2020 Fandom Bang/fic week for the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel! I don't know what I'm doing but I'm doing my best, please bear with me, lol. The tag for everything important from last year is #sinfbang2019. (Currently just a SINF blog attempting to breathe some life back into the fandom)
Josh Newman, The Gold Twin // Marethyu, Death, Destroyer of Worlds
âIf you ever call me, I will come to you. But even if you do not call, Sophie, know that I will watch over you all the days of your life. Itâs what a brother is supposed to do, isnât it?â
From: Billy the Kid <whbonney@ââââââââ
-ââââââââ.com>
To: NiccolĂČ Machiavelli <theprince@ââââââââ-ââââââââ.com>
Subject:
Nic,
The combat lessons with Scatty have been going well. Iâm not much of a sword guy, never have been, but staves and other baton-like weapons have been working well for me. It's like playing advanced whack-a-mole. Although, donât get me wrong, Scatty still puts me on my ass and I reckon she always will. It was hard to tell if I was improving at all for a while there but she assured me I was. I think I can tell now too, Iâve been blocking her more often and can predict what move she's about to make. Plus, it helps that weâre around the same size.
Iâve been attempting to pay her back for the lessons. It donât feel right taking and giving nothing in return, that's never been the way I roll. I showed her a few things about guns. She doesnât have any interest in using them (and neither do I these days) but knowing how they work should you find yourself in trouble involving them is always handy. Iâve also been cooking her some food. Of course, sheâs infinitely more travelled than me so there isnât much I could make her that she hasn't tried. I ended up making her something my ma taught me way back whenâ a fish dish we didnât get to eat that often once we moved out into the West. Not too many fish out there on the open plains and canyons, Iâm sure you can imagine. She said she liked it and I am going to choose to believe she wasnât lying. I should make you something sometime too! I know you have expensive tastes but there's really nothing that compares to authentic Mexican cuisine in my opinion. You told me you like spicy foods right? Well, I can show you spice for sure, partner.
That reminds me, you asked if I had any more stories to share and I think Iâve got a good one. Have you ever heard the song âGhost Riders In The Skyâ? It was written in 1948 but Iâll attach an mp3 of the Johnny Cash version, I like it better. The song is actually based on a true story, albeit a bit of a tragedy. In 1889, not too long after I turned immortal although I think I was in Tennessee at the time, on a stormy night a trail boss let loose a stampede on a new homestead that blocked his usual cattle driving route. In a rage he had whipped his herd and horses up into a frenzy that had run most of his men and hundreds of his herd off a cliff to their deaths. Itâs said he never drove cattle again after that for there was no remorse in his soul for what he had done. And thatâs where the song comes in. It mentions a team of ghostly riders in the sky, herding demonic cattle endlessly. Itâs a classic revenant tale about a spirit appearing to sinful cowboys, warning them to change their ways lest they become a servant of the devilâs herd. Which makes it easy for common folk to write them off as just a tall tale, something to keep your men in line but I know better. I had seen them myself. That warning that the song talked about? It was issued to me.
I had come across these riders in the year 1900, turn of the century and I had just barely hit my forties but still looked all of 21 years old. I had been going through⊠well, a bit of a mental rough patch, if you will and it hit me how little of a choice I had in becoming immortal and⊠aw, hell, this is gonna be a long one. Let me do the voice memo thing instead. Iâll attach it to the email with the MP3.
A random poll, because I keep seeing posts like "I wanna read this particular sort of fic, but since nobody else has written it, I guess I have to", and it got me wondering...
For those who donât know, âSINFâ is short for the series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, and Josh is one of the protagonists. A lot of the story and suspension of disbelief depends heavily on his point of view, and some of the BEST foreshadowing in the series surrounds his character and the eventual plot twist with him. Kicking my feet and gigglingâŠ
(I canât put actual pictures of the characters here, unfortunately, so Iâll just find quotes from the books of them that I really like ^^)
âI was just wishing we could go back in time, to before all this happened.â
âWhy?â
âSo I wouldnât have to be like this⊠so we wouldnât have to be different.â
Josh looked into his sisterâs face and tilted his head slightly. âYouâd give it up?â he asked very softly. âThe power, the knowledge?â
âIn a heartbeat,â she said immediately.
(Book 2, The Magician)
Skrunkly: Billy the Kid
This might be an odd choice of characters that I find cute, but I think thereâs just something charming about this adaptation of the outlaw! Especially his later dynamic with Machiavelli- theyâre a fun duo, and the contrast between their characters is really great.
But instead of pulling away, Billy took a step toward the Elder, slashing out with the Macuahuitl. The razor-sharp glass whistled as it cut through the air. Kukulkan immediately sucked his tongue back in and then coughed and gagged, choking on it. The Macuahuitl had missed it by inches.
âDo that again and Iâll cut it off!â Billy yelled. âI know youâll grow a new one, but I bet itâll hurt.â
(Book 4, the Necromancer)
I am skipping the scrimblo bimblo category because it is almost the exact same as the next one.
Glup shitto: Cernunnos
Itâs a shame that Cernunnos was only in book 3, but by GOD did it have the most AWESOME entrance and description ever. It was an excellent way to introduce Archons, what they were, and the effect they had on others just by being there. I love every single detail about it⊠from Dee slowly figuring out how it operates, to even the pronouns itâs described with changing as the reader becomes familiar with it (going from purely âitâ pronouns to âheâ later on.) Cernunnos my beloved I miss you every day,,,
A wave of stinking fur, claws, teeth and eyes made yellow by the lights flowed down the streets, boiling out of the houses, leaping through windows, flattening fences, pushing up through sewers. Filthy foul-smelling creatures gathered in a huge silent semicircle behind the Archon. They had the bodies of enormous grey wolves⊠but they all had human faces.
âTurn,â Cernunnos said. Without moving its body, its head swiveled at an impossible angle to regard the silent army behind it, and then it looked back at Dee. âYou are strong. You will last a year before you become part of the Wild Hunt.â
(Book 3, The Sorceress)
Poor little meow meow: Gilgamesh
âŠlisten.
This is a very different interpretation from Fate Seriesâ Gilgamesh. SINFâs interpretation of the character is much more pleasant, and much more blatantly tragic. The driving force of the 3rd book technically revolves around meeting with him, and conflicting ideas of him are given throughout the story before he is actually introduced- until you finally meet him. Itâs an anticlimactic meeting⊠heâs not a kingly figure, and despite being the oldest immortal human, heâs far less impressive than any other immortal human they meet. He can barely hold his thoughts together through the jumbled overflow of memories that he holds in his mind. Everything important to him needs to be written down because he is always at risk of forgetting everything dear to him. And,,, oouuughhghhh,,,,
âThe Alchemyst leaned forward, and for a moment, it looked as if he was about to put his hand on the kingâs shoulder. Then he drew it back and asked gently, âWhat are you remembering now, Gilgamesh?â
The king pressed his index finger into the page, rubbing silver tears into the paper. âThe day someone cared enough to shed a tear for me.â
(Book 3, The Sorceress)
Horse plinko: Scathach
I love Scathach as a character but I feel like the struggles that she was put through were a little bit inconsistent? I wish that weâd gotten to see more about her relationship with Aoife from her side- it makes sense why we didnât get to see that, but having her focus on other aspects on her family in the final books doesnât feel as impactful when their sister relationship had so much intrigue surrounding it in Book #4. I assume that the focus shifting to Scathachâs parents has to do with keeping up the parallels to the twins since their story shifts to having a conflict with their parents.
But I still think that Scathach shouldâve gotten more of a spotlight on her emotions on Aoife. Sheâs too optimistic. I think I need to hit her over the head with a massive metaphorical hammer.
Then Scatty strolled out into the yard. She was twirling her nunchaku as if she were Charlie Chaplin swinging a cane. There wasnât a hair out of place or a mark on her body, and her green eyes were bright and alert. âOh, Iâm in a much better mood now,â she announced.
The twins looked past her in the corridor. Nothing and no one moved in the darkness beyond.
âBut there were about ten of themâŠ,â Sophie began.
Scathach shrugged. âTwelve, actually.â
âArmedâŠ,â Josh said. He glanced sidelong at his sister, then back at the Warrior. He swallowed hard. âYou didnât kill them, did you?â
Wood snapped and something collapsed in the shop.
âNo, theyâre just⊠sleeping.â Scatty smiled.
(Book 2, The Magician)
Eeby deeby: NiccolĂł Machiavelli
Oh my god. I LOVE Machiavelli. Everything about his arc is executed so wonderfully- I love from the moment heâs introduced, there is a very clear distinction between him and Dee, how the two operate, and how the two act. Dee is a terrifying villain, sure, manipulative and cunning, but Machiavelli has a striking subtleness to him that contrasts his layers to Dee being a less mysterious villain. I love how even though they are both manipulators, we see what makes Machiavelli a master in how he expertly controls situations- heâs able to direct the interests of Elders themselves to get what he wants, while Dee is constantly getting into trouble thanks to his brash and rushed decisions.
I also hate him and want him to be eaten alive.
âI donâtâŠ,â Josh began, his voice echoing distortedly in the narrow tunnel. I really donât like small spaces.â
âNeither do I,â Machiavelli added tightly. âI spent a little time in a prison, a long time ago. Iâve never forgotten it.â
âWas it as bad as this?â Josh asked shakily.
âWorse.â Machiavelli was walking behind Josh and leaned forward to add, âTry and stay calm. This is just a maintenance tunnel; weâll get into the proper sewers in a few moments.â
(Book 2, The Magician)
stormborns
origamiaround
titsay
ellievsbear
snowghoul
dededos
prguitarman
