Semper Fi

Sooooo.

We know that Charles was born around 1813, when Bran and Samuel arrived in the New World #America #United States. He is in the series two hundred years old (200!)

But its is said than Bran and thus Samuel, since they were changed at the same time, are very old wolf. But how old?

Well, we learned that Bran is sometimes linked to Beowulf an epic poem whose manuscript was published around 975 and 1025. But as it is said in the Mercy Thompson series books are written sometimes decades or century after an event, since before books stories were told from mouth to ear.

Also we know that before he was changed Samuel lost his first children and wife to a plague. Since they are Welsh I researched the first Welsh plague which according to BBC and walesonline.co.uk "first instance of plague in Wlaed were first recorded as early as the sixth (6th) century", "outbreaks of plague like disease reccured in 526 and 537.

Futhermore, in the Alpha and Omega series, in Cry Wolf Charles says to Anna that Asil might be the only one wolf close to Bran age. Asil which "was born before Charles Martel, Charlemagne's grandfather, defeated the Moors at the Battle of Tours". Which was during the eight (8th) century, in 732.

So Bran and Samuel were probably born and changed sometime between the 6th and the 8th century.

A screencap redraw of my favourite book adaptation ever.

A - Z Challenge (April) Moodboard

C - Curran Lennart; Former Beast Lord / God Killer / Lion of Atlanta / Guild Master

↳ ““One last thing, Your Majesty. I’d like a name I can put into my report, something shorter than typing out ‘The Leader of the Southern Shapechanger Faction.’ What should I call you?”

“Lord.”

I rolled my eyes. 

He shrugged. “It’s short.” 

This was turning out to be a difficult night, and it showed no signs of being over. I climbed out, over the heap of rubble. Jim was gone. Something touched my shoulder. I whirled and saw the Lord of Beasts looking at me from the gap ten feet away. 

Kate Daniels

Clean. Cleaaaaaaan. Being in a clean house will make this so much nicer. If you're stuck in your house all day, being in a clean home will help. Plus, it's good exercise.

If you have a garden and can go in it, do! Plant some stuff for spring, tidy it up, feed the birds, whatever.

If you have a Netflix watch list, go through it. Watch stuff in the background while cleaning or something.

If you're sick, change your bed. I've been in bed a lot and I just changed it and it's nice to have fresh sheets instead of my sweaty ones.

Take up a craft. Go on pinterest and diy some shit.

Watch documentaries

Change out of your pyjamas, even if it's just into a hoodie and some sweats. You'll feel better.

If you have schoolwork to do, do it. I know, it's boring, but itll kill some time.

Paint, collage, sketch. Try and improve your skills. Get creative!

Call your family and friends! Facetime or phone. Call your mum, your auntie, your best friend, whoever. We're human and we need contact.

Rearrange your furniture, create a new environment.

Have a clear out of clothes you don't wear anymore

Read!! Read books you haven't read yet or reread your favourite books. Get lost in a different world.

If you're not in school, perhaps teach yourself something. I like to study stuff in my own time. Botany, human evolution, space, anything. Learning stuff is fun when you're not getting graded on it.

Fuck it, learn a new language. Go on omegle or something and talk to people from different countries and test your skills.

Bake, cook, make something. I recommend bread. I have a recipe under my #angie talks tag.

Support small businesses. I'm on a group chat with fellow shop owners and they're all worried about the sales going down. I know, right now you're worried about needing necessities, but shop around on etsy and buy birthday presents, diy kits, jewellery etc. You'll make their week.

If you're sick, open the windows. Its recommended for coronavirus anyway but its nicer to be in bed with the window open.

Watch nature outside your house. For like half an hour today I watched birds. I counted 56 this morning.

Make your own natural remedies for your symptoms. If you're on any medication, as always, check for interactions.

Nap

Put on loud music and dance. Get your blood flowing

Check out home workouts on YouTube. Keeping active boosts your immune system and itll pass the time

Make stuff out of trash. Pinterest is full of diy crafts, my favourites are bird feeders out of bottles and planters out of bottles.

Get into your sewing pile and mend clothes

Embroider funky patches

If you're quarantined with family, chat to them. Suggest a family movie night or break out some board games. My husband refuses to play chess with me because I'm too good at it, I've never lost a chess game in my life

Chat to people on tumblr

Journal how you feel or vent to someone. Its frustrating being stuck inside

World build! Make maps of imagined places

Upcycle your clothes and make them look cooler

Make a bucket list

That's all the suggestions I have for now. If anyone is interested in more recommendations for books/movies/shows/stuff to learn, let me know!

He has all the power and, oh man, the power is sweet. If he wants to wear pseudo-silver clip-on earrings and rings with skulls on them and a fishnet crop-top to a public mall, he’s gonna. And he’s going to enjoy the whole experience. If he embarrasses his kids that’s just a bonus! Shore up that mental stat, kiddies, because Bran is an expert at causing psychic damage. He’s a bard, this is right and Natural.

Grunge emo culture? Hell yeah. Chunky yarn cardigan and big glasses culture? He’s all over it. He’s got whole drawers dedicated to his particular favorite Punk Hipster Aesthetic. Also the t-shirts. He’s got so many shitty pop culture t-shirts and he’s the only one who thinks they’re hilarious. And, after all, his opinion is the only one that matters.

Literally who could possibly prevent him from dressing however he wants? Who was the authority? The raw physical strength? The sheer nerve to challenge the Berserker on his fashion sense? Nobody but his children and they’ve lost all hope already.

Tying into this neatly is his behavior, both in canon and in my heart. @whatsitnot and @midnightkissme thank you for the inspiration. To quote, Hmmm.. almost like with Bonarata in Italy. Hey, "submissive" my ass. YOU ARE SO RIGHT AND YOU SHOULD SAY IT.

Bran is a good actor, like, supremely good. This can’t be understated. He’s an apex predator who pretends to be a nervous, naturally submissive prey animal for several days in a compound full of other predators with supernatural senses and gets away with it. What the fuck. Also he’s never seriously questioned or maneuvered into a position where he might have to break character.

Consider: Bran could probably kill everyone in a multiple mile radius of his person if he goes full Beast Mode. So he’s gotta be confident that none of those vampires are a real threat. And YET. He fakes fear so well that nobody in Bonarata’s crew can tell he’s clowning them.

Bran Cornick, Master Bullshitter.

But! Going back to his behavior, you gotta wonder if this is even possible for anyone else. Because being a werewolf comes with a second personality who is super aggressive, very territorial, and EXTREMELY sensitive to perceived slights against the natural hierarchy.

So Bran’s wolf — obviously insane but we love him anyways — should react to any show of disrespect with, uh, an action to correct that misconception. But the thing is he doesn’t. Maybe it’s because Bran has a chokehold on his own instinctive reactions, maybe he’s just a freak of nature, but I think he flies under the radar so well because it’s inconceivable to anyone with an understanding of werewolf nature that a dominant wolf could or would pretend to be less than they are.

Next thought. Give Bran a role to play and he will absolutely crush it, no exceptions. Submissive? Sure. Dominant? Done it. Indifferent to the power dynamics at play? Inspirational performance. What he actually feels is buried beneath a dozen layers of compartmentalization at all times (but is probably… murderous, keep in mind).

Next thought. The reason he does this so well is because it’s how he learned to fight back when he was still human. At some point, somebody told him there was no point in focusing on strength because he’d inevitably be overpowered anyway so he should work on being as fast and precise as possible. So he did! And he got a lot of practice in getting in close to a target, puncturing something fatal, and getting out of reach quickly. (ASSASSIN!BRAN AU WHEN?)

Presumably, his shitbag mother funneled her kids into areas she thought they’d serve the most use so Bran was raised to be an ambush specialist. One and done. He still prefers that method of attack despite his rage issues and secret love of brawling. A cheap shot is the only one worth taking tbh. To gain a combat advantage, he’s willing to do anything from crossdress to feign a crippling injury. However, since then, he’s grown to be lethal in every aspect of combat. Underestimate him at your peril.

Final Thought. He really, truly genuinely does think baby Mercy’s shenanigans are funny. And both his sons agree with him. Secret Mercy Cheerleading/Protection Squad, what?

End of Bran Cornick Appreciation Post ™