Yeah, I mean, mildred_of_midgard is the psychology expert here, but I was definitely getting a trauma bonding / emotional incest vibe from them even before that telling letter.
Haha, "expert", but yeah, they definitely banded together in the face of a traumatic situation. Some siblings do this; other siblings go in the opposite direction. Like most trauma coping mechanisms, this one had its downsides, but honestly, despite the many and obvious downsides, my opinion is that, given the situation and their limited options, their relationship was really the best thing in the world for them. In that, without it, they would have been much, much worse off, both of them.
(I want Wilhelmine fix-it fic too :P Can she escape with Fritz and Katte? or with Maria Theresia)
I know, right?! Every time I do a Fritz/Katte successful escape attempt, it turns dark the moment Fritz starts worrying about those left behind (which is like paragraph 2 in the one I'm currently working on). Seriously, you know what FW said to Fritz about what would have happened if he'd made it to England? I only have indirect discourse from a biographer here, but it goes like this:
"Had he thought of the consequences? his father asked. His mother would have suffered the greatest misfortune; Wilhelmina would have been imprisoned for life. Finally, 'I would have invaded Hanover and burned and ravaged it even at the cost of my life and kingdom.'"
(That's so incredibly common in abusive situations. There are so often hostages holding you back from escaping, and then if you do make it out, half the people you meet later in life are going to blame you, the fucking victim, for not caring about the ones left behind. Ugh.)
Keith and Katte: she has so many reasons for holding her brother's bond with them against them that it's not even funny.
Fix-it fic: the only one I've found is that modern AU, where Wilhelmine is not abused (except insofar as she has to watch her brother get abused, which is a form of abuse), gets married, has a kid, gets divorced, and becomes a successful conductor and composer. No estrangement period with Fritz, lives happily ever after.
W and MT fix-it fic: I like it! I don't think I can write it, but I like it! (I'm sorry I'm not up for doing research these days, I would totally get my hands on some books and give you MT fic. :/)
Re: Prussian sibling correspondance
Haha, "expert", but yeah, they definitely banded together in the face of a traumatic situation. Some siblings do this; other siblings go in the opposite direction. Like most trauma coping mechanisms, this one had its downsides, but honestly, despite the many and obvious downsides, my opinion is that, given the situation and their limited options, their relationship was really the best thing in the world for them. In that, without it, they would have been much, much worse off, both of them.
(I want Wilhelmine fix-it fic too :P Can she escape with Fritz and Katte? or with Maria Theresia)
I know, right?! Every time I do a Fritz/Katte successful escape attempt, it turns dark the moment Fritz starts worrying about those left behind (which is like paragraph 2 in the one I'm currently working on). Seriously, you know what FW said to Fritz about what would have happened if he'd made it to England? I only have indirect discourse from a biographer here, but it goes like this:
"Had he thought of the consequences? his father asked. His mother would have suffered the greatest misfortune; Wilhelmina would have been imprisoned for life. Finally, 'I would have invaded Hanover and burned and ravaged it even at the cost of my life and kingdom.'"
(That's so incredibly common in abusive situations. There are so often hostages holding you back from escaping, and then if you do make it out, half the people you meet later in life are going to blame you, the fucking victim, for not caring about the ones left behind. Ugh.)
Keith and Katte: she has so many reasons for holding her brother's bond with them against them that it's not even funny.
Fix-it fic: the only one I've found is that modern AU, where Wilhelmine is not abused (except insofar as she has to watch her brother get abused, which is a form of abuse), gets married, has a kid, gets divorced, and becomes a successful conductor and composer. No estrangement period with Fritz, lives happily ever after.
W and MT fix-it fic: I like it! I don't think I can write it, but I like it! (I'm sorry I'm not up for doing research these days, I would totally get my hands on some books and give you MT fic. :/)