#tibe and coriane

[lilo-jacos]

Thomas showing up to the met Gala:

Tibe and Coriane showing up to the met gala:

Shade showing up to the met gala:

Elara showing up to the met gala from the depths of Hell:

[lucy-the-cat]

Sweet Nothing, champagne problems, and Sad, Beautiful Tragic were made for Cori and Tibe btw. Just your dose of Red Queen Taylor Swift songs for the day

(I'm running out of tag space so here, screenshot with first half of the tags)

If I made a three part series of them based on these songs would anyone read it

[drawredasdawn]

Day Five -> July 20th: Role Swap, Secrets, Trust

Read More For (Very Tame) Nakey Ladies (Coriane Jacos/Elara Merandus)

I, your best kept secret,

Whisper into your shadows

With heated breaths, gentle sighs.

You, my best kept secret,

Moan as I enter

Eyes roll back, muffled cries

-Onur Taşkiran

[bruised-punk]

The Calore Bros are Nightwing and Red Hood Coded

"Do you think we're brothers in every universe?"

Yes! 

Welcome to Punk's mental gymnastics, this episode we're talking about how Cal and Maven Calore, are Dick Grayson (Nightwing) and Jason Todd (Red Hood) coded.

I know you’re thinking, but Punk, how could you say this? Dick and Jason didn’t have that great of relationship before Jason died, after all Dick had already moved away, he was well on his journey as Nightwing, and he and Bruce weren't on the best of terms, and he and Jason didn

Sit down, allow me to explain.

Red Queen 1 Maven and Cal are Dick and Jason during Jason's run as Robin. Putting aside all that was going on with Dick and Bruce and the fact that Jason and Dick never really lived together.

Maven and Jason were always trying to live up to the expectations other people put on them because of who their older brothers were. Dick was the first robin, the boy wonder, he's every aspiring hero's idol, the golden boy, he's the leader of the Titans, Batman's greatest creation, the Dark Heir, he left Gotham and built his own legacy, Nightwing the hero of Blüdhaven. For a young hero in the DC universe if there's anyone you want to become it's Nightwing. For Bruce, Nightwing is everything that Batman was supposed to be.

In this sense Cal is similar to Dick. He's the perfect son, the golden heir. He's that last connection his father has to his mother, Coriane. He was wanted. When people look to him they see Norta's glittering future, they see a strong and powerful son of House Calore. A warrior, a battle strategist, a master of his Silver ability. Everything Cal does is impressive and exceeds expectations. People know he will be a good king. He is everything a prince of Norta should be.

When it comes to Jason it's the exact opposite. People were pissed when Jason came along as the new robin (or so I've heard, I wasn't alive then). They didn't like that he was replacing Dick and everything he did was met with some form for backlash. (The fans literally voted for Jason to get killed off). (There was a fan who wanted Jason gone so badly that they voted a bunch of times just to make sure Jason got killed off). This is where the whole "Jason is the violent Robin, Jason is the angry Robin, Jason is the aggressive Robin" comes from. Even though Jason was a pretty silly and happy at the start of his Robin run. When he and Bruce start having tension over Jason's use of "excessive force" it begins establishing this idea that Jason will never be good enough, he'll never be Nightwing, which follows him into his Red Hood era. For most young heros in the DC universe, for the robins that came after him, Jason is a cautionary tale. For Bruce, Jason, Red Hood, is Batman's Greatest failure.

Here's where Maven mirrors Jason. Because like Jason, Maven will never and was never going to ever measure up to his brother. It didn't matter if he was a scholar or that if he was a student of the arts like theater or literature (also like Jason). He's not as physically strong as Cal, he's not as good of a fighter as Cal, he doesn't have as much control over his ability (yet) as Cal does. In the scope of things his father only needed him to be there in case something ever happened to Cal. (Whether you want to debate Tibe's love for Maven is a whole other conversation). He's the spare but he's not perceived as a very good one. In the eyes of the Silver Court, he's weak and thus a very bad prince of norta.

So of course further down the line all four of them become everything they were expected to be, no matter if they wanted to or not.

Dick doesn't want to become Batman, he already has his own identity, his own life, but he takes up the mantle because he knows that someone has to wear the cowl, Gotham needs Batman.

As the Red Queen series goes on Cal doesn't want to be the king that his father was, or expected him to be, but he assumes the throne because he's under the impression that Norta needs a king, that the cost of the change that the Scarlet Guard is trying to achieve will result in too high of a price to pay.

Eventually though both Dick and Cal renounce this role that they don't want to play. When Bruce comes back from whatever weird adventure he got caught up in, he becomes Batman again, and Dick goes back to being Nightwing. And in Broken Throne, Cal renounces the crown, the Kingdom of Norta dissolves into the Nortan states, and he's free to pursue a life of his own choosing.

Maven and Jason become their "true" selves, or the selves that everyone always figured they would become either because of their emotions (in Jason's case) or because of who they were related to (In Maven's case), and its made possible by just how isolated they were when they were younger. Unlike is predecessor or his successors, Jason didn't have a superhero team when he was Robin. Occasionally he would go on missions with the Titans but they weren't his Titans in the same way they were Dick's or that Young Justice was Tim's. His world was school, home, and Batman and Robin. That's it. He didn't really have any friends. Neither did Maven. Cal had friends. Dick had friends. Jason and Maven not so much. They had their brothers (for the most part in Jason's case) and one parental figure each to sort of make up their social circles.

(Not that I'm comparing Elara and Bruce. Bruce has his issues, but nothing like Elara. That's a whole other conversation).

So naturally there's nothing really keeping them from becoming the "monsters" everyone always expected them to become.

Maven does what he does because he believes that this is how he’s going to beat Cal, this is how he’s going to BE Cal. He commits every violent, vile act with the intention of being just as ruthless of his mother because he’s supposed to be just like his mother.

Nothing stops Jason from becoming Red Hood, from trying to punish Batman for not avenging him, for attacking Tim in Titans Tower while wearing a robin costume (these theater kids jesus). He does that all on his own because well he's the "violent" robin isn't he? He thinks well, it's his fault that he got killed isn't it? He trusted someone he shouldn't have (his mother, oh would you look at that Maven was also betrayed by his mother, I'll explain more later on) she betrayed him, gave him up to the Joker, and he got killed. Bruce didn't get there in time, but he's not upset that Bruce didn't save him. No, Jason's upset that Bruce didn't avenge him, that Bruce didn't break his no kill and put the Joker down after he killed him.

In the same way Maven's resentment towards his father comes from both the constant comparisons to Cal, but also because his father wasn't paying attention. Even though Elara was the one who cut out parts of his brain, even though Elara was betraying him—and she was betraying him because she was his mother and she was supposed to protect him, to keep him safe, she wasn't supposed to hurt him—in his mind, if his father had been paying more attention then he could’ve done about it. It doesn't matter that it's actually not that easy, or that Elara kept him isolated for that very reason, Maven won't ever know if his father could've done something about it. Just like Jason doesn't know that Superman kept Batman from beating the Joker to death.

Dick and Cal are the only people in Jason and Maven's lives who have always looked out for them. Dick was pissed when Jason died and Bruce didn't tell him. He was pissed that he missed the funeral. Dick killed the Joker for Jason (even though Jason doesn't know this) and the only reason the Joker is still alive is because Bruce brought him back. Even when they were fighting each other like that one kinda weird comic where Jason dresses up like Nightwing (this theater kid I swear) Dick is still trying to save Jason because this is his little brother and he already lost him once and he's not going to lose him again.

Likewise Cal never stopped trying to find ways to help Maven throughout the series. It's literally every single other character (which it's understandable for a lot of them) who look at him like he's lost his damn mind whenever he suggests the possibility of finding someone who can give his little brother the mental health care he needs.

Because of this, Jason and Maven both give their respective older brothers a means of relief from the pain of what became of their respective relationship. Jason writing Dick a letter saying that they could try and see if they could still be family. Maven pushing Cal away with hurtful words to make him believe that there was nothing in him that could be salvaged (when there was) and saving him the anguish of executing what he thought was still his little brother.

Bit of a long one but there you go! the Calore bros are Batbros coded with many differences the main one being that for the Calore bros death was final in their story.

"Maven Calore: Beloved Son, Beloved Brother. Let No One Follow"

And for Jason and Dick death was just a turning point in theirs.

"In Memory of Robin: A Good Soldier"

[kelpweedkelpweedingkelpweeds]

Suddenly thinking about writing some familial RQ one shots for Mare and Cal

Like the time that Mare injured her leg so she and Kilorn had to steal money to pay for medication

Or Cal's nighttime boardgame sessions with Maven

Or Shade saying goodbye to Mare when he had to leave for the front, knowing he might never see her again

Or Tibe watching Cal grow up and realizing how much he took after Coriane even though his son never had the chance to meet his mother

Oops, slipped those last two in on accident *cries in the corner at my own fic ideas*

[lucy-the-cat]

@drewtanakagf @nymphenberger @helen-of-sparta (i know you're not in the fandom but i do have DoZ on here and I know you write SO) @lilyharvord @king-maven-calore (we don't know each other but it's a cool tag game so), @evangelineartemiasamos (same thing as prev) anyone else feel free to jump in!

I have two main WIP folders: Daughter of Zeus and Red Queen (which is honestly just a placeholder for "fanfiction" bc I made folders in it for other fandoms)

Daughter of Zeus is a normal folder with a bunch of documents, Red Queen has a bunch of folders within it and also a bunch of looseleaf. I will list each folder and their contents as well as the looseleaf, starting with:

Daughter of Zeus

Apple, Artemis, Bleeding, Blood, Cassandra, Chariot, Cheating, Clytemnestra, Daughter of Zeus First Page, Daughter of Zeus MASTERDRAFT, Duties, Egg, Eris, Eris POV, Ideas, Letter, Night, Swan, Zeus

Red Queen

A Court Divided - Elara (1812), Hera(476), Maven, Olympus

Across Dimensions - Daughter of Elara, Killing Jon, Wis

Binding - folklore, Lover's Curse, Newblood Queen, Summary, The Pain in Our Veins

Blue and Bronze - Blue and Bronze, Dancing, Engagment, Meeting, Queen, Queenstrial

Body Swap - Beginning

Darklina - Notes

Cosplay - Eristan, and one thing that involves a real currently living couple that is now broken up so I will not share the title out of respect for them

Essays - (most of these are blank bc I never mustered the focus) Farewell, Final, Identity, Maven Calore and Neurodivergence, Queen Song and the Nature of Power, The Calore Brothers and the Military, The Personal vs the Political, Would Thomas Have Been Enough?

Eternal Sunshine - Brainstorm

Fierce Be the Flood (A different fic than the aesthetic I posted I just repurposed the title) - Kidnap, Notes, Prisoners, Taunt

God's Cursed - Eight, Five (843), Four (1162), Nine, One (954), Seven (769), Six (989), Start (535), Three (761), Two (973)

I Am Not a Woman, I'm a God - Mare

Lady Haven - Beginning (869), Fight, Kiss, Maven, Notes, Planning (1007), Setup (703)

Lethal Lullabies - Bathtub, Drinking Glass, Elara, Falling, House, Opening, Sara

Lily Collab - Battle (1320), Drinking (370), Elane, Home (1102), Ideas, initial thing, Manacle, Opening (1124), Outline, Outline 2, Prologue (1512), Viper (577)

Lover's Curse - Abandoning Cal, Aftermath (167), An Eye for an Iris, Bargaining, Bite (1124), Blanket (463), Bracelet (1059 words), Breakup, 1073), Brothers (1223), Cal is Captured (1260), Cave, Chapter 37, Chapter Thirty Four, Chemistry (870), Clues, Condolenses (934), Confrontation (1308), Consort (849), Diplomacy (1613), Eating (481), Eleanora (829), Entertain Me (1007), Execution (1736), Failed Attempt (1199), Faint (1575), Finding the Letters, Freedom (216), Gods (1318), Healer (1158), In the Morning (1313), Iris Meets Cal (830), Iris Returns (914), Keys (914), Kiss (755), Letter (715), Locked (1039), Lover's Curse Masterdraft, Marital Duties (1269), Maven's Plan (1705), Murdered Darlings, Music, Peace Talks, (1639), Plotting (739), Salin Iral (446), Ship (884), The Lakelands (767), The Rift (722), Therapy (1061), Train (1140), Tunnel), Untitled Document, Volo (765), Wedding (173)

Murder Polycule - brainstorm

Newblood Queen

Blood Deep - Blood Deep (790), Shade

Farewell - Farewell

Glass Houses - Jon

Iron Will - Iron Will

Rebel's Song - Rebels Song (775), Tibe

War Torn - Closing, Makeup, Untitled Document

looseleaf within Newblood Queen - Balcony (1024), Bar (1650), Blonos (760), Capture (1240), Conscription (2028), Coriane (1437), Dungeon, Engagement (1635), Entrepreneur, Epilogue, Grid (829), Heron (1094), Home (1250), Newstrial (1360), Opening (1305), Opening (1305), Palace, PM log, Prison (1229), Scam (1474), Sonya (1375), Summons (922), Training, Will Whistle

Parent Trap - Untitled Document

Queen's Cage - Dark Mirror Part 1, Dark Mirror part 3, Dark Mirror pt 2, Queen's Cage, Shameless Smut for Myself, Tags, Untitled Document

Rare Pair Week (Last Year's) - Breakup, Firsts, Flowers, Kids, Mare/Evangeline, Role Swap, Wedding, Witch

Realm Breaker

Red Queen Crossover - Untitled Document

The Gaze of the Lion - Champion, Diamonds and Dragons, Not Like This, The Lion's Pur, Wedding

Looseleaf within Realm Breaker - Spine of Steel

Red in the Heart - Red as the River, Red in the Heart, Silver as the Son, Silver in the Head

Red Magi - Brainstorm, Julian, Lawyer

Red Ruse (Some of these have misleading titles bc I changed my ideas midway through the process so don't take them at face value): Ada (1142), Anabel (1629), Ara (925), Arena (761), Battle Four, Battle One (929), Battle Three (957), Battle Two (1160), Bed (953), Capture (Del), Ceremony (1265), Chamomile (785), Confrontation (564), Corros (844), Dance (1263), Elane Sabotage (1040), Elara (488), Elara & Evangline (1001), Evangeline (1308), Epilogue (874), Eve Betrayal (999), Gossip (1803), Gwendolyn (642), I Must Have Her (977), Jon (623), Killing Cal (728), Medusa (1508), Newbloods (765), Nix (1372), Red Ruse Masterdraft, Save Me (808), Seduction (927), Shade (839), Snake (797), Sparing Farley (1201), Tags, Taking the Pill (532), Unprotected (1291), Untitled Document, Wedding (980)

Red School - Agatha, Bullet Points, Burn, Iris, Mare, Negotiation, Sophie

Shattered Glass - Abdication - Julian, Blackmail - Maven, Brand - Maven, Bree and Tramy - Maven, Cat - Maven, Coriane - Maven, Diary - Maven (779), Disaster - Maven, Documents - Mare, Julian - Julian, Julian - Cal (1240), Killing My Client (Julian), Role Model - Maven, Selfish - Maven, Stalking - Maven, Tea - Mare, Tiberias - Iris, Trap - Maven (1098), Whisper - Maven

Snow

Boys Only Want Love If It's Torture - Meeting, Nightmare

Legends - Beginning

Slithers of Scandal - Announcement, Like Ashes, Snow, Synopsis

tigris - Tigris

Under the Influence - Choking, Kidnapping, Livia

looseleaf of Snow - Avox, Escapism., Sing for me Songbird, Unholy

Spy - Beloved, Brainstorm, Collar, Never Let You Down, Never Let You Go, Part 2?, Practice on Me, Wrestling (Never Let You Down Orig May 6 2023)

Sword of Truth - Bogden, Boyfriend, Nicola Introduction, Prologue

Taylor Swift

1989

folklore - august, betty, cardigan, discord log, epiphany, exile, hoax, illicit affairs, invisible, mad woman, mirrorball, my tears ricochet, peace, seven, the 1, the lakes, this is me trying

Midnights - Anti-Hero, Bejeweled, Bigger Than the Whole Sky, Dear Reader, Glitch, High Infidelity, Hits Different, Karma, Labyrinth, Lavender Haze, Maroon, Mastermind, Midnight Rain, Paris, Question . . . ?, Snow on the Beach, Sweet Nothing, The Great War, Vigilante Shit, Would've Could've Should've, You're Losing Me, You're On Your Own Kid

THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT - Fortnight, Fortnight part 2, My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys, The Tortured Poets Department,

Looseleaf in Taylor Swift - renegade, willow

The Burning Crown

Throne of Ashes - Throne of Ashes

Ticking Clocks

The Groans of Our Bones - Epilogue, Outline, Prologue, Prologue

The Scars on Our Hearts -

Looseleaf of Ticking Clocks - Balcony (1512), Cell (1452), Cycle (1380), Dancing (743), Dungeon (1346), Echo (1259), Engagement (1598), Epilogue II (338), Kiss (746), Legion (944), Letter Opener (1055), Possible (1053), Prologue (817), Queenstrial (1866), Red Queen (1009), Sun Shooting (1117), Tugs + Summary, Theater (1130), Thomas, (1197), Throne Room (786), Training (1311)

Til Death Do Us Part - Burned Letter, Burner, Cal Argument, Evangeline, Flamemakers, Foxglove, Letter, Til Death Do Us Part FULL TEXT

Wedding Preparations - Aftermath, Caught, Comb, Daydreams, Invitation, Notes, Wedding

Whisper - Interrogation, Introduction, notes

Looseleaf of Red Queen - Aphabet, Betrayal, bitch (affectionate), Boyfriend, Brainstorming, Break My Heart, Broadcast, Burn (Del), Chains, Champagne, Choose Me, Ciron, Dead Dove, Engagement, Fanfic Contest, Fantasy, Female Maven, Flowerbird, Flowers, Glass Sword, Hell, Heron/Atara, Hold the Girl, I'm Going To Hell, In the Middle of the Night, Interogation, Mareven Boyfriend, Mareven Week, Maven/Iris, Mean Girl, November Seventeenth, Open Novella Contest, Pluck My Petals Off, Quiet Places, Sad but Satisfied, Sapphic, SCRAPPED ONC, Seduce, Spanking, Storm, Suck It Jon She's Killing Everyone, The Flowerbird Conspiracy, the grude, til my dying day, To Break (Rules, Bones, In Two), To Burn (a House, a Heart, Your Hand), To Burst (Tears and Lies, To Die (Don't), To Drink a Poisoned Cup, To Live, Together, Translation Not My Work, Translation not my work, Uncharted Waters, Unholy, Untitled Document, Untitled Document, Waking Up, Wedding

WIP GAME!!!

Rules: Make a new post with the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! Then tag as many people as you have WIPS.

I'm sorta excited to do this but also hella terrified. Any ask will get a snippet. additionally thanks @linnorabeifong for the tag

Nancy (instead of snippet, a collection of research bits)

war used to be simpler, you know

betrayal, betrayal, wherefore art thou betrayal

we are as fickle as the instincts that guide us

a ballad in falling

tags scare me (but @lucy-the-cat is awesome so I don't mind)

[strangenoquestion]

'Lady Jacos,' he said, following her gaze to the steel of the bridge. 'Something interesting?' She inclined her head in a bow, but didn't want to embarrass herself with another poor curtsy. 'I think so,' she replied. 'I was just wondering how many tons of metal we're standing on, hoping it will keep us up.' The prince let out a puff of laughter tinged with nerves. He shifted his feet, as if suddenly realizing exactly how high above the water they were. 'I'll do my best to keep that thought out of my head,' he mumbled. 'Any other frightening notions to share?' 'How much time do you have?' she said with half a grin. Half only, because something tugged at the rest, weighing it down. The cage of the capital was not a happy place for Coriane. Nor Tiberias Calore. 'Would you favor me with a walk?' he asked, extending an arm. This time, Coriane saw no hesitation in him, or even the pensive wonderings of a question. He knew her answer already. 'Of course.' And she slipped her arm in his. This will be the last time I hold the arm of a prince, she thought as they walked the bridge. She thought that every time, and she was always wrong.

Victoria Aveyard, Broken Throne

[books-to-moviess]

Tibe and Coriane

It totally broke my heart. I feel like she loved him, but not as much as he loved her. The fact the Elara made her insane made me want to watch her die again and again and GAAAHHHH

[dropletsofink]

A Singer Queen’s Nightmare

It was in her mind again, cackling, laughing, dragging at it with dark talons. She’d lost count of how it’d been going on for, and could remember nothing but the agony pounding at her mind. She couldn’t do anything but press her temples in her hands and sob, the tears running sticky tracks down her face as her head split open from the inside, the claws latching onto the walls of her mind and dragging, dragging, dragging…

With a scream, Coriane Jacos bolted upright and clutched a hand to her chest, drenched in sweat, gulping great mouthfuls of air. It was just a dream, she reassured herself between gasps, None of it was real, Coriane, calm down.

But she knew, despite her feeble attempts to calm herself down, that it wasn’t. And, even worse, she knew exactly who’d done it…

“Coriane?”

Her head snapped around at the sound of her name, but her breathing calmed at the sight of her husband, Tiberias VI, reaching over to her from across the bed. Worry shone in his eyes, even as she tried to smile reassuringly at him. “It’s ok, Tibe, it was just a dream. Go back to sleep.”

He shifted upright and rubbed at his eyes, and Coriane smiled at how handsome he looked, hair disheveled from sleep and cheeks flushed. Tibe wrapped his arms around her, and she leaned into his warmth, burying her head in his chest. She couldn’t escape the nightmares that plagued her every time she slept, but at least she knew there was someone there for her, to hold her when things got too bad. “It was another one of those, wasn’t it.”

She hugged him back before she replied. “Yes.”

He sighed deeply into her hair and stroked her back rhythmically, soothing her. “If only there were something I could do. I can’t just exile Elara, she’s too important and the repercussions of me doing that unprovoked would be disastrous, especially if House Merandus-”

“Tibe, it’s fine.”

With a pointed look, he whispered back. “No, darling, it’s not. You and I both know who’s behind this, and I’m still powerless to stop her.” He pressed his forehead into her shoulder before muttering, “Some king I am, if I can’t even protect the woman I love.”

Warmth bloomed in her chest as he said that. He had told her that he loved her before, but even now it was still unbelievable to her how she had actually married Tibe, regardless of the outrage of the Houses at having no Queenstrial.

“Tibe, you’re a great king. All of Norta knows it, and I do too. Don’t be so hard on yourself- it’s Elara’s doing, not yours.” She cupped his face and leaned up to press a kiss against his warm cheek, as he mumbled, “I still wish there was something I could do.”

She smiled softly. “Just hold me.”

They settled back into the sheets, her back to him and his arms wrapped around her middle. For a few moments, she couldn’t feel anything inside her head and drifted off to sleep, in the warmth of her husband’s embrace.

But, before long, there was an echoing laugh and the scraping of claws, and suddenly, she didn’t feel warm or safe anymore.

Coriane Jacos just felt trapped, inside her own mind.

[lilo-jacos]

What do their wedding rings look like?

When finding the ones I didn't already have I thought you said engagement rings so hopefully this is okay... There IS a difference but these are the main rings! :)

Mare and Cal:

They already had a promise ring and Cal loved the look but not for an engagement ring. It was more casual. He had this custom made and designed for her, it took months to think of what she would actually like since Mare doesn't usually like blingy jewelry. The dark jewel and infinity loop was what sealed the deal.

Maven and Iris:

Iris thought she would have to buy her own ring💀 but Maven actually wanted to come off as a semi-gentleman and start on a good track so he got her the one that she uses.

Tibe and Coriane:

It resembles a sun because he always thought she resembled a sun in her personality and also how she made him feel.

Julian and Sara:

Sara prefers pearls rather than harsh jewels so Julian was going to go with a pearl ring but he didn't like any of the styles he could find. These jewels, though, are elegant and not harsh. They both thought it was absolutely gorgeous. It always catches in the light.

Ruth and Daniel:

I think at first they would just have a band but then once they come into having more money later Daniel replaces it and Ruth is OBSESSED.

Farley and Shade:

Part of the reason their engagement would take so long is neither had any idea whatsoever of what kind of ring they would actually want that wouldn't look tacky or overdone.

Eve and Elane:

Need I say more? It's gorgeous, silver, expensive, and has an infinity loop to symbolize their forever love. They would have matching ones.

[elliemarchetti]

A Wonderful Mistake (part 3)

Marecal Modern!AU with a slight mention of Mareven in which Maven’s not a psycho 

@lilyharvord not as lighthearted as the previous parts, I know, but I hope you like it anyway!

@nightmarebarrow I know you probably didn’t read the second part yet but I wanted to tag you anyway, since one of your question’s answered here

Part 1

Part 2

Other Red Queen fics:

A Rebel’s Son (part 2)

Red Queen Soulmate AU (Mare’s POV) Part 2 (Diana and Shade’s POV) Part 3 (Diana’s POV)

Words: 1549

She had been so indecisive about what to do for the whole afternoon that Mare was still drying her hair at seven. She urgently needed a session at the hairdresser but she barely managed to cover the cost of living alone, let alone a luxury of that kind. Also, there was Ann who could cut her split ends, but that wouldn’t be the day. In fact, the one with Tiberias was absolutely not an appointment and there was no reason to be beautiful: demonstrating this, she decided to wear her favorite sweatshirt and a pair of old and crumpled jeans. If he really had to prove that he was not a spoiled rich man he would have to take her to a place where that was the right clothes choice.

When she was ready, she stepped out of the bathroom and glanced sideways at the clock. He was late.

"He’ll arrive." said simply Ann, who was already wearing her pajamas watching the Griffins perched on their uncomfortable couch.

"It would be better if he didn’t." Mare replied, throwing herself next to her.

"Don’t lie to me, you already look disappointed." the other answered, before dropping a handful of popcorn into her mouth without taking her eyes off the screen.

Five minutes later, when she had already surrendered to the evidence and began to relax, someone rang at the door. Mare jumped up like a spring, disappointing herself and snatching a cunning smile from Ann; she would’ve never admitted that her friend was right, but that was it. She didn’t know why, but she desperately wanted to believe that Cal was a good person, that he was different from the boy they all thought he was, that there was something else behind the façade, and at the same time a tiny part of her, the one who thought of Maven, the one who was supposed to visit him, wanted him to disappoint her, to remind her why she had chosen his half-brother and all the problems that it involved instead of simply falling into his arms. Not that he had ever tried to hook up with her before, but she doubted that if she went looking for him he would refuse her.

When she opened the door, however, there was no Cal to wait for her but a child of about eight years, not so tall, with white skin accentuated by long black hair.

"Are you Miss Barrow?" he asked, in a serious voice that didn’t seem to belong to a child. Mare nodded, perplexed, until she realized that a white van awaited them on the road. She immediately recognized the writing on its side, because she had seen it countless times since the accident that had taken away the use of her father’s legs: Jacos Foundation. The founder, Coriane Jacos, was Cal’s mother, a woman, according to her parents, born in the wrong family; unlike her brother, in fact, she didn’t like the academic life but preferred manual work, as she had amply demonstrated when she started working for a misery in the Cole’s workshop against her father’s will, and wasn’t even vain as her great-aunt, or attached to material goods like her uncle. She had drawn young Mr. Calore’s attention to the graduation of her friend, the current heart surgeon who supported the Foundation and had also operated Mare’s father, Sara Skonos, and from that moment they had become inseparable. Together, they had faced everything: the divorce of his parents, the death of her father, the coming out of his father, her first abortion and finally the fulminating end that Tiberias Senior met because of AIDS. Every scandal and sorrow was faced with strength and integrity by what was defined as the most beautiful couple in the city, until Coriane became ill. At the death of her father-in-law's partner, whom she was very attached to, she found herself alone, with her brother busy with his studies in another city, her dearest friend distant because of her exhausting work, her aunt on her deathbed and her husband too busy with family affairs to pay attention to her. Perhaps it was depression that caused her two successive abortions, perhaps, as some liked to whisper, her husband's lover who was trying to poison her, however, when Cal was finally born, for a short time, she seemed to have come back to herself . In order to keep herself busy, as she left work in the workshop on the second abortion, she had created a foundation in her name, using all the money received by her family, which used as a base the old estate she grew up in just outside town. It didn’t have a specific purpose, other than to help those who needed it most: the loner, the marginalized, those who were in non-positive economic conditions, the mentally ill and those who had lost their will to live. For two years Coriane Jacos had been the perfect woman for public opinion, the apotheosis of the American dream. Still, something in her mind didn’t work as it should, for one day they found her lifeless body in the bathtub. Mare's mother had told her that the newspapers had talked about it for weeks, until the news was slowly forgotten, replaced by the imminent marriage of the new widower with what had long been his perfidious lover. For the poor, however, Coriane’ story had remained important even years after her death, as was her family’s name, since it was her brother who took the reins, while still continuing his work as a teacher at the university, helped by his wife and her innumerable acquaintance in the medical field of her foundation. And now Cal was leaning out of that damn bus to greet her with his hand, as if the thing didn’t touched her at all, as if a day of volunteering were enough to make him good as his mother. Undecided about what to do, she replied to the greeting without too much enthusiasm, and went back into the house, telling the child to get back on the bus, where she would reach him once she got her jacket and bag.

"Don’t you think I would’ve known if Tiberias Calore had volunteered?" Mare asked to Ann, a bit of annoyance peeping in her tone.

"I think if you were interested in the city's gossip a little more, you would’ve known it." Ann replied, throwing her a sideways glance.

"You knew it?!" Mare asked, amazed. Did she really lived so detached from the rest of the world?

"Even Diana knows that, and she doesn’t even live here!" the other answered, finally deciding to turn around to look at her. Diana Farley was Tristan's best friend, a subject quite prickly, at the beginning of their relationship, but that over time had become a safe haven for both of them when they needed to detach. She lived in another city, about an hour away, and she and Tristan had met at school, before he decided to retire and return to live with his parents. Sometimes she came in town to visit them, but Mare had never had the chance to hang out with her, unlike Shade and Kilorn. Working in the evening certainly had its advantages, but unfortunately it also led you to accept a life of compromise, including abandoning your social life.

"So you're telling me I should go and act like I've always known?" Mare asked, grabbing her jacket with irritation. She didn’t know what had bothered her, but something had, turning her into the grumpy self that her siblings hated.

"I'm saying you should go and behave normally, enjoy the evening and remember ..."

"... it's not a date." they concluded in chorus.

The bell rang again, urging her to move.

"Keep me updated!" exclaimed Ann, who had already returned to look at the brightly colored screen.

"I will do my best!" the other exclaimed, just before closing the door behind her. Waiting for her now, there was Cal himself, wearing a sweatshirt and a heavy jacket too.

"So where are we going?" Mare asked, trying to start with the best good intentions for the evening.

"At McDonald's," Cal replied, leaving her deeply perplexed. He probably noticed it, because before opening the side door, he explained that once a week they took the residents of the clinic to eat out, a way to reintegrate them in society and not make them feel different from the rest of the world.

"And why there?" she asked, before getting in.

"Because this time it was up to Luther to decide." Cal replied, throwing a knowing look at the child who had gone to ring at her the door. The child replied with a wide smile of satisfaction, while who she supposed was his father seemed even sadder; that young life would be broken before reaching adolescence, yet Cal had the expression of who would do anything to make him happy. While she was fastening her belt, Mare felt a grip on her chest, right at the heart.

"Are y’all ready?" Cal asked, having reached the driver's seat, with a fake southern accent. The occupants of the bus answered positively in a choked choir of voices of every age and gender, and Mare couldn’t help but join them.

[petergrantkavinsky]

Gentle reminder

that Cal was “a fat baby, smiling early, laughing often, growing bigger by leaps and bounds” and that as a baby, he was “the sun in Coriane’s sky; on hard days, he split the darkness, and on good days, he lit the world.” Also, baby Cal was “apt to break things apart and jam them back together incorrectly, to Coriane’s delight. She spent long hours piecing his smashed gifts back together, amusing him as well as herself.”

That’s all. Bye.

[yourbookfairy-blog]

Coriane & Tibe (QUEEN SONG, CRUEL CROWN) requested by @kristyjay 

A strange prince, an even stranger night, she wrote later. I don’t know if I ever want to see him again. But he seemed lonely too. Should we not be lonely together?

[imjulia-andilikecats]

"CORIANE WAS 16 WHEN SHE MARRIED TIBE, GOT TORMENTED BY ELARA WITH NIGHTMARES THAT CAUSED HER 3 MISCARRIAGES, TIBE NOT NOTICING HIS WIFE'S DETERIORATING HEALTH, LEAVING HER MOST OF THE TIME WITH THEIR ONLY SON, THE SUN OF HER LIFE, CAL. WHICH SHE FOUGHT HARD NOT TO LET HER CHILD FOLLOW IN HIS FATHER'S FOOTSTEPS. THEN ONLY AT 23, WHEN SHE LAY DYING IN A TUB FILLED WITH GRIEF, NIGHTMARES, PARANOIA. LEAVING BEHIND CAL, WHO WAS BARELY A YEAR OLD AND HER DIARY THAT ELARA BURNED TO ASHES."

[strangenoquestion]

She kept her lips pressed together so tightly they formed a thin line. Tiberias laughed openly at the sight. He was maybe a little drunk and entirely amused. 'Do you know how annoying it is to have to lead every single conversation?' He chuckled. 'I talk to Robert and my parents more than anybody else, simply because it's easier than extracting words from other people.' How wretched for you, she snapped in her head. 'That sounds awful,' she said as demurely as she could. 'Perhaps when you're king, you can make some changes to the etiquette of court?' 'Sounds exhausting,' he muttered back around swigs of wine. 'And unimportant, in the scheme of things. There's a war going on, in case you haven't noticed.' He was right. The wine did warm her a bit. 'A war?' she said. 'Where? When? I've heard nothing of this.' The prince whipped to face her quickly, only to find Coriane smirking a little at his reaction. He laughed again, and tipped the bottle at her. 'You had me for a second there, Lady Jacos.'

Victoria Aveyard, Broken Throne