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“The best things in life happen when you least expect them, when you’re not looking for them. Falling in love with Mercy was not like that. I asked her out 12 times.”

— Adam Hauptman

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books i’ve read in 2021 » no. 033

Wild Sign by Patricia Briggs

“Charles belonged to Anna with all his complicated soul and uncomplicated heart.”

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we don’t talk enough about anything in this fandom period, but we should especially talk abt how Mercy likely has nightmares after smoke bitten of Adam dying. we know that Adam has nightmares abt not being able to protect Mercy, but it’s gotta go vice versa especially since the whole episode when he thought Bran told her to leave him. (which honestly is so dumb cause Mercy never knows when to quit, like at all, ever in her entire life)

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I just binged wild sign and I feel so validated about Leah and Bran

#patricia briggs #mercy thompson #please come talk to me about it

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Okay so Mercy’s gotten Adam and Mac to Aspen Creek and therefore reminded me of the absolute wild fact that all the women here seem to hate Mercy. I’m sorry what???

Mercy lived in Aspen Creek from baby/toddlerhood until she was 16. Why in the world do all these women have against a literal child? The fact she can have babies? They met her as a baby!

I’m sorry, but even if she was a prankster as a kid that still doesn’t make sense and the excuse of jealous dumb. Adoption exists. Mercy was adopted by werewolves. So all these “jealous” women who want kids so much they’ll take it out on a literal child can’t do that? They gotta be dumb and shallow and hate her for what? Something she can’t help and can’t change? It’s absurd.

The only one that makes sense is Leah, and that’s bc she wants Bran’s love. Though like i bet dollars to donuts, if he’d asked Leah to raise Mercy it would have gone fine. Because he’d be showing her a huge amount of trust, and she’s his mate so like why would nt she take great care of a baby? If having a baby is such an issue with her why wouldn’t she care and love this one?

#i love every single take in this post

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I would also say she has a lot of power with the vampires. Now that she and Marsilia are on working terms with one another + Stefan + Wulfe in his own way. Like she has united everyone together.

btw amazing analysis

Mercedes is the most powerful being in the Tri-Cities an here’s why.

okay so the promised “Mercy’s power” post. this is current through Smoke Bitten, so spoilers if you haven’t read that far.

alright, we know from Silence Fallen that Mercy’s power is not intrinsic, like Adam’s is. Bonarata figured that out the hard way. for our purposes power and influence are more or less the same thing. So, Mercy’s power comes from who she is as a person; the people she knows/allies she has, her individual powers, and her standing in society. the main shift in her power comes at the beginning of Fire Touched. that’s when Mercy really enters the big leagues, and imo when she becomes the most powerful being in the tri-cities.

the balance that holds it all in place

mercy only holds this much power because people trust her with it. as Adam tells Ben in the short story Redemption, dominance means those below you believe that you’ll protect them. Mercy has proven this time and again, and everyone knows this. here’s why everyone trusts her:

the humans

as far as they know, she is also human. she is on their side because she is one of them. this is helped by her occupation. when people see her around, she’s not “The Wife of the Alpha Werewolf” shes “mercy, my uncle’s mechanic” and that’s important because people trust her, and she’s on the same level as them. she’s just chill, and open, and willing to help if you’ve got supernatural issues or car issues. that’s partly also just her personality.

the police

(the police in reality are a corrupt institution and we should be conscious of how we interact with them in reality and in media, so be aware of the implicit bias and how the police are portrayed bc fiction is not reality)

that said, the police who take on the role of protectors of the mundane people trust mercy. at this point, most of the force knows her and knows that she is someone they can trust. they know that she is not werewolf or fae, and so will give them an unbiased take on stuff (like the crime scene in Night Broken). because she grew up in a werewolf pack she knows more than your average joe and is able to explain it to non-werewolves because she understands that point of view (not being a werewolf herself). they also get that she is the point person/intermediary for the wolves and the humans. she provides info so that they can do their job. as we see in Fire Touched, the police are willing to listen to mercy when she tells them that the wolves have a handle on the issue.

the wolves

so she’s the daughter of bran’s heart, right? so every werewolf has heard of her, and her reputation, and knows that to harm her in any way shape or form would be risking bran’s wrath. so that’s covered and done with, and she’s established herself as someone who will always have your back (as Honey points out in Fire Touched at the pack meeting). She’s also got Adam to back her up more solidly. And, as Warren points out in Night Broken, when mercy manipulates you it’s cause she wants what’s best. mercy knows how to deal with all the werewolf bull.

the fae

she has Zee by her side, and not many are willing to mess with Zee. also, the treaty she signed with the fae gives her A Lot of power, because the gray lords enforce that and ensure that everyone follows the treaty. the fae as a whole don’t really trust mercy, but their leaders do and her working relationship with the fae has helped her numerous times. plus, Ariana gives her a lot of info about the fae, which’s helps mercy’s diplomatic role

everyone else

with all of the above combined, i can’t really think of a reason that anyone would mess with her/defy her, as she has established herself as one of the more powerful entities.

analogies! my favorite thing

mercy’s power is similar to that of the President of the United States (the office). the individual can’t deck someone, but the office can. the president can call on the army (in this case, Adam and the pack who function as brawn/muscle for the most part) in order to enforce anything the president wishes. the generals (Adam, Warren, Darryl) are all powerful in their own right, but they defer to Mercy as the diplomatic point person. she pulls the strings and calls the shots for the most part.

her reputation

mercy has done a lot of crazy stuff, and we know that all sorts of different supernatural creatures have at the very least heard of her exploits as a kid (the peanut butter incident). she’s done so much more since then, including but not limited to: killed a river monster, defeated the demon vampire sorcerer, made a treaty with the fae, worked with Beauclaire re the walking stick, got kidnapped by Bonarata and got away, defeated a troll, came out on top against the witches, fought Guayota and won, etc etc (im sure theres stuff im missing). she’s not just a woman who can turn into a coyote, she’s got a lot more power than that.

in conclusion, all of the people that trust mercy + her reputation + the people she has at her back + her unique powers have made mercy into the most powerful being in the tri-cities. thanks for reading, and feel free to add on!

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I am so here for her getting a girlfriend in college

mercedes thompson gives off strong bisexual vibes

#that girl friend being the cute goth girl from stefan's seethe.

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I feel like Jesse shares these strong bisexual vibes as well.

mercedes thompson gives off strong bisexual vibes

#also id love to get in on this fandom

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Virtue requires a delicate balance. 

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epiphany

instagram

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Surrealist Garden Las Pozas in México

“Magic happens at Las Pozas. Just like in work by Salvador Dalí, at Las Pozas art portrays one thing as another, invents a reality put in place of conventional, official, socially acceptable reality. More than painting a picture or sculpting an object, they produced an atmosphere, a privileged place.” ~ Irene Herner

Nestled in the thick jungles of San Luis Potosí, Mexico, Edward James discovered the perfect setting for staging his life’s masterpiece. A surrealist labyrinth unfolds amid waterfalls and ponds—natural and man-made—that prepare the mind for immersion into a dream world. With buildings that evoke nonsense, doors leading nowhere, stairways to the sky and concrete flowers that sprout beside real ones, one man’s dreams are realized and reality is displaced by fantasy.

Images via text via

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Greece by Dimitris Tamvakos