This is my propaganda for Simon/Patrick/Dianda in the canon polycule showdown hosted by @powerpolyculeshowdown. You can nominate them in the google form in the linked post.
Beware! Below the cut are spoilers for the later books in the October Daye series.
Who are they?
A reformed villain, a violent mermaid, and the man who loves them both. Here is their wedding scene; it’s beautiful.
Simon Torquill starts the series off as a villain. In the first chapter of the first book, he turns the protagonist into a fish. She gets better, but not before losing fourteen years of her life. From there, he’s something of a personal boogeyman for her.
Then, in a later book, we learn a piece of information that recontextualizes everything: in an attempt to save his missing daughter, Simon had essentially sold his soul to a being so powerful he literally couldn’t say no to her. Turning the protagonist into a fish had been his way of following orders without killing her. We also learn that he is legally the protagonist’s father. It’s complicated.
Dianda and Patrick Lorden begin the series happily married, with two children. Dianda is essentially a mermaid, and she was raised in the warlike Undersea culture. As a result, she’s more inclined to throwing punches than diplomacy. Patrick balances her well, though he doesn’t shy away from violence if his family needs protecting. Theirs is basically an interspecies marriage, so they’ve faced a fair amount of social consequences, including estrangement from their families. But Patrick and Dianda are in love.
In a later book, we learn that it was thanks to Simon that Patrick and Dianda’s marriage was able to take place. He and Patrick were childhood friends, and when the being he would later come to serve attempted to prevent the marriage, Simon interceded at great personal risk.
At the culmination of Simon’s redemption arc, he publicly and dramatically divorces his wife, marrying Patrick and Dianda immediately afterward. Dianda admits that she does not yet have feelings for Simon, but she cares for him deeply and believes that love can grow between them. And Simon and Patrick have loved each other all along.
If you feel a war is so warranted that it can’t be avoided, carry real arrows. Pay for your convictions. We do things differently below the waves. When the Undersea goes to war, the seas bleed. (Adapted from Once Broken Faith, Seanan McGuire)
Featuring Hannah John-Kamen as Duchess Dianda Lorden of Saltmist, Sterling Sulieman as Patrick Twycross-Lorden, Devon Terrell as Dean Lorden, and Jaeden Noel as Peter Lorden. With images from Killjoys, Still Star-Crossed, Cursed, Once Upon a Time, Black Sails, and Splash; all other photographs from Unsplash.
A Killing Frost aka I Went To Look For My Stepdad And Somehow Ended Up With More Family Members (but it's okay because they don't want to kill me so yay!)
