#trysnora

[spadesofgrass]

crimes of passion book 3 ch 7 • obsessive love, wikipedia • inferno (dante), wikipedia • the circle of the lustful, william blake • speak! speak, john everett millais • the dead sparrow, franz marc • tristan and isolde drinking the love potion, dante gabriel rossetti • my dark vanessa, kate elizabeth russell

[spadesofgrass]

looking at nora

[spadesofgrass]

resting suspicious faces

[spadesofgrass]

The Proposal but M's version ~ Trystan x Nora

Basically what I think would have happened from Nora's pov. This kind of started as a head canon thing but now it's a weird drabble lmao.

WC: 800 / gen.

Nora says no. It's almost too easy to get the words out of her mouth. She thinks it's because she's far too gone. The helpless cruelty.

Trystan almost anticipates it. Their wild goose chase after Bird is almost anticlimactic. The ring now sits on a coffee table in the lavish balcony. It feels out of place.

Nora asks if this is what they want. If they're sure. Trystan thinks yes. He doesn't know how to answer it besides telling her he feels good about it. They've known each other for a while, but it feels like years have passed by.

Trystan asks if this is what Nora wants.

She doesn't know. Her thoughts play around what happened a few hours ago. Mafalda giving her blessings, Ruby and Luke insisting they would make such a cute couple, that sure it hasn't been that long but isn't that what romance really is all about? A fairytale wedding to plan, stolen moments to share, vows, a lifetime together.

She thinks there's a hidden plot. She's never been too keen on putting a label on what they have. Maybe if she was told marriage was the right decision, she'll settle down. Maybe she won't even think about avenging her father's death. Maybe she won't have to. She has a new purpose now. A rusted old weapon forged into a beautiful ring sitting right in front of her.

Trystan might get over his own fears too. After all, a wedding gave them something to look forward to. She asks Trystan again if this is what he's choosing, now and forever. Trystan says it doesn't matter what they think, it's Nora's choice. He's almost disheartened. It isn't fair, she thinks. It isn't fair for anyone.

She asks them if they've ever considered the possibility of Nora dying. Trystan thinks it's a grim thought - if that's the case, then she should consider them dying too. Nonsensical. They're perfect, they're harmonious. Marriage will do them good.

Nora says it's rude to say no. Trystan says he can take it. As long as they're both safe and full and content.

But he can't. He'll have to wear the ring himself - something he'd meticulously chosen for her. It's wrong. It's unfair. It's cold and cruel. It's against everything.

Perhaps a compromise. Trystan must come to an understanding that there is a chance Nora might die or worse, get consumed. They don't understand the nuances, but he's fought for his family, spat at their feet, taken everything from them, losing himself - he gets it. He doesn't get it, but there seems to be something. Is it fear? Concern? Shock? It's unreadable.

Trystan tells her to keep the ring. It doesn't matter if she wants to wear it or not, it's hers and she can do whatever she wants with it. Nora tells him they'll go through with the wedding. Anything is better than nothing. Trystan counters, saying there's no point. Perhaps he was carried away with a wedding he'd fantasized about for a long time. To Juliana. A wedding they should have had. It's wrong to rush.

But keep the ring. Please. At least, as a gift.

What do we ever tell the others? At least let's have a wedding. A celebration.

You think too much of yourself. Maybe there's a chance you won't… I don't know. You're getting too ahead of yourself.

I don't know that. I don't know anything. I don't know if I'll even be good. We can still have a party. You like parties. You've gone through so much just to arrange this. Let's plan the wedding. Let's just be. And we won't have to talk about this again. It's the least I can do for the ring and all.

Will we be happy about it? Will you be?

We won't have to talk about this at all. I will ensure this doesn't happen to you. A happy marriage in the front so at least, people know what I am. The gate is wide open.

Okay.

I love you.

Okay.

Is it fine?

I don't know. I suppose so. Yes. It's fine.

We won't have to talk about this anymore. I promise. I just hope --

Hope for?

It's nothing.

So.

Anyways.

I guess that is all I have to say. It doesn't matter what I think if you aren't already on the same page as I am.

No no, I am completely fine with it. Harmonious and all. I suppose that settles it then. Will you marry me, then?

Okay.

It will be a beautiful wedding, I hope. Maybe sometime in the future we can plan one like that. Something we can deserve and not have to feel horrible about it.

I'm sorry. I hope so too. That's what I meant when--

It's okay. I love you. Do you still want the ring? You don't have to wear it all the time. Maybe just for a few pictures. Do you like it?

I do. I don't know how many times I'm going to keep saying it. It's the most perfect thing.

Is that so?

I think it is best kept in a glass case. Such a strong thing of beauty, you think?

Oddly enough, I do too.

__

Thank you @choicesmc for being my enabler in this lol couldn't have conjured up this without your encouragement!

To an extent I think this fic kind of bridges the gap between book 2 and 3 esp in the context of this fic of mine right here -> for the javelin I'd not meant to throw at you

[spadesofgrass]

I really like the idea of Trystan and Nora not really having a designated 'first kiss' moment or anything - like they, to me, don't ever kiss at all or share your typical intimate moments and instead just take bullets and stab wounds and flames from a fire for each other, fight a bunch, decide they hate each other and it is probably best if they don't have to work together anymore and then proceed to take five more wounds - like nobody's matching each other's freak to this insane degree. The most they do is partake in the most confusing, amorous hand-holding possible - literally queerbaiting but troubled het pairings.

[spadesofgrass]

failmarriage trysnora

[spadesofgrass]

Nora x Trystan - a poem

[spadesofgrass]

them <3

[spadesofgrass]

Trystan "I can't in good conscience have kids of my own because one day, they'll grow up, the lines will blur and all I'll ever see in them are the hollowed out faces of a family I left behind a long time ago" Thorne 🤝 Nora "I will never be the kind of person my child would consciously want to look up to and I'll just be a hollow, cheap imitation of somebody. I'd rather not have any, than have them forget me." Rose.

[spadesofgrass]

trysnora sketch for valentine's day

[spadesofgrass]

I like the Rose/Thorne parallels but I also like the idea of Rose being a verb - 'rose from the grave, rose from the horizon in this menacing way' and Thorne being an anagram of 'throne' - a sign of something not quite right, an imperfection, a sign of a failed 'Try'. Wordplays are great sometimes.

[spadesofgrass]

them! (disgusting!)

[spadesofgrass]

Maybe I am overthinking this a little, but there's something oddly fascinating about Trystan and the Thornes all wearing facades and essentially being caricatures of themselves in Book 2.

(spoilers for Crimes 2 ahead)

You have Trystan who hasn't quite grappled with the seriousness of this investigation and resorts to sex and charmspeak as a cure-all. You have Lydea, intimidating, stern - you never quite see her falter. You have Vasili - supposedly the smart one, the calculative one, the one everyone looks upto. Bas - loud, openly loathing everything and everyone that breathes in front of him. And this recurrent theme of caricatures follows - the family appears exaggerated, almost as if they are all aware of the newcomer - MC and it is through MC's eyes we see them.

For a while I've trifled with the possibility of MC being an unreliable narrator/spectator. They spend a portion of Book 2 trying to paint Lydea guilty, they come off as different and more into believing the first thing that lands on their plate. They try to trail after Bas - basically people who made them feel cold and uninvited. And these ridiculous accusations spiral from then on, until the final confrontation.

And we don't really get to see everyone's masks fall until the coronation and the events prior to it - Trystan is devastatingly silent, Lydea is mortified, surprised, shaken at the fact the crown was offered to her, Vasili - the cunning, clever one uses guns and knives and garottes and anything that he seems to find to kill. Bas is silenced. MC is in the middle, confused, out-of-their-element, forced to face reality. The family's no longer "exaggerated" or "comicky", they're real people and it has always been about who controls the narrative - who's able to have their mask on for the longest time.

And it's Trystan who does. They win this staring contest. They profess their love for MC, they give up everything, victory sex, everything is perfect. The only moment of vulnerability they show is during the murder trial and the coronation - almost as if it is some kind of a death sentence and they're forced to choose their last words carefully, forced to make important expressions. And almost immediately, the facade comes back on. Trystan's a parody and that is their greatest weapon - to never be taken seriously until nobody expects them to stab them in the back (i.e with pawning the crown off to Lydea, a satisfaction with imprisoning their own brother, never taking a definite stance on the Act of Equity, being as ambiguous and unpredictable as possible.)

And MC - a detective, quite literally a seeker of all truths, will never know.

[spadesofgrass]

Trystan and Nora should fight, like physical combat style but the whole scene should read like a waltz. Walk with me here.

[spadesofgrass]

Trystan and Nora taking the exact opposite advice from trying out couple's therapy and adopting another stray dog will always be my treasured headcanon. It is the funniest thing. The therapist tells them they should put down roots, evaluate who they are to each other and maybe sit down and define their relationship and they're like "hmm roots, do you remember any early memories of us in like, some place or something" "oh yeah silver's - we got silver together" "then that means we should probably house another dog and -?" "that is such a valid interpretation this is great I like this"

[spadesofgrass]

Seeing this post wandering around in my dash reminds me of how Trystan embraces being "feminine" in my canon - though the very concept is archaic, they still see it bleed into how Western society expects people to dress up. Wearing brightly coloured regal robes, jewellery and caring about fashion and poetry, singing - all of which viewed as feminine and immaterial by society around him, Trystan embraces it. He does not care if you spew garbage about him in the tabloids. These 'hollow" vessels through which they express themselves saved them from a horrible identity crisis.

Cut to Nora having complex relationship with her own gender, trying to appear more boyish, more intimidating, cutting her hair to look like her dad, rejecting the dna in her that came from her mother, essentially- associating the very idea of it with weakness and sickness. I elaborate more on it here, along with some Lady Macbeth parallels. Grief changes everything about her and she struggles a lot with it as she grows older and takes the first step by growing out her hair.

I really like them. I just think they're really neat.