Line #14 FanFic/AnUncommonWitness


1	Duck Stannus lived a perfectly ordinary life in 1920’s Bronx, New York, until witnessing a murder by a mysterious white-haired mobster known only as Principe turned her whole life upside down. Now a star witness for a case that could finally bring the city’s most dangerous gang to justice, Duck founds herself with the cold eye of HardboiledDetective Fakir Romeiras watching over her as he pursues Principe and the dangerous Corvo Family.
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3	''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5358990/1/An-Uncommon-Witness An Uncommon Witness]]'' is a HistoricalAU ''Anime/PrincessTutu'' fic set in New York during TheRoaringTwenties with copious amounts of FilmNoir.
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5	The fic has 23 chapters and was finished on May 23, 2016. A sequel story, ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13326629/1/An-Uncommon-Proposal An Uncommon Proposal]]'' was published in 2019, and as of March, 2021 is also complete, having finished at 13 chapters. [[https://archiveofourown.org/series/1409410 It can also be found on]] Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn, with art included.
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8	!!''An Uncommon Witness'' and its sequel has examples of:
9	* AbusiveParents: Domenico Corvo proves that he can be ruthless to his own daughter if she becomes a threat to his empire. [[spoiler:To the point of using her as hostage against Mytho in chapter 22.]]
10	* AdaptationNameChange: Uzura’s name from the canon anime was changed to Zurab in this universe. [[spoiler:The author stated that they wanted a Western name that sounded similar to Uzura, and the closest name they could find was “Zurab”, which happened to be a masculine Georgian name. This also explains the GenderFlip for Zurab’s character from female to male.]]
11	* TheAtoner: [[spoiler:Mytho reveals in chapter 22 that he spend two years planning the downfall of the Corvo gang to atone for his past sins.]]
12	* BelligerentSexualTension: ''Tons'' between Duck and Fakir and many characters are able to notice it. This is [[RelationshipUpgrade upgraded]] in the sequel [[spoiler:when Fakir and Duck finally come clean about their mutual feelings for one another, and by chapter 12 of ''An Uncommon Proposal'', they are engaged.]]
13	* BreakTheCutie: Duck went through a LOT during the events of ''An Uncommon Witness''. But just when she thought life had gone back to normal [[spoiler:one of her close friends leaves to pursue a different career, she loses her job, and Edel, the person who had been a maternal figure for her since her own mother’s death, has to move away for family reasons. Duck tries to put up a brave face, but the last straw came when [[TheRemnant Worm Tongue]] very nearly succeeded in kidnapping her. Having already endured two previous kidnappings before this, Duck’s composure shatters when Zurab innocently reminds her they don’t have cocoa powder to bake a chocolate cake. The very thought of leaving her apartment and the terrors that await her on the other side of the door pushes Duck over the edge, and she has an anxiety attack and begins sobbing uncontrollably.]]
14	* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: [[spoiler:Mytho ends up with possibly permanent hearing damage caused by the explosion at the garage, and Rue is unable to dance again due to the gunshot wound to her leg. The author said that after all they've done, despite being sympathetic characters, they still needed to suffer some karma for their actions.]]
15	* ChekhovsGun: The napkin with all of Rue's contact numbers [[spoiler:which allows Duck to reach out to Rue when Fakir’s life was at stake]]. Could also be applied to the coat Rachel gives Fakir for his birthday in the sequel, [[spoiler:which kept Worm Tongue (who had been plotting to kill Fakir) from recognizing him on the street.]]
16	* DamselInDistress:
17	** At the end of chapter 17, [[spoiler:Duck is spirited away by Mytho, as she was just getting relocated as part of witness protection.]]
18	** In the sequel [[spoiler:Duck is attacked and almost kidnapped by Worm Tongue and has an anxiety attack afterward.]]
19	* DarkestHour: [[spoiler:Fakir and Autor's kidnapping. Also, Duck when she was kidnapped and brought in front of a room full of mobsters by Mytho.]]
20	* DistressedDude: [[spoiler:After failing to nab Duck, Fakir and Autor are knocked unconscious and kidnapped by the Corvos. After they wake up, Autor finds himself tied to a chair with its legs set in concrete while Fakir has been chained to a beam. The goons who work for Mytho proceeds to taunt Autor before viciously beating Fakir. The mobsters stop when Mytho shows up but unfortunately for Fakir, things go FromBadToWorse.]]
21	* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:In chapter 20, Rue was about to throw herself from the penthouse floor of a hotel after hearing from Duck that Mytho was nice to her, while with Rue herself he had grown cold and distant. Rue thinks this is proof that Mytho hated her for getting him involved with the mafia. With her career and freedom taken away by her father, Mytho's love was the last thing she considered hers, and losing that was her limit. Duck delayed her from jumping by [[TalkingDownTheSuicidal telling Rue that the old Mytho Rue knew was still there]], and her attempt was stopped when [[InterruptedSuicide a mobster knocked to give her a message]]. This trope also applies to Elsa, Duck's mother, after she found out her husband had faked his own death and left her to pay off his debts. She contemplated taking her own life, but the thought of leaving her daughter alone in the world prevented her from attempting suicide.]]
22	* EarnYourHappyEnding: At the end, the main couples ended together and happy despite all they went through. [[spoiler:Fakir and Duck eventually become a couple in the sequel before [[RelationshipUpgrade getting engaged]].]]
23	* FallenHero: [[spoiler:Mytho was the sweetest boy you ever met. Now he's a capo working right under TheDon. When Mytho kidnaps Duck he treats her kindly, leading Duck to muse that there's still some good in him and wonders which one is the real him: Principe the mafia capo or Mytho, Fakir's former friend.]]
24	* FemmeFatale: Rue Corvo. Especially when seducing Autor in order to get information out of him.
25	* FiveTokenBand: The story takes place in 1920's New York, a diverse city with people who immigrated there from all over the world. As such, the cast are given ethnic backgrounds reflective of their names/physical appearance, as well as the historical setting. Fakir is Arab/Portuguese, Duck is Irish [[spoiler: and at least 1/4 German, as she states her maternal grandfather is a German folklorist who settled in Ireland]], Rue is Italian, Mytho and Charon are Greek, Autor and Edel are German [[spoiler:though in the last chapter it was revealed that Autor is Jewish via his mother's side]], Mr. Cat (a human in this universe) is Russian, and Femio is French. In the sequel it’s revealed in the Author’s Notes that Pique and Lillie’s families are [[spoiler:Puerto Rican and French]], respectively, and that Zurab [[spoiler:who is this AU’s equivalent of Uzura]] is Georgian/German.
26	* FriendToAllChildren: in the sequel Fakir and Duck fit this trope, even if they initially don’t seem to like kids or think they’d be good with children. [[spoiler:Duck takes Zurab on a (mostly) fun trip to the zoo and later babysat Zurab when Edel had to go on a trip, eventually forming a tight bond with the child. Fakir’s interaction with Eddie, the son of his recent murder victim, began because Eddie’s experience [[MoralityPet reminded Fakir of his own childhood]] but he ends up [[BigBrotherInstinct consoling and guiding]] Eddie, and talks him out of joining a local gang.]]
27	* GenderFlip: [[spoiler:Zurab, [[AdaptationNameChange the Uzura equivalent]] in this universe, is actually a boy despite wearing a skirt as part of his regular outfit. Neither Fakir nor Duck [[ViewerGenderConfusion picked up on Zurab’s true gender]] until their trip to the zoo, where much confusion ensued. Initially played for humor by Edel, who claims the reason why Zurab likes to wear a skirt is because his family is old fashioned and had only recently [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breeching_(boys) breeched him]]. Later it was played for drama when Edel reveals that Zurab’s mother actually intentionally dressed him as a girl so as to disguise their identities during their journey out of Soviet-occupied Georgia.]]
28	* GlamorousSingleMother: Duck's mother, Elsa, raised her alone.
29	* HardboiledDetective: Fakir Romeiras is serious, distant and likes to do things his way. Of course, his attitude gets on Duck's nerves. [[spoiler:He mellows out a lot by the end, and takes Duck's feelings into consideration when making his decisions...though it doesn't stop him from teasing her.]]
30	* HeroicBSOD: Fakir got a hard one when he finds out that [[spoiler:his childhood best friend, Mytho, is the very Principe guy he's looking for and works ''willingly'' for the man that killed his family.]]
31	* HeelRealization: [[spoiler:Mytho got hit by one two years ago, after realizing he's working for "the monsters" that killed his best friend's parents and that he was close to become a monster willing to kill innocent children for his own gains too.]]
32	* IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten: After becoming suspicious of why Mytho hadn’t found the witness, the Don starts connecting the dots [[spoiler:and suspects Mytho and the detective investigating his organization might share a past. When Fakir is kidnapped, the Don orders Mytho to [[ShootYourMate kill Fakir with a stiletto knife]] to show his obedience. After Mytho fails to go through with this, the Don receives confirmation about Mytho’s connection to Fakir, moreover, he realizes that the witness is also connected to Mytho. So as a final test of Mytho’s loyalty, he orders the capo to kidnap Duck and has him shoot her in front of their rivals in Chicago.]]
33	* InnocenceLost: [[spoiler:Mytho managed to keep himself innocent despite working as delivery boy for TheMafia, until an illegal delivery of alcohol makes him realize that he's breaking the law.]]
34	* ImportantHaircut: [[spoiler: In the sequel this trope was played straight for Fakir but was subverted for Duck. After her friends suggest they all get [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flapper#Hair_and_accessories fashionably short haircuts]], Duck decides not to go ahead with it when she recalls how her mother used to brush her long hair every day. She then tells Fakir he would look good with short hair, which gives him the courage to stop using his long hair as a literal shield to hide the scars he carries on his back. Becomes a case of gender inverted SheCleansUpNicely when a shocked Duck blushes at his new appearance.]]
35	* IntrepidReporter: Journalist Autor Brahms has spent months tying different murders to the Corvo family, despite the lack of actual evidence involving them, because everybody else is too scared of the mafia to expose them. He’s willing to take the risk because he wants to write [[GoingForTheBigScoop a world-shaking story]].
36	* InVinoVeritas: Rue seduces Autor into drinking wine in order to loosen his tongue. Autor, after two or three glasses, is already enough drunk to reveal Fakir's involvement with the case and [[spoiler:unintentionally gives her hints about Duck being the witness.]]
37	* ItsASmallWorldAfterAll: Fakir gets really surprised when Duck turns out to know Rue Corvo and her mom Elsa was [[spoiler:Mytho]]'s ballet instructor. Heck, for all he knows, it won't be a surprise if suddenly her grandfather turns out to be a childhood friend of Domenico Corvo as well [[spoiler:...although this doesn't turn out to be the case]].
38	* ItsPersonal: [[spoiler:It's eventually revealed that Fakir is so hellbent on bringing justice upon the mafia because they murdered his parents.]]
39	* ItWasAGift: Applies to Duck’s gold and garnet pendant, which used to belong to her mother, Elsa. [[spoiler:The pendant started out as a symbol of love between Elsa and her husband. But when Elsa found out he had faked his own death and left her with his debts, it became a symbol of betrayal. Nevertheless, Elsa held onto it, wanting to keep it as a reminder of happier times.]] In the sequel Fakir gifts Duck a red carnelian pendant for her birthday. When Duck initially did not appear to take a liking to the gift, Fakir [[spoiler:who up until that point had no knowledge of the tragic backstory behind Elsa’s pendant]] was left confused [[spoiler:until Duck confides to him that the reason she hesitated when she opened his gift was because it reminded her of her own parents’ broken romance. Unsure if Fakir loved her and afraid that her relationship with him would suffer the same fate as her parents’, Duck ultimately tells Fakir no matter what his feelings are for giving her this pendant, she will accept them. This then facilitated a heartfelt LoveConfession from Fakir.]]
40	* LightIsNotGood: Principe, the Corvo's patriarch favorite and heir, dresses all in white and cream-colored clothes, yet he can order a man's death without hesitation.
41	* LongHairIsFeminine: Duck conserves her signature long braid despite being in 1924, a time when short hair was the fashion norm. Fakir's cousin, Rachel Strauss lampshades the trope, saying that she considers long hair being more elegant.
42	* LoveEpiphany: Fakir realizes that Duck has become special to him when Femio remarked all the efforts he has done in order to get Duck back. He at first thought that it was because he's a police officer and recognizes that, while there's some sense of duty in it, he has a personal desire to find and get Duck to safety. Duck has one in the sequel, after her friends tease her about her relationship with Fakir. This gives Duck the impetuous to consider why Fakir had done so much for her and in turn, reflect on her own feelings towards him.
43	* LoveFreak: Femio calls himself "the champion of love" and "the embodiment of love" and agrees to fly Fakir from New York to [[spoiler:Chicago]] in the merciless winter weather after Autor tells him that Fakir is looking for a lover who was kidnapped by a rival, saying that this sort of things were his holy mission in this world.
44	* MafiaPrincess: Rue Corvo is the only daughter of the Corvo patriarch. She's knows about her father's business and has used his influence more than once in her life. [[spoiler:PlayedForDrama when she realizes that his father doesn't hold her in much esteem, he has complete control over her life, and all her achievements as an actress are more about his money and status than her own talent.]]
45	* MeaningfulRename: Rue and Mytho changed their names to Brunhilde and Siegfried [[spoiler:after running away to Shanghai]].
46	* MeetCute: Rue and Mytho met when she was practicing her ballet in a rented studio and he broke her fall after she lost her balance.
47	* NaiveEveryGirl: Duck herself. Later evolves into a PluckyGirl.
48	* NoHuggingNoKissing: [[spoiler:Even though Mytho and Rue are a confirmed couple, and Fakir is in love with Duck by the end of the story, according to the author Duck herself is not aware of Fakir's feelings for her, and sees him as a good friend. This is subverted in the sequel after Fakir and Duck finally [[LoveConfession confess their feelings for each another]].]]
49	* ParentalAbandonment: Duck's mom, [[MissingMom Elsa]], died when she was 14, when the Spanish flu pandemic erupted. Duck's [[DisappearedDad dad]] died before she was born. [[spoiler:Chapter 19 reveals that her dad, Loeguire, bailed on Elsa to escape the large number of debts he'd incurred before their marriage.]]
50	* ParentalSubstitute: Edel Stein, the jewelry store owner, has known Duck since she was little. After Elsa's death, Edel has watched over Duck and has been a mother figure and source of moral support for her.
51	* PetitePride: Fakir internally comments how Duck's lack of assets is very fashionable in the fashion standards of 1920. Turns into a case of CovertPervert when he has to hide his embarrassment after staring at her chest when Duck comes to meet him [[SheCleansUpNicely in her beautiful gala gown]].
52	* OldCopYoungCop: Played straight with Charon as the fatherly and cool-headed older cop, and Fakir as the driven but hot-headed young cop. Becomes a MasterApprenticeChain in the sequel when Fakir [[StudentAndMasterTeam mentors his new partner]], Alex.
53	* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: Inverted. [[spoiler:Mytho guided Fakir to Chicago, not just to rescue Duck but to see the fall of the Corvo gang and decide whether Mytho deserves to live after all the crimes he's committed. Fakir [[DopeSlap slap him]] for giving up his life like that.]]
54	* OrphansPlotTrinket: Downplayed with Duck's garnet pendant, as she doesn't wear it all the time, but people comment that with it she's a carbon copy of Elsa, her mom. [[spoiler:Thanks to it, Mytho recognizes her as Elsa's daughter at the opera gala.]]
55	* PutOnABus: Played straight [[spoiler:for Mytho and Rue at the conclusion of "An Uncommon Witness", as they sail into the sunset on a boat to Shanghai. They do not appear in the sequel story and are only mentioned a handful of time from that point on.]]
56	* TheRemnant: [[spoiler:Worm Tongue, the antagonist of the sequel story, was a former member of the Corvo gang. He targeted Fakir, whom he blamed for the "death" of Principe and the downfall of the Corvos.]]
57	* TheRoaringTwenties: The setting of the story, with great amounts of ShownTheirWork.
58	* SheCleansUpNicely: In order to blend in at a fancy party (but without calling attention), Duck got dolled-up in an apricot, chiffon gala gown and her hair dressed up, even managing to get Fakir surprised and a little flustered. A gender inverted example occurs in the sequel [[spoiler:after Fakir gets an ImportantHaircut.]]
59	* ShoutOut: The author has said that the story of Duck's parents is loosely based on ''Theatre/{{Lohengrin}}''. [[spoiler:However, Elsa's "knight" left not for something she did, but for something he had done, namely incur a boat load of debt that he could not pay off.]]
60	* StalkerWithoutACrush: Fakir starts to follow Duck around and keep an eye on her while she's at work to protect her of possible mobsters. Pretty much everyone not involved in the Corvo case believes him to be a StalkerWithACrush instead. Played straight in the sequel [[spoiler:when Worm Tongue stalks Fakir in his quest for revenge.]]
61	* StageName: Rue goes by the name "Odile Legnani" when in public, since she considered her name too plain for an actress. Duck begs to differ and prefers her real name.
62	* StrongFamilyResemblance: At the Gala Duck is told she’s a matching image of her mother, famous ballet dancer Elsa Stannus. In "[[https://mangakachan.tumblr.com/post/611342894964555776/a-gazillion-years-later-im-finally-done-with-the An Uncommon Witness: Homecoming]]", a short comic written and drawn by the author, Fakir also remarks that Duck and her mother look very much alike after seeing Elsa’s wedding photo [[spoiler:then blushes when he imagines Duck dressed as a bride.]]
63	* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler:Don Corvo traps Mytho and himself in a warehouse doused with gasoline at the climax of chapter 22. If Mytho shoots him, the sparks would set the place ablaze. Mytho did so anyway, and [[SubvertedTrope managed to get out]] of the burning garage before it exploded.]]
64	* ToxicFriendInfluence: Rue towards [[spoiler:Mytho]]. He even lampshades it, saying that it was her own fault for getting him involved in the mafia, that he turned out like he did.
65	* TragicKeepsake: Mytho had brought a cameo pendant for Elsa but could not give it to her since when he finally saved enough money to buy it, she had already passed away. He gives it away to [[spoiler:Duck]] in order to finally renounce [[spoiler:his feelings for Elsa.]] This trope also applies to the garnet pendant Elsa wore when she was alive, which was later passed down to Duck. [[spoiler:The pendant was a present from her husband before he abandoned her, and she kept it as a reminder of their happier days before he left her.]] Another example are the old detective novels in Fakir’s bedroom [[spoiler:which were birthday presents from his parents before they were murdered.]]
66	* TraumaCongaLine: Pretty much all of the main cast experiences this trope to some degree. Mytho [[spoiler:was forced to kill to save his own life. As a result, he has no choice but to abandon his dream of becoming a dancer and enter a life of crime.]] Rue [[spoiler:thought she had everything, but gradually had everything striped away from her until she had nothing, and in despair was nearly driven to suicide.]] Duck witnesses a man’s murder at the beginning of the story and things only go from bad to worse [[spoiler:when she’s kidnapped not once, but '''three''' times over the course of two stories. Even when she thought she finally got her old life back it starts to crumble when everyone and everything she’d ever known begins to change and move on.]] Fakir though, probably has it the worst out of everyone. [[spoiler:First, his parents were murdered in front of him when he was a child and he was left physically and emotionally scarred. Then, he gets bashed over the head, kidnapped, and beaten bloody by Mytho’s goons. And just as things were [[RelationshipUpgrade finally looking up]], Worm Tongue injures Duck during a failed kidnapping attempt, and the sound of Duck’s helpless sobbing drives home just how powerless he still is.]]
67	* VitriolicBestBuds: In the ''An Uncommon Proposal'' sequel Autor and Fakir have become this, and their conversations usually end up with them [[LikeAnOldMarriedCouple arguing with each other]].

Context FanFic / AnUncommonWitness