random notes.
- Nicolai is Cardinal Nicholas Conrad. He really did enter the Vatican and probably worked his way up to that title. He just. Also did a lot of skeevy stuff on the side for Rasputin.
- He's the illegitimate son of Tsar Nicholas II (making him Anastasia's half-brother). He views the throne as his birthright, despite the fact that he's a bastard son. It seems that he's PRETTY DAMN BITTER over how his mother was treated. I. Cannot for the life of me remember if canon explicitly states what happened with her, but Nicolai talks about how she died and he was orphaned, so I'm assuming they were on the streets. After her death, Rasputin picked Nicolai up and placed him in the Vatican. Nicolai also seems fairly convinced that if he told his father who he was, he'd be believed.
- He's responsible for the attack on the Lusitania. Or, at least, he pushed forward the plan to attack it after Rasputin signed off on it. :Dd
- having "secret negotiations with the Japanese envoy" + "That fool can't forget his puny revenge." = LOL NICOLAI PLOTTING BEHIND RASPUTIN'S BACK. <-- ... why do people let me take notes while replaying shit.
- in 1915 (1916?), Nicolai is 27. This means he was born somewhere in between 1888 and 1889. Tsar Nicholas II wasn't the Tsar until 1894.
- Historically, Rasputin came to St. Petersburg in 1903. Nicolai would have been 14 or 15. I THINK THAT in terms of SH:C, Nicolai had to have picked up earlier. It plays fast and loose with history like that. I'd peg it anywhere between 8 and 13. Young enough that he was easy to influence, but old enough to have more loyalty to HIS MOTHER than to the man that "saved" him. That is, I think Nicolai realized from the get-go that he was a pawn and used it to his advantage. I'd say it was ... prrrobably when he was 12 or 13. idk.
... c-comments on canon points and that damn second disc coming tomorrow.