortega

Eri

Lacey

Crispin

Amarys

Drayton

Puyo Puyo

Feli (Charlotte Aulurine)

Lemres (Charlotte Aulurine)

Ex (Yulia Nirai)

Marle

Harpy

Squares

Tee

Splatoon (Orka/Silver)

Shiver

Big Man

Frye

Vintage

Omega

Blue Cuff/Red Soled

F-3/Double Egg

Paintball

Terror in Resonance (Ten)

Nine

Twelve

Lisa Mishima

Five

Yo-Kai Watch (Nagisa Koizumi/Sandy Jane)

Casanono

Pandanoko

Nul

Bruff

Sandi

Flengu

Foiletta

Frazzel

Mermother

Uber Geeko

[tan-talks]

Zartschmelzend, Kräftig Würzig Rahm-Hartkäse, Sarro de Cabra, Brewer’s Gold, Isle of Man Mild Cheddar, Isle of Man Cracked Pepper, Formaggio di Grotta, Cream Cheesy Bliss, Belletoile, Alpicreme, Le Mountier, Waldo Smog, Blissful Toppings, Shredded Bliss, Slices of Bliss, Carrowholly, Goat Nevat, Goat Ricotta, Ubriaco alla Birra, St. Mang Original Allgauer Limburger, Amou, Queso de Afuega’l pitu, President Camembert, President Madrigal, President Light Brie, Pecorino nel fieno, Lunetta, Lacey Grey, Lavis Town, Bergues, Cayuga Blue, Minas Cheese, Driftless, Bohemian Blue, Hidden Springs Farmstead Feta, Blue Yonder, Tomma di vacca alle vinacce, Beaumont, Queijo do serra, Rustico Red Pepper, Isle of Man Mature Cheddar, Walnut Cheddar, Wrangeback Sweden, Barberey, Vento d’Estate, Original Illertaler, Vermont Ayr, Montagnolo, Baluchon, Baita Friuli, Veneto, Aged British Cheddar, Ewelicious Blue, Bettine Blue, Amsterdammer, Colony Cheese, Flashback Goat Discs, Laura Chenel Taupiniere, Laura Chenel Tome, Ellington, Francis, Lyburn Gold, Blue, Benedictine, Marin French Triple Creme, Amalthee, Dragon’s Breath Blue, Amablu Blue Cheese, Cameo, Di.Vino, Blythedale Camembert, Dorblu, Mezzo Secco, Marco Polo, Freya’s Wheel, Blu Della Casera, Kefir Peppercorn Cheese, Lemon Fetish, Benedictine, Barrel Aged Feta, Grayson, Gran Levante, Coalho, Checkerboard Cheddar, Bassigny au porto, Raw Milk Goat Feta, Cape Vessey, El Trigal Manchego, Rustico Black Pepper, Wicklow Blue, Ubriaco al Prosecco, Paniola, Dante, Organic Cheddar, Organic Feta, Rougette Bavarian Red, Operetta, Hay Loft, Purple’s a Must, Counting Sheep...and Goats…, San Simon DOP, FITAKI White Cheese, Aradalen, Dura, Champignon de Luxe Garlic, Rougette Grill Meister, Caprice Stickney Hill Chevre, Orkney Mature Cheddar, Cap Cressey, Champignon Mushroom, Alpine-Style, Champignon de Luxe Pepper, Tomme, Mi-Ewe, Saint Rose, President Fat Free Feta, Ridgeline, Rosso de lago, Scallion Onion Cheddar, Bel Ceillo, Carabiner, Blue Lupine, Daphne’s Goat Gouda, Dinarski Sir Iz Maslinove Komine, Zigljen Iz Mosta, Daphne’s Aged Goat Cheese, Sea Change, Melinda Mae, Roasted Garlic Cheddar, Muranda Blue, Madrona, Gotcha Gouda, Melville, Dilly Girl, Fiesta Cheddar, Blue Earth, Island Brebis, Baby Brie, Connemara, Nocciolino, Hannah Reserve, Dinarski Is Mosta, Primo Fresca, Holzhofer Latte Crudo, Siltcoos, Shaker Blue, Grasso d’alpe Monscera, Shepherdista Crush, Pack Square, Ewe’s Blue, Cambozola, Grand Noir, Lost Lake, Ocooch Mountain, Alpe di Frabosa, Pecorino Toscano DOP, Alta Badia, Petida, Good Thunder, Pallone di Gravina, President Brie, Canastra Cheese, Black Betty, Shtayburne Farm Monterey Jack, Wyfe of Bath, Prairie Breeze Cheddar, Rotwein Bargler, Extra-Wurzig, Cressey Blu, Olomoucke Tvaruzky, Garlic and Fine Herbs Cashew Cheese, Moose.

🧀

[tuseriesdetv]

Noticias de series de la semana: Renovaciones, cancelaciones y nuevos encargos

Renovaciones de series

Sundance Now ha renovado This Close por una segunda temporada

CBS ha renovado Blue Bloods por una novena temporada

CBS ha renovado Bull por una tercera temporada

CBS ha renovado Hawaii Five-0 por una novena temporada

CBS ha renovado Madam Secretary por una quinta temporada

CBS ha renovado MacGyver por una tercera temporada

CBS ha renovado NCIS: LA por una décima temporada

CBS ha renovado NCIS: New Orleans por una quinta temporada

National Geographic ha renovado Genius por una 3ª temporada que hablará de Mary Shelley

FOX España ha renovado Vis a vis por una cuarta temporada

ABC ha renovado Grey's Anatomy por una decimoquinta temporada

Starz ha adquirido las dos temporadas de Take My Wife tras el cierre del canal Seeso

Cancelaciones de series

Netflix ha cancelado Seven Seconds tras su primera temporada

NBC ha cancelado Taken tras su segunda temporada

CBS ha cancelado Living Biblically tras su primera temporada

Syfy ha cancelado Ghost Wars tras su primera temporada

CBS ha cancelado 9JKL tras su primera temporada

Starz ha cancelado Ash vs. Evil Dead tras su tercera temporada

Incorporaciones y fichajes de series

Mark Hamill (Star Wars, The Flash), Kathy Bates (American Horror Story, Feud), Lauren Lapkus (Orange Is the New Black, Crashing) y Teller (Penn & Teller) participarán en la season finale de The Big Bang Theory. Se desconocen detalles.

Cary Elwes (Saw, The Princess Bride) y Jake Busey (Enemy of the State, From Dusk Till Dawn) se unen a la tercera temporada de Stranger Things.

Iain Glen (Game of Thrones, Delicious), Keeley Hawes (The Durrells, The Missing), Anupam Kher (Sense8, Silver Linings Playbook) y Fiona Shaw (Killing Eve, Harry Potter) protagonizarán Mrs Wilson, antes conocida como The Wilsons, junto a Ruth Wilson.

Noah Emmerich (The Americans, Frequency) protagonizará The Spy junto a Sacha Baron Cohen. Será Dan Peleg, entrenador del Mossad.

Domenick Lombardozzi (The Wire, Boardwalk Empire) y Lola Glaudini (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Expanse) serán Sean 'Mac' McGrath, un agente de policía de Staten Island que forja amistad con Ray (Liev Schreiber); y Anita Novak, abogada que se presenta a alcaldesa de Nueva York con el apoyo de Sam (Susan Sarandon), en la sexta temporada de Ray Donovan.

Gino Vento (The Deuce, Bloodline) será recurrente en Mayans MC como Nester, amigo de Miguel (Danny Pino).

Tyne Daly (Judging Amy, Cagney & Lacey) será Phyllis, hermana de Phil (Pat Corley, fallecido en 2006), en el revival de Murphy Brown.

Claire Danes (Carrie) abandonará Homeland tras la octava temporada.

Pósters de series

        Nuevas series

Amazon encarga nueve episodios del remake de la británica Utopia, sobre un grupo de adultos a los que intentan matar por tener una novela gráfica que narra una conspiración. Escribe Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl, Sharp Objects).

Amazon adquiere Zero Zero Zero, adaptación del libro de Roberto Saviano (2013) sobre la lucha de los cárteles mexicanos, la mafia calabresa y empresarios corruptos por el control del imperio internacional de la cocaína. Protagonizada por Andrea Riseborough (Bloodline, Waco), Dane DeHaan (Valerian, A Cure for Wellness), Gabriel Byrne (The Usual Suspects, In Treatment) y Harold Torres (Ingobernable, El Chapo). Del equipo creativo de Gomorra. Dirige Stefano Sollima (Gomorra, Sicario: Day of the Soldado).

Paramount Network encarga diez episodios de First Wives Club, adaptación de la película de 1996 sobre tres mujeres con matrimonios fallidos que deciden vengarse de sus exmaridos. Escribe Tracy Oliver (Girl's Trip, Survivor's Remorse).

ABC encarga un spin-off de The Goldbergs protagonizado por Lainey (AJ Michalka).

Luz verde directa en Netflix a diez episodios de V-Wars, adaptación de la saga de novelas de Jonathan Maberry. Protagonizada por Ian Somerhalder (The Vampire Diaries, Lost) y escrita por William Laurin y Glenn Davis.

National Geographic encarga The Hot Zone, basada en el libro de Richard Preston y producida por Ridley Scott, que cuenta el origen del Ébola y su llegada a Estados Unidos.

Syfy ha encargado Deadly Class, la adaptación producida por los hermanos Joe y Anthony Russo (Community, Happy Endings) de la novela gráfica de Rick Remender y Wes Craig. Protagonizan Benedict Wong (The Martian, Doctor Strange), Benjamin Wadsworth (Dad vs. Lad), Lana Condor (Patriots Day, X-Men: Apocalypse), María Gabriela de Faría (Yo soy Franky, Grachi), Luke Tennie (Shock and Awe), Liam James (The Killing, The Family) y Michel Duval (Queen of the South, Señora Acero).

Netflix encarga ocho episodios de Turn Up Charlie, creada, producida y protagonizada por Idris Elba (Luther), sobre un DJ soltero que se convierte a regañadientes en el niñero de la hija de su amigo famoso. Escrita por Laura Neal, Femi Oyeniran, Victoria Asare-Archer y Georgia Lester y dirigida por Tristram Shapeero (Community, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) y Matt Lipsey (Sick Note, Little Britain).

Hulu ha encargado diez episodios de PEN15, con Maya Erskine (Insecure, Man Seeking Woman) y Anna Konkle (Rosewood, Maron) interpretándose a ellas mismas con trece años.

Netflix contará en seis episodios el origen del fútbol moderno y la superación de las barreras sociales entre aquellos involucrados en su creación. The English Game estará escrita por Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey).

Luz verde directa en Netflix a diez episodios de The Order, sobre un universitario (Jake Manley; Heroes Reborn, iZombie) que se une a una sociedad secreta en la que descubrirá un aterrador mundo mágico y oscuros secretos familiares. Completan el cast Sarah Grey (Legends of Tomorrow), Matt Frewer (Orphan Black, Altered Carbon), Sam Trammell (True Blood, This Is Us) y Max Martini (The Unit, Revenge). Creada por Dennis Heaton (Ghost Wars, Motive) y Shelley Eriksen (Continuum, Flashpoint).

BET encarga diez episodios de The Archer Connection (título provisional), dramedia de Chad Sanders sobre un joven iconoclasta que ha desarrollado una app que mide la química sexual entre su usuario y cualquiera que ocupe la misma habitación y tratará de evitar el capitalismo y su adicción al sexo.

BET encarga diez episodios del thriller Games Divas Play, basado en la novela de Angela Burt-Murray (2014), sobre tres mujeres y los hombres de sus vidas en el competitivo mundo del deporte profesional. Escrita por Vanessa Middleton (Saturday Night Live), tiene personajes como una ambiciosa reportera, un jugador de baloncesto millonario, un ama de casa desesperada, una escandalosa groupie y un acosador sanguinario.

La tercera serie alemana original de Netflix será Die Welle (seis episodios), basada en la película de 2008 inspirada en hechos reales, sobre un profesor de instituto que pretende mostrar con un experimento social cómo es una dictadura.

Showtime ha encargado el piloto del remake de la comedia británica The Wrong Mans, ambas creadas por James Corden (The Late Late Show) y Mathew Baynton (You, Me and the Apocalypse; Yonderland), en la que dos personas ajenas a un secuestro se ven envueltas en el rescate. Ben Schwartz (House of Lies, Parks and Recreation) protagonizará y producirá la adaptación, dirigida por Jim Field Smith, director de la original.

OWN encarga Ambitions (título provisional), drama familiar multigeneracional centrado en una mujer que trata de reavivar su matrimonio y se encuentra inesperadamente enfrentada a la gente más poderosa y mentirosa de la ciudad a la que se acaba de mudar. Escrita por Jamey Giddens y producida por Will Packer (Roots, Obsessed).

Fechas de series

La segunda temporada de Dear White People llega a Netflix el 4 de mayo

La quinta temporada de Friday Night Dinner se estrena en Channel 4 el 4 de mayo

Safe llega a Netflix el 10 de mayo

Strange Angel se estrena en CBS All Access el 14 de junio

La segunda temporada de GLOW se estrena en Netflix el 29 de junio

La segunda temporada de Mr. Mercedes llega a Audience Network el 22 de agosto

The Innocents llega a Netflix el 24 de agosto

Otras imágenes

Elite

  Maniac

    Tráilers de series

GLOW - Temporada 2

Dear White People - Temporada 2

The Innocents

Safe

[xcuriosidadesx-blog]

Depois de muitos anos de debates históricos, sabemos agora com certeza que em um verão por volta do ano 1000, um navio escandinavo precedeu Colombo no Novo Mundo, por quase cinco séculos, alcançando o Canadá. Por várias gerações, marujos noruegueses avançavam para oeste pela área setentrional do Atlântico, pulando de ilha em ilha, primeiro Shetland, depois as ilhas Faroe e a Islândia. A busca era por pastos e madeira. Levou os exploradores à Groenlândia na década de 980. Depois, seguiram ainda mais para oeste, já que as correntezas do oceano setentrional traziam madeiras flutuantes do horizonte. Os viajantes podiam também estar seguindo o bacalhau. Ao que tudo indica, era a técnica viking de secar o bacalhau ao vento, na proa dos navios, que provia a alimentação dos nórdicos, necessária para navegar em torno da costa da ilha de Baffin, Labrador e chegar à Terra Nova, a que deram o nome de Vinland... porque, como se gabaram ao voltar, encontraram videiras (pines) crescendo ali. Essa descrição otimista de um mundo novo quente e fecundo foi um dos vários motivos pelos quais os relatos islandeses posteriores de um certo Leif Eriksson alcançando o outro lado do Atlântico, por volta do ano 1000, foram encarados com desconfiança pelos historiadores por muitos anos. Mas entre 1961 e 1968, as escavações em L'Anse-aux-Meadows, na Terra Nova, descobriram covas de cozinhar, galpões de barcos, ornamentos de metal e oito ou nove estruturas de casas que tinham com certeza uma origem nórdica... além de indícios do cultivo de videiras. Constatou-se que os objetos remontavam mais ou menos ao ano 1000, comprovando que era possível que carpinteiros da época pregassem, juntassem e amarrassem vários milhares de peças de madeira, com força e flexibilidade suficientes para transportar homens através da violência do Atlântico.

Robert Lacey e Danny Danziger, O Ano 1000 — A Vida no Inicio do Primeiro Milênio

[evangelineartemiasamos]

How much does Lacey miss her mother

It’s difficult to put a scale on it. It’s more a feeling of what could’ve been and early childhood nostalgia most of the time, and those are only the tender memories. Lacey suppresses the yearning for her mother and tries to turn it into energy for vengeance against other Silvers - her negative feelings are in the majority. She can talk about most of her feelings to Cassie, Sorata or her father but a central part of her is still hurt from her mother’s death. The pain enrourages her but she can’t really recognize it as pain.

[evangelineartemiasamos]

How old was Lacey mother when she had Lacey

Early thirties

[evangelineartemiasamos]

Did Cassie or Lacey ever meet Coriane

No. They were babies when she died.

[evangelineartemiasamos]

You know always pictured Lacey having a baby boy

Yeah, that’s hinted at in Spark of life^^ His name is Alexander

[evangelineartemiasamos]

What are Cassie Lacey and Sorata sexuality

I have to apologize here as I’m undecided. I created those characters a long time ago and while they progressed, they started to fall in love with people and I developed them in that regard. I paid less attention to other options which doesn’t mean good representation on my part. They’re apparently straight but they could be just as well be bi or pan. Maybe not Cassie because that would put her into a “slutty bi trope” as she had a promiscuous phase. But at the moment, I don’t feel comfortable to put a label on them only to pat myself on the back.

There’re other original characters who I imagine as lgbt+ and they feel more organic to me, regarding their characters. Unfortunately, I can’t put too much emphasis on them in a fan fiction that still focuses on the main plot. I can only list them.

Charlotte Haven - demisexual, hetero-romantic

Roman Eagrie - pan

Amy/Irene Ives - ace

Aude Eagrie - aro/ace

Helena Eagrie - lesbian

Richard Rhambos - gay (dating Henry)

Henry Ventos - gay (dating Richard)

[evangelineartemiasamos]

What metal inness did Lacey mother suffer from

Anorexia. You may say it was caused by the mental abuse by her Merandus relatives.

You can find the backstory here: https://chaoslaborantin.tumblr.com/post/155593803773/red-queen-fan-fiction-black-storm-xv

Or read a quote under the cut

“She didn’t literally kill herself.” She breathed in. “She had starved herself to death, for a long time. You can say she wasn’t able to grasp that she would really die if she didn’t stop.”

“Oh.”

“You’ve never heard of that, have you? Of course, how could one deny food when there’re others who wished they had more?”

He didn’t know what to say. Whatever he felt about that, Firebird had still lost her mother.

“I could explain how mean the Merandus have been to her, because she was not supposed to be one. She had inherited the whisper ability from my grandmother, and my grandfather had disowned her for it. Some people started to rumour she wasn’t even his daughter, though she looked like him. The Merandus’, meanwhile - they thought her to be too weak. And the weakest one became the training object for the others. My mother was only able to read thoughts, to her miscontent, but still, a Silver with a mental gift is always more difficult to crack than another person. Thus she was perfect to train on. Who knows what thoughts they had planted into her at the time? Well, that is why I can’t - couldn’t stand the act of the Merandus queen. I would not bow to her and her machinations again, so I came here, to the fighting.

“My mother had stayed away from her ‘family’ for a while when she met my father. She got better, healthy enough so they could have me, their miracle child, but in the end, my father and I weren’t enough. Not enough heal her brokenness.”

[evangelineartemiasamos]

Does Lacey use sex as a escape. How old was she when she lost her virginity

Hmm. In a way, yes. She dated Reds in an act of rebellion but she didn’t think those relationships would last because of the power imbalance.  That doesn’t mean she doesn’t yearn for a lasting romantic relationship but she feels disillusionment. The only thing coming close are flirts with Sorata although it never became more than a very good friendship.The only “lasting relationship” she grew up is witnessing is Cassie and Sorata pining for each other which … isn’t much. Three of the parent figures in her life are (widowed) singles who lost their great loves and now support each other (though one uncle is in a happy gay relationship but he isn’t close to Lacey and Cassie as he lives somewhere else).

Please don’t say “lose virginity okay? Lacey was 16 when she had sex for the first time. It was during her and Cassie’s journey to the Lakelands.

[evangelineartemiasamos]

Was Lacey mother very kind and loving.

Yes. But her illness stopped her from loving herself.

[evangelineartemiasamos]

Does Lacey love Tramy

OMG! A specific fic-related ask, thank you so much

Well. It’s a crush developing into more on both parts. So not a “yes” yet, but becoming one. They’re a bit hesitant to admit their feelings.

Now, their relationship develops differently in Black Storm and in Blood Curse and each time it’s a little complicated. In Black Storm, it starts with casual sex. There’s first the physical attraction before feelings forms and are revealed to themselves and each other. It’s kind of the enemies to lovers trope. Lacey is taken serious immediately while Tramy has problems to trust a Silver and their roles are unclear: Lacey still has to act as a Silver officer and Tramy as her subordinate in public but he could sell her out to either the Silvers or the Guard. Both are trying to stay in their lanes, so to say, but they can’t stay away from each other.

In Blood Curse, things are more subtle which is due to Lacey being a literal prisoner when they meet. Although she pledges her allegiance to the Guard and they “release her” unlike their other hostages (as she stays on her own free will), the rebels are more careful to trust her and the friendships she forms with Tramy and other people are more fragile. Tramy clearly doesn’t treat her as a prisoner but he trusts her which gains him her trust in return, similar to their talks in Storm. He feels more compassion for her and supports her gaining more importance and privileges (eg. contact to her family). There’s still some reluctance but this time, it’s more on the physical/sexual aspect progressing slower.

The ship dangles close to problematic territories and I try to steer away from it as best as I can, although failure may loom close. Please tell me whenever  fuck up there -.-

TBH, I thought about including a miscarriage plot in the beginning of Storm though I cut it because it would demand a lot more focus on them than the actual plot needs. Lacey thinks she can’t get pregnant by a Red and they’re somewhat careless but she only notices there was a pregnancy once she lost it. She only tells him, but like, two days later. She would tell Cassie when they met in person again. It gets very emotional. IDK. On the one hand, I don’t like to use a miscarriage as a plot device, on the other hand I like it as a way to show instead of telling the problems of having mixed children. Lacey actually wants children but she’s extremely decided against marrying a Silver for political reasons or having children with a person she doesn’t love. She doesn’t think she could ever fall for a Silver.

[evangelineartemiasamos]

Red Queen Fan Fiction Black Storm Extra: Harvest Moon part II

First part

info dump on original characters you will need this I guess

Seriously, I thought very long about if I should post this. People might feel bad about reading such a story. But I think I should offer this story to those who are interested. Please notice that I don't intend to offer perfect solutions or to shame people. This is the story of one fictional character and her way to cope.

Warning! Mentioning of sexual violence. Warning! Proceed with caution

 Set in December during King's Cage, apart from the flashbacks

Cassandra POV

 My family believes in ghosts. There's our one legendary ancestress, Lisa Corvin, the Siren and the Sacrifice, the bride and the murderer and the murdered one. Our disembodied guardian. Many daughters have been named for her, in more or less creative ways. She's still around us, the more superstitious relatives claim, but all us of revere her, the young girl who killed her husband with only one word. I cherish her too, how could I not, as I am a relentless murderer myself. Lisa Corvin is the goddess of death who has walked this path before me.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 The invasion of the Lakelands went well for three days. It was a small-scale attack, to be honest, and probably the reason of the eventual failure. Our team of twenty soldiers, all Reds except a skinhealer, my brother Roman and me, walked for the first two days, stormed a Red village at night and chased off the local Reds. We couldn't bring ourselves to kill them at that point, which wasn't the smartest idea in hindsight.

Because the Lakelanders fought back. Our position wasn't secure and as we patrolled our "conquered" lands, I, prowling alone, was the first to notice the Silver hunters of the enemy.

Yet there wasn't much for me to notice before they shot me.

There have been four of them, and it were four bullets that crossed my abdomen. I didn't know if each of them had hit me, but as I fell down, I used those bullets to kill them instead.

They were my first victims and still, I laid down to die, bleeding and helpless unless someone came for me. So I helped myself.

That might have been the most important moment of my life, when I faced death and fought her with all I had. I summoned powers I didn't know I possessed, monitoring my fading body functions to stop the bleedings, to remain breathing, to keep my heart beating. Maybe my powers could've awakened later on as well, maybe they could've been triggered by another, less dangerous event. It didn't matter because this wasn't only about the new level of my powers afterwards. It was about fear. Until my brother found me and brought me to the inexperienced skinhealer, I'd learned what it was to die. But I had persisted, my mind had surpassed my body. I'd defeated death and I felt like I was able to defeat everything afterwards.

 As better healers took care of my wounds after out retreat, they noticed the lack of an uterus in my body, rendering me unsuitable for marriage to most nobles. I was too young to be disappointed but I knew what it meant nonetheless. I wondered if that was the moment my mother would finally give up on me, the one mistake she'd ever allowed herself.

But when she came for me, what I saw in her face was a mix of worry and relief. She apologized to me. She rued what she'd done to me, sending be into battle at age 12, and, what shocked me most of all, she felt ashamed for having estranged me from my father. I hadn't known how it felt to be loved until that moment.

I met my father more often, afterwards. Yet when I saw him with his baby daughter Samantha, I wondered if he would've even noticed my demise when he'd just had another daughter, this time with a woman he really loved. I didn't want to lose him again, though, nor my little sister. I wanted to be part of their lives, even as I became a sentinel, and I lost more and more parts of myself in order to turn myself into a soldier.

I learned to employ minute control and the sense of motion of my ability whenever I wanted. Thus I kept a broken jar in my room, a piece of china I held in shape alone with thoughts from the back of my mind. I finally managed to hold up to the other Silvers who were stronger than me by birth. And becoming a stronger fighter was all I had at that time. I grew arrogant and boastful. I told stories about how I'd received the scars I didn't want the healers to erase.

"My ability had vanquished death."

"I saw the goddess of death and I chased her away."

"I looked into the eyes of the goddess of death and she looked back. This gaze endured so long that the abyss of death has carved itself into my soul and that is how I became the deadliest person in Norta."

My powers grew just like these dramatic stories. Or it was the other way round: I had to invent even grander metaphors to keep them up with my increasing skills.  

 I started to be called Queen of Limbs when I was fourteen and I fought with a strongarm on a First Friday. I'm a frequent contestant in those events, until now. That day, I used my quicker pace to escape his attack while shooting throwing stars at him, but it wasn't enough once he had me in his grip. I couldn't fight his strength and I felt my bones breaking, yet I didn't relent. Even with my body incapitated, I still had my mind. As I gasped for pain and breaths, I imagined his limbs twisting and turning until I saw only stars and blackness. Till he gave in, screaming out himself, and had me drop to the ground. While I was a double-edged sword, a weapon by body and brain, he was unable to fight if injured too hard. Despite my own wounds, despite being close to barfing from power overuse, I heaved myself up, forcing my broken legs to work so I could walk out of the arena victorious and with my head held high.

There was a huge difference between my family life and the profession I strived to live up to. I was a girl cleaved in two. I pretended things with my family were the same as ever, I had fun, wore pretty dresses and laughed. I ignored what happened during sentinel trainings, as I ignored that I was no longer innocent but a murderer even if it had been self-defense.

But Firebird and Sorata continued to be the most important persons in my life, friends I could trust with my issues when I dared to speak and relive them again.

 They were the only friends I ever had. We got into trouble and when stuff got bad, I got sent away. Basically.

I put my white dress on that night, dancing in the dark in the pale moonlight, barefoot in our town house garden while Firbird did the same. She looked as stunning as ever. Her beauty wasn't rooted in perfection yet to me, she was the prettiest girl I knew. She was fitting well into the verdant garden like the hummingbird she was with her aquiline nose, dark olive skin, rich make-up and her colourful, flowery dress. This party was a return to the paradise of our childhood, if we only tried hard enough. It was our present to each other, but mostly to Sorata. It was his birthday and we celebrated him, the Red boy, as our equal. To Firebird and me, he had never been anything else: not even then, after we'd spent five years at court, interacting with other Silver children, fighting in their wars and learning our lessons of supremacy. We longed to be disobdient, non-conformity was  written in our souls, yearning to be lived out, a feeling any teenager has to be familiar with, Silver ones as well. And Sorata meant even more to me.

It was an evening of stargazing, as the fragrances of summer, grass, grills and Mother's cigarettes hung in the air. We were drinking cherry schnapps in the velvet night, booze Firebird had snatched for us, even though we could get away with only so much. As the night wore on, I started to lean against Sorata while he played with my hair. Sometimes I moved the tresses around like snakes to tickle and caress him as well, and the play became bolder by the minute. We were an inch from kissing as Firebird raised her voice.

"Aren't you named for the sky, Sorata?"

She gave us only a glance as the contemplated the night sky. Yet Sorata coughed before he answered. "Yes," another cough, " that's right. Sky, or void. Vacuum. It's from an old tongue, from across the seas. Japanese."

I was stunned. "Really? I thought most of those relicts are gone?"

He shrugged. "My parents' ancestors came from there. Of both, I mean. Wonder if they'd noticed, and told each other the same myths." He laughed this off, as he was used to when talking about his family. His father had died long ago and his mother wasn't the most affectionate, even by Silver standards. Something stood between them.

Firebird nodded gravely. "It's good to remember. And it's a beautiful name."

"All of you have 'old' names, don't you Cassie?"

I blinked. "Yes, we do?" I realized I haven't let go if his shirt. I was practically sitting in his lap and I wanted to get closer still. Sorata knew and it made him nervous, blushingly nervous. He stroked my back, and I laid my head on his shoulder. He fit me better than my favourite sweater and Firebird was done with interrupting us. It didn't take us much longer to start kissing. And more. We were young and in love and in the end, we became each other's firsts, with nothing to rue. It was freedom, as much we were allowed to have. If we kept a low profile.

That was where the beginning of the end began, everybody knew that we had too much fun.

Enough people noticed. Some Silvers indeed kept Red paramours, but that wasn't what I wanted for Sorata and me, as nobles looked down upon either. Mother reminded me of this as well, frequently. Saying I had too much to lose to begin with. As did Sorata, she claimed, and her black eyes gleamed mean, envisioning what the more sadistic Silvers did to Reds who forgot their places, like by being in love with a Silver. She told me of one example and I gave in.

Sometimes love was not enough and the road got tough.

So it happened that Firebird and I went on a diplomatic mission to the Lakelands. A terrible decision, to be honest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Seven is the number of men I’d had sex with. One was the boy I love, five were fellow sentinels. It isn’t an extremely large number, but apparently too many for a 20-year-old, or so some people thought, those who called me names for that. I claim not to care about that and on most days, I don’t. Consensual sex is nothing to be ashamed about and my ex-boyfriends don’t shame me either. Only those who like to gossip, who don’t care about what really happened, are base enough to insult me. I think them ridiculous.

I shouldn’t delude myself though. There was nothing romantic about my affairs, and my motivation was petty. After I’d noticed one man’s, Alex, interest in me, I saw a chance. A way to wield control over the real nobles, a game  that reduced sex to a mere power-play: Those boys and men I'd slept with were people I dared to trust, they liked and respected me, even after I’d broken up with them. Others lusted after me, hoping for more, and I prefered to punish them with ignorance if I could not bait them.

I hadn’t expected for this game to work so well, not for such a long time. I almost waited for my ex-boyfriends to hate on me, to beat me up in training, to group up against me, yet my fears remained unfounded. Slowly, I realized that maybe, if they really liked me, they might deserve better. But it was what I needed back then, control over my sexuality and through it. It was better to wake up next to someone I trusted than being alone in a moment of panic when I didn’t remember where I was or what had happened the night before. When all I saw was the imagined red blood on my hand, as if what had been done to me in the Lakelands, what I had done, had occurred just hours ago and not four years prior.

I tell myself that I'm afraid of nothing, but is that really true? Possibly, yet another truth is that while I was in the Lakelands, I was drugged and raped and I have survived. I've continued with my life and still have I to deal with it, the fact that a Red boy, just a few years older than me, had thought me the perfect target to exact his revenge on the Silvers.

He assumed that no Silver girl would dare to demean herself to report such a crime. He was right. As much as I hate him, the real betrayal originated from my own people who let me down, without a way to obtain justice unless I took it into my own hands.

Philip Cross raped a 15-year-old girl to find a conduit for his anger. I was obliged to remind him that this could not ever happen again. So I faced him alone in a boathouse in Detraon, and used my ability to pin him against a wall and inflicting on him all kinds of pain I could imagine.

Revenge was no joy, and justice an illusion. The only enduring reminder I gave to him was the R I engraved on his cheek.

"Remember this, fucker," I hissed between his winces, "remember what this letter stands for. Not Red, not rebel, not runaway. Rapist. That's what you are."

I could have done anything with him and gotten away with it, I knew that much. I didn't want to. I didn't want to sink to his level and even less did I want to admit to him how much he'd hurt me by punishing him even more brutally. Did I find the right measure? I don't have an inkling.

After I'd stained my hands with his blood, I tried to forget him. My whole focus was on keeping myself together. It wasn't easy, while staying in the foreign country with devious nobles around me like in the Whitefire, when I couldn't bring myself to tell Firebird, who was there with me, yet.

But the visit ended soon afterwards anyway. The Scarlet Guard attacked the court and I killed my first Red, to defend Firebird and the royal family she was talking to when the assault happened. I wondered if those terrorists had anything to do with Philip Cross, but I can't know as he didn't take part that day. As all but one of the rebels laid dead on the floor, Princess Iris looked at me acknowledgingly. She had captured one of them alive, a man who would later spill the secrets of his group, thus causing the destruction of a whole village that harboured the insurgents. I heard that much before the Nortan emissaries were asked to leave for home.

Some months later, I started to tell one family member after another of my violation. I needed to talk and yet, it wasn't enough. Nothing was. I got my tattoos. I trained harder, fought, and took lovers, but as time healed my heart it hardened it as well. I didn't hesitate to accept when King Maven ordered me to hunt his Silver enemies, to kill or capture them. I was good for the job, well experienced in fighting other Silvers and able to attack from the distance and the shadows, like the assassin some comrades started to call me, the true heir of the Siren. I spiked them with everything in the vicinity, I crushed lungs and made their veins burst for slower and more veiled deaths. I excelled, and yet it didn't make me feel any better.

Once, I even took part in a Newblood eviction. I continued to loath fighting against Reds, thus I was shocked to see how my comrades killed the whole family of the man who was our target without a blink.

To my relief, that remained my last hunt. Soon afterwards, Mare Barrow electrocuted the Witch Queen, and my mother sidled into my room the moment she heard that news. She'd waited for Elara's demise for decades. Gloatingly, she hinted at the prophet she'd met, a strange man who looked forward to cooperate with Maven. A Newblood himself. He told the king where Mare Barrow intended to go and the king set forth, taking me and several others he handpicked to finally capture the Lightning Girl. And so we did.

 I was no longer dating any Silvers at the time, and Lucas Samos had been the last one. It had ended in June. I broke up with him when things became serious - for him at least. He said he loved me, that he wished for us to stay together. That alone made me uncomfortable - I had no romantic feelings for Lucas. Then he said it.

"... and once we've found a solution for your de-, um, problem, we might even get married. One day."

I stared at him.

The silence dragged on.

I could see his resolve faltering and his heart fracturing by the second. He hadn' believed I'd let him down. He wanted to argue. But as his mouth opened again, I stopped him.

"No."

"Excuse me?"

I brushed his cheek for one last time. "I can't marry you. And we would be better off if we stopped this right now."

"Cassie!"

I let go of him. "I'm sorry you thought there was a future for us when there isn't. Farewell, Luke." I turned away from his devastated face. I'd tried to be gentle, but a part of me was too angry. I wasn't defected. I didn't need to be healed, least of all to make a proper bride for a Silver to breed with.

To be honest, I wish I could have children sometimes, I don't resent the idea of having them one day. But I will neither let myself be reduced to my reproductive abilities, nor to my sexuality, I deduced as much and so, I stopped dating. Not only to avoid another heartbreak, but to keep men like Samson Merandus at bay, men who felt "entitled" to me. He is the worst one, he doesn't even notice how much he disgusts me with his lusting after me.

A few months later, Firebird went away to become an officer at the choke. I miss her, like the moon misses the sun. I walk in the dark when she isn't around me to remind me that life is more than fighting and intrigue, even though she isn't a much better person than me, deep down. She only hides her vindictive and calculating parts with easy smiles, make-up and pretty dresses. I don't think she's gone to Corvium without another motive but her military career. She has chosen her path, but where does this leave me? I'm not who I want to be.

 I stand before Mare Barrow. She ignores me, focused on her own thoughts and her small tries to stay strong despite her imprisonment, the torture she's been through, and the SIlent Stone weighing on her limbs. She's a fighter, she won't give up. I respect that. I respect everyone who tries to bend and break the rules which are caging us.

 Commentary:

Again, I want to apologize to everyone who feels offended or hurt by me telling the story of a rape victim. Feel free to critisize or bash me for the things I've done wrong. I want to learn.

I'm not saying Cassandra's way to cope is the right one, or a healthy one, but it is the one she's chosen. Not only her sexuality, but her vengeance too. Maybe her punishment is too lenient. But I imagine her as a woman who has no idea about the "accurate" way to deal with such a crime in a society that I assume to be victim-blaming, thus I have her act on her instincts alone, instincts which are attuned to never show weakness. I write about one fictional person, I'm not saying how rapists should be punished, or how victims have to behave. This story is not intended to be generalizing.

I see that I might have Cassandra over-sexualized, yet this is a personal story about a woman pondering about her sexuality. I tried to put in other themes as well, but I realize that might be too little. I hope one can still read into the rest of her character that I've created.

I'm not 100 % happy with the way I wrote the love story part, I'm not the greatest romantic writer. I've used a lot of Lana Del Rey quotes in that part, to be honest.