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lykegenia · 7 months

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So something has been bugging me for a while now about A and N’s backstories, and while I know not everyone will be as pedantic as me, as someone who loves history and has done a lot of writing, I feel that if you’re going to write a story about vampires and give them a specific time and date of origin, then there should be a certain level of research that goes into making that background authentic. I'm not saying that Mishka didn’t do any research. It just seems that in order to keep the vibe of a happy, mellow fantasy some of the less savoury aspects of A and N’s upbringings have been left out, and it's a shame. To be honest, it feels a bit disingenuous, and it feels like an opportunity got wasted.

Let me explain (long post got long, it's 2am)

Let's take A first, since the problem is simpler here.

A is the child of a Norman lord and an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman, born in the first generation after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. A says that these were turbulent times but that their parents had a happy marriage. Which. While I’m sure a lot of unions in that time period made the best of it, I can’t help but feel this description strips away a lot of the context of what was going on at that point in history - and removes some of the complexity about A’s thoughts on love and relationships.

Basically, after he took control of the throne, William the Conqueror stripped many Anglo-Saxon lords of their lands and titles so he could give them to his Norman buddies instead - with the added bonus that it left the Anglo-Saxons without the means to raise armies against him. The sisters, daughters, and widows of the dispossessed Anglo-Saxons were then forced to marry these new Norman lords to legitimise their power, not infrequently after all of their male relatives had been slaughtered. It’s not as if Anglo-Saxon women weren’t used to being used as political chess pieces, but the years after the conquest were brutal. It’s why William had to build so many castles. The point that I’m trying to make is that even if A’s mother was content enough in her daily life, due to the power imbalance between her and her husband, it's very likely she had little choice in the matter. She may have seen a lot of her family killed for political reasons, with the knowledge that – in an age where women had very little protection outside of their paternal household – she might be next if she made too much of a fuss.

It would be fascinating to see what effect that tension has had on A 900 years later, or even to get an acknowledgement of how much times have changed, but we don’t. We don't see how their early years affected them, how they view relationships formed naturally instead of via political contracts. And I really, really wish we did. There is so much potential there.

But A is not the one keeping me up past 2 in the morning. It’s N, and the utter detachment their backstory seems to have from the period in history they lived in as a human. And it all stems from the fact that they came from the English nobility in the late 1600s.

See, the bulk of the problem is that English inheritance law at the time heavily favoured primogeniture, where a man’s wealth would go to his first-born son. Some dispensation was made for widows and other children, but the estates, assets, and most of the money had a very clear destination.

For one thing, this makes it kinda weird that N’s stepfather would have needed an heir before he could inherit, because except in extreme circumstances everything would have gone to him anyway. Don't get me wrong, this isn't the worst part of the problem, it’s just annoying when there are more plausible reasons for him marrying a woman already pregnant with another man’s child (old family friend wanting to save her from disgrace, needed the dowry to pay off gambling debts, there was a longstanding betrothal between them that would have been tricky to get out of, etc.).

No, the bigger problem with N’s backstory vs primogeniture is firstly that at the time the English aristocracy was racist af (still is tbh) and given his pretty obvious mixed-race heritage, no court would have agreed that Nate was a legitimate son (this is for a very special reason that we will be coming back to). I say Nate specifically here because primogeniture requires the eldest legitimate son. Nat wouldn’t have inherited at all, as women in that period passed from the guardianship of their father (or other male blood relative) into that of their husband after marriage, and only gained any kind of independence with widowhood. If N had been an only child, maybe they would have been treated as a special case, but unfortunately Milton exists: the eldest legitimate son who by law will inherit everything.

Now here’s the thing. Your average aristocrat in the 17th century is very obsessed with lineage and keeping the family line unbroken. He would not, therefore, send his legitimate heir to sea to be shot at or drowned before he can carry on the family name – that joy instead goes to any other sons who need their own profession, because again, they will get very little. Nat would have had a dowry, but would never have been expected to make her own living, so I'm going to focuson Nate for this next bit.

In Book 3, if you unlock his tragic backstory Nate tells you he joined the Royal Navy after Milton went missing so that he could go look for him. And, well. This is where his backstory as Mishka tells it completely falls apart. For two reasons:

1. Even in the modern day, you can’t ‘just’ join the Navy, and you certainly can’t just jump straight to being a lieutenant – it takes years of training and after a certain age they won’t take you because they won’t be able to mould you easily enough into a useful tool. For most of the Navy's history, the process was even more involved. It wasn’t an office job you could just rock up to and then quit if you felt like it, it was a lifetime commitment. Boys destined to be officers would be sent to sea as early as 12 to learn shipboard life, starting at the bottom and moving up the ranks. These were gained by passing exams and by purchasing a commission – which is why you generally had to come from wealth to be an officer at all. Once you get to lieutenant you're responsible for a lot of people, and might be tasked with commanding any captured ships alongside the daily running of yours - it was not an easy job.

2. Even as a lieutenant (one rank below Captain, with varying levels of seniority) it’s not like you can just go where you want. In the 1720s British colonies already existed in India, the Caribbean, and up the entire eastern seaboard of North America and into Canada, and the Navy was tasked with protecting merchant shipping along these seaways (and one trade in particular that we’ll be getting to, don’t worry). Nate could have ended up practically anywhere in the burgeoning empire. He would not have been able to choose whom he served under, and would not have been able to demand his superior officer go against orders from the admirality to chase down one lone vessel because he thinks another one of the admirals might be a bit dodgy. It could not have happened.

Besides these impracticalities, there’s a far easier way for the child of a wealthy man to get to a specific point on the far side of the globe to look for their lost sibling, which is the route I assume Nat took sine she couldn’t have joined the Navy (yes she could have snuck in but she’s specifically in a dress in the B2 mirror scene so). All they'd have to do would be to charter a ship and tell the captain where to go, which is the plot of Treasure Island. It's quicker, less fuss, with less chance of things going wrong. It's even possible in the age of mercantilism that the Sewells had some merchant vessels among their holdings that could be diverted for the task. Why go through the hassle of joining the Navy and potentially ending up on the wrong side of the world when you can just hire a ship directly?

If Nate does have to be in the Navy (and let’s face it, it’s worth it just for the uniform) then it's far more plausible is that, as the illegitimate son who would not inherit because of racism etc, he got sent to the Navy as a boy and rose through the ranks to become a lieutenant. When he got news of Milton’s disappearance not far from where he was stationed, he begged his captain to go investigate in case whatever happened turned out to be the symptom of a bigger problem. Like pirates.

I like this version better not just because it makes more sense, or because it keeps Nate’s situation re: inheritance closer to Nat’s and therefore makes their stories more equal, but also because it adds a delicious amount of guilt to Nate’s need to find his brother. We know his entire crew died looking for answers, because he was selfish – that’s roughly 100-400 lives lost because of him, and we know that sort of thing eats at him.

So that's one side of the story, but if Milton wasn’t in the Navy, what was he doing on the other side of the Atlantic in the first place? Well, this is where we come to the biggest elephant in the room regarding N’s backstory as a member of the 17th century English aristocracy and potentially as a naval officer: the Atlantic Slave Trade. If you are wealthy in 17th century Britain it's more than likely that your wealth comes either from the trade itself, or from the products made with the labour of enslaved people. If you are wealthy, you want to protect your assets from attack by pirates or foreign powers so you don't become less wealthy, and that is what the Navy is for.

Regardless of N’s own views on slavery at the time – and any subsequent changes in opinion – it’s likely their family owned or had shares in slave plantations in the Americas. As distasteful as it is, it makes far more sense that Milton was on a trip to check the family’s holdings when his ship - specifically a merchant vessel - went missing. From a pirate perspective, a merchant ship would make a much better target than a Navy vessel, being slower, more likely to have valuable cargo, and less likely to have marines or a well-trained broadside.

It's not surprising that Mishka left out the subject of the slave trade given her tendency to skirt around darker subjects and general blindspot for racial politics, but it is nuance that, if it was there, would create a more grounded and coherent backstory for N that doesn’t have quite so many holes. Like with A being the child of an invader and his war bride, we could get some deeper thoughts from N about their place in the world - How do they feel to have grown up so privileged when others who looked like them were regarded as literal property? How did they feel being part of the system that made it happen? Did it inform their compassionate nature? Is it still a source of guilt or someithng they've tried to make up for?

I'm not sure where I was going with all of this. It's late, my sleep pattern is fucked. The tl;dr is that giving the vampires' backstories historical context would make them feel more multifaceted and would give opportunities for character growth that are instead missed because of a desire for a more sanitized version of the past.

#thank you for coming to my ted talk #the wayhaven chronicles #twc #a du mortain #adam du mortain #ava du mortain #n sewell #nate sewell #nat sewell #it's annoying because it’s such a small tweak in the grand scheme of things #If she didn’t want unfortunate implications she could have made N from a century later when the navy was actively trying to stop slavery #A could have been from a 50 years earlier to tie his whole family’s demise into the subjugation of the english after the battle of hastings #or a century later when the two courts had mostly integrated #mishka made choices #they deserve to be given more substance than mere aesthetics #you can tell it’s late I’m using long words

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creatingnikki · 3 months

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there I was grieving yet again. another year, another person. was grieving love lost easier than actually loving someone? was it more romantic, more romanticized?

because if here you were with me at 7:28 pm stuck in rush hour traffic with our clothes all sandy after an evening at the beach. me having had a fight with my sister on the phone and all irritated, and you worried about reaching home in time for your work call at night, would I still want you by my side? would you?

now, sitting here alone, looking at the market outside, I miss you. but what about you do I miss? I miss your smile, I miss your attention, I miss your kisses, and I miss your jokes. but if we were actually together, day in and day out, how many jokes would pepper our conversations? how many kisses and smiles would be exchanged?

being a tourist in a city is lovely, it's romantic. moving there and trying to make a living, however? that's a whole other thing. ask me, I loved Bangalore when I simply went there to visit a friend. the bookstores, the weather, the clubs. but when I moved there for work? I couldn't go a day without finding 10 faults and missing my home city. the traffic that seems to not move, the overpriced cabs, the power cuts.

isn't a fling, an affair, a summer romance, an on and off thing, a lot like being a tourist in the land and life of your lover? your experience is limited to the aesthetic cafes, comfortable hotels, and you spend money by girl math logic cos you're on vacation and what's even a budget? as your lover's tourist, is your experience not limited to only the butterflies, the flirting, the passion, and the sexual tension? the 2 am existential conversations and the brief cuddling the next morning before you both have to get back to your respective lives?

so how much of this missing is even objective? do I really want a real, long-term relationship with you? do I want to have multiple summers with you? and all the seasons in between? would I like you in Bangalore as much as I would in Mumbai? would I want you along for my Seoul trip? would I want you not just on Friday nights when we have a date night planned but on Thursday afternoons when I am unwell, throwing up in the office washroom hating everything about life?

would I want you to be a part of my life, my home? would I want to give you a pass beyond a tourist visa? would I want you as a permanent resident?

and if not, then can I, just stop with this misery that is missing you constantly. missing you, what we shared in the past, the brief bliss is so much more pleasurable than any reality we have shared or perhaps could. I know it, I do. then why won't this sticky feeling of missing you not go away? the monsoon is too far away to wash this feeling away. for now I will have to find another way.

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getcareless · 29 days

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Triolet Poem #51

Building a place where I won't weep. Me and my hands endure the pain. Somewhere I can call safe to sleep. Building a place where I won't weep. - A place that people die to keep- castles of sand in pouring rain. Building a place where I won't weep. Me and my hands endure the pain.

"Endure The Pain", JEP

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stars-and-clouds · 10 months

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Commanding Agent, Adam du Mortain

Nate

This is for Adam as we meet him in the books.

The model on the top left is what I picture him to look like. Ever since I saw it I was like yep, that's Adam.

Possible book 3 Spoilers! below:

I will make a medieval one as well of him as a norman knight during the invasions, one for my OC and one for both of them together =3

#Adam du Mortain #wayhaven chronicles #twc #the wayhaven chronicles adam #the wayhaven chronicles adam du mortain #wayhaven chronicles A #ava du mortain #adam du mortain mood board #adam mood board #adam aesthic #adam du mortain aesthetic #moodboard #secret agent #agent aesthetic #wayhaven chronicles aesthetic

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nsewell · 6 months

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hashtag nate and gen moment!!!!! she just told him there's an estate sale within driving distance. thank you so much emma @crownleys for this beautiful commission 🫶

#the wayhaven chronicles #twc #nate sewell #oc: imogen calder #nate & gen #it even matches my blog aesthetic what more could you ask

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seraphinitegames · 2 years

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The last in the my MC’s apartment aesthetics series is the vintage decor theme. I always love a bit of vintage decor so I already had a good idea what my MC would go for.

#the wayhaven chronicles #interactive fiction #twc detective #personal #twc detective apartment aesthetic

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zhoras-bitch · 10 months

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The Wayhaven Chronicles || m!Bobby Marks

[f!version]

#yes i also changed the newspaper title in this one #twc #the wayhaven chronicles #twc bobby #bobby marks #moodboard #aesthetics #my edits

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agentnatesewell · 4 months

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WIP Wednesday

Thank you for tagging me @evilbunnyking and @nat-seal-well !

Okay, this is something I started working on years ago. I’m going to completely redo this one but here is some inspiration / start off point

This was originally set between books one and two, but will be changing to between books two and three

So, here I am burying this in the ground to see if something pretty comes out of it!

(Nate bears witness to Suri’s not-date, they themselves are not in an official relationship)

Tagging: OPEN TAG, please tag me, I want to read or see what you’re working on!

#wanted to explore suri and nate’s relationship outside of the canon relationship #and! and! they are NOT in a relationship here please don’t worry!!!#i have her aesthetics down pat she looks amazing #anyway! thank you for tagging me friends!#this year i want to see if i can work on some older stuff #and play around with newer stuff #twc #wip

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kyojurouwu · 1 year

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the wayhaven chronicles: solomon verda

It's strange to think back on time when he wasn't around.

#the wayhaven chronicles #twc verda #twc #twc moodboard #twc aesthetic #seraphinitegames #moon makes edits #i wish I found something that would fit his hubby but I think this colour palette fits verda so well #verda solomon

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wayhavenots · 5 months

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New Avery headcanon of the day (based on the Christmas novella): When Avery was seven or so, she actually did try to decorate her house in so many Christmas lights it could be "seen from space." She didn't get very far. She fell off a ladder in the process and broke her leg. When Rebecca asked her why, she said "I don't know," but really it was because she wanted to wish the astronauts on the International Space Station a merry Christmas because she thought it must be lonely up there.

#avery lin #twc holiday magic spoilers #not really but obviously based on that line that n says about the houses lol #avery's like 'psh yeah so tacky' but when nate has opinions about aesthetic she has no idea what he's talking about lol

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doriandistortion · 4 days

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For the amount of times I have been asked what’s wrong with me you would think that I would know the answer.

Every time I’ve pointed my finger there have always been three pointed back at me.

I am guilty of everything I claim to be against.

- Dorian 5/30/24 12:41pm

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sunshineandviolets · 7 months

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Wishing upon the night sky, for someone to call my own. sun shining through stormy clouds, warm rain dancing, hands entangled. a smile, a laughter, a home, so I am no longer left alone.

Happy birthday to my girl Jasmine <3 !!!

#the wayhaven chronicles #twc detective #oc: jasmine amari #character aesthetic #oc moodboard #a very quick moodboard edit #but i had to for her <33 #my little historian book and plant nerd

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creatingnikki · 7 months

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I sit there across you in the café that we usually hang out at writing you a letter. You're leaving the city. Yes, that doesn't mean that you are leaving my life. But leaving is still leaving. And so I have to write you a letter, I want to. But life has been chaotic and heavy and I didn't get the time to do this before meeting you now. All I could do was grab my letter writing supplies and stuff them in my bag as I left home tonight to come see you. So once I reach, I ask 15 minutes of you to write the letter in real time. And once I am done putting it in the envelope I realize I don't have a sticker to seal it the way I usually do and you say, 'wait a minute' and reach for your wallet.

You are giggling and I begin to giggle too even though I don't know what it's going to be. But it's always been that way with you. It's light, it's laughter, and it's warmth. Always? Well, a big chunk anyway. I smile and giggle and laugh in anticipation of smiling and giggling and laughing.

You remove a band aid from your wallet and then we giggle some more. I take it. Of course, I do. With you, I'll let myself do such things that make me forget that I am 26. Or that perhaps let me be without having to be something else. I begin to unwrap the band aid and you start recording me. The whole thing becomes a funny little sweet moment and an analogy of this band aid signifying healing between us. After all, we have recently reconnected after months of trying to be strangers.

I say this is all so poetic. I've said it before. I say it all the time. I view my life and life in general through the lens of poetry and literature and books. Everything is a scene from a story. A few minutes later another such moment is shared and before I can say anything you say, 'this is so cinematic'. That's when you make the observation and say, everything you call poetic I call cinematic. And that very observation and the articulation of that observation as we begin to leave the café post midnight is poetic to me.

Poetic or cinematic, whatever we were, whatever we are, I'm glad we crossed paths and attempted healing. This is a goodbye, not the goodbye. From the minute we met, you have been helping me fight my cognitive distortions. Why? Because you are healthy and normal. All I have wanted this year are normal experiences and normal people. Normal does not mean all good and smooth sailing. To me, it only means things not blowing out of proportion or going bat shit crazy. Things not resembling the arc of a book or a movie.

I've been consciously realizing lately how seeing my life and myself from the lens of a story and being the mc is not helpful. It gives my life this fanciful flavour and adds whimsy but with that comes unnecessary plot twists and agony.

"Normal" can also be poetic/cinematic. I don't need to be an unreliable narrator for that or let wild, vicious people in my life. I don't have to take whacky decisions and put up with things for character development. My life can be normal — light, full of laughter, and warmth. Without it having to be blindingly bright, headache-inducing laughter, and scorching warmth.

Thank you. Thank you for helping me come to that realization. I'm glad you exist.

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