#After years of watching her son bullied for being an orphan! She sees her husband's murder and she's chill?!?!?!

[add1ctedt0you]

Honestly, every mdzs's character has their own motivations to be mad with someone. That doesn't mean that other characters feelings and motivations aren't valid too

[awyeahitssam]

Harry opens up about the Dursley’s - to a point. Voldemort/Harry pre-slash, warnings for discussions of child abuse and captivity.

The door creaks open. Harry looks up from his book, stilling the restless tapping of his fingers on the page. 

“Good afternoon,” he tells Voldemort cordially. Every time he’s angered the Dark Lord he has been left alone for days; Harry’s relative politeness seems to please him. Not that he, by any means, enjoys dining with the Death Eaters, but a change of scenery is always nice. One can only read for so long in a windowless room.

Voldemort does not, of course, return the nicety. Instead he conjures a chair and takes a seat in front of Harry, something strange gleaming in his red eyes. “You will tell me about your relatives,” he commands.

Harry is surprised, though perhaps he shouldn’t be. Voldemort has always shown great curiosity towards him, yet he readily believed that Harry had been, as Snape suggested, raised in the lap of luxury. “Will I?” he asks, more to stall than anything.

Voldemort glares. “You dare question me?”

“Someone needs to,” Harry mutters. Then he sighs, marking his place in the book and setting it aside. “You would like a story? Fine.”

“Once upon a time,” he says, completely ignoring the irritation he can feel buzzing in his forehead, “a baby was left on a doorstep. It was presumably cold, being November 1st, 1981, the morning after the child was orphaned. He was left in a blanket he would use for many years to come, with a letter.”

“His muggle aunt found him in the morning and read the letter. It told her that her sister and brother-in-law were dead, and she was responsible for taking care of their child. Presumably there would be dire consequences if she chose to discard him. The last thing she wanted was a freak in her household and she would have sooner dropped the baby in the gutter if not threatened.”

Voldemort’s gaze was intent and hot on Harry’s face, quick to process any emotions Harry revealed. Harry endeavored to push away his spite, his fear, his anger. He distanced himself from the tale, pretending that he was not speaking of himself.

“Her husband agreed that keeping the baby would be safer. They decided that they would beat the freakishness out of the child, mind you with no proof at that point that it was magical. They raised the boy, making it clear that he was unwanted. On what he would later learn to be his fourth birthday, he was set in front of the stove and taught to cook. This would become one of his many chores.”

“They didn’t hit him often,” Harry continued steadily, eyes looking somewhere far past Voldemort. His scar was burning. “Only when his magic acted up, or he prepared the food wrong, or when he was in their way. The boy learned very quickly that being in the Dursley’s way was a very stupid place to be.”

“When he was five, he learned his name. Harry Potter. He was surprised—he knew that Boy was not his name, but it, along with Freak, was all he had ever known. Now he had two names.” Harry smiled mirthlessly. “He treasured them. He was eager to escape the Dursley’s home, and school was a marvelous reprieve. The teachers were polite, even if he was odd. They did not hit him or yell at him at all. The children didn’t pay him very much attention. After all, Harry was good at fading into the background.”

Doubt brushed his senses, but Harry ignored it. 

“Reports were quarterly, and Harry’s marks were rather good. Better than his cousins. The Dursely’s did not like that, and Harry did not like his punishment. Rumors spread, then, about how he was truly a very dim boy. That he must have cheated to have answered correctly. About how he picked on his older cousin constantly, and would rather talk with his fists than anything.”

“And the teachers, who had observed him for three months at this point, believed every word out of the Dursley’s mouth. So Harry learned not to do well in school.” Here, Harry closed his eyes. He could still feel his fear… his desperation… it was a familiar companion, even now. “He didn’t want to be hurt anymore. That was the only thing he wished for, in the years to come.”

Voldemort made a noise, deep in the back of his throat, but Harry paid it no mind. It was not worth deciphering the sneer or laugh; Harry did not need to know how Voldemort reveled in his miserable childhood. 

“His bruises were seen, of course, but they were put down to childish roughhousing, especially as he gained a reputation as a bully. A rather funny thing to believe, considering that Harry was a great deal smaller than the rest of his classmates, and it was he who was chased. The game was creatively named ‘Harry Hunting’. He learned to run fast, though it made him dizzy and weak. He wasn’t allowed much to eat, you see.”

“His life continued that way for many years. He lived in the cupboard under the stairs with his spiders, sometimes smuggling food out of the rubbish bin when he thought he might starve. That cupboard was both his cage and his sanctuary, until a letter came. Realizing that they were being spied on, the Dursley’s moved him to their son's second bedroom of broken toys, but Harry was far more entranced to learn that he was accepted into Hogwarts. He was not a freak after all; or so he allowed himself to believe.”

Irritation and rage hissed along his and Voldemort’s link. Harry still carried on, paying his audience no mind. 

“He learned shortly that his hope was misplaced. Hagrid showed him into Diagon Alley for the first time, and he was swarmed with people very interested in the scar on his forehead, left by his parents murderer. Harry discovered that he would never be allowed normalcy; that the reason he had a scar was because he apparently murdered a man as a babe.”

“Harry wondered,” he said very softly, “if that meant he could murder another man. His uncle, perhaps. That too was a cause to be celebrated, he thought. But he did not know the rules or reasons of why he was being congratulated, did not know if murder was actually acceptable in the wizarding world. He asked Hagrid; the man did not think the question odd. He said that of course murder was not okay, but this was You-Know-Who. Different rules applied.” 

“The wizarding world was far more complex than the Dursley’s. There were many unspoken rules. Harry did not know half of the unspoken rules of the muggle world, and yet he was expected to know everything about a brand new culture. People had opinions on who he was and how he should act. And Harry’s talent of fading into the background was useless. Wasted.”

Harry’s magic fluctuated around him, and he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. His thoughts settled in his mind. His words slowed to the tempo they had been at the start of his tale. 

“But of course, that has nothing to do with my relatives, and I believe you have received your answer. So I suppose I should say: The End.”

“So you have not stayed with them from the time you entered Hogwarts?”

Harry’s eyes snapped open. Voldemort’s gaze was dark, and Harry gritted his teeth at the painful pulsing of his scar. “I have, actually,” he said tightly. “I’ve already told you more than anybody else knows, and it’s quite enough. Yes, I’ve suffered outside of your hands—boo hoo, muggles can torture children too! This is the part where you storm off and leave me locked in this bloody room for the next week, proving yourself little better!”

Ah. His temper. He had been doing so well, but grief could only mute his rage for so long. Voldemort just didn’t know when to quit. 

Red eyes flared, and Voldemort stood, taking a step closer. “Have I laid a hand on you, Harry?” the Dark Lord demanded. “Have I raised my wand? You are in this room, a room in my Wing, because otherwise you would be in the dungeons where my followers could torture you at leisure. Would you prefer those accommodations? Would you say I, who feed you and give you books and never once pretend you are stupid, are worse than your muggles?”

Harry was taken aback. He had been here for over a month, and waiting to be tortured all the time—but he hadn’t been. The one time somebody cast in his direction, they writhed under the cruciatus while Harry watched on. 

He sighed, emotionally exhausted by both his story and the entire situation. Voldemort’s outrage pulsed in his temples. He raised his eyes to meet red, not bothering to stand. “Do I think you’re worse than the Dursley’s? No. But then again, I never have. And while I appreciate the lack of torture and being left alive well enough, a prison is still a prison. And this is mine.”

[jelly-originals]

★絶望 Character List★

Phoenix Wise High

Theodore Phoenix

The prince of the school.

Son of the headmaster, which makes him super popular but also puts incredibly amounts of stress on him.

Puts on a happy-go-lucky front to hide how depressed and lonely he is inside.

Due to his mother leaving him and his father when he was younger and his father's neglect of him, he's perpetually afraid of everyone around him leaving him if he's not good enough.

He works hard on his grades, often to the point of passing out, as he gets terrifying panic attacks if they're even a bit below perfect.

Reki Kagawa

The infamous loner of the school.

He has an extreme case of social anxiety, and being a late transfer student makes it extremely hard for him to talk at all at school.

His face is almost always passive as he learned a long time ago that it deters bullies better than anything else; it's incredibly rare to see him show any emotion on his face due to this.

His view of himself is perpetually warped due to years of bullying, which has lead to him often berating himself as boring and stupid.

He rarely has time for himself at all, as taking care of his sick mother and trying to keep up with school takes most of it.

Leopold Carnaby

The bad boy of the school.

Most people avoid his presence, especially at school, as he's known for flying into dangerous rages at people who even try to talk to him.

He has an immense hatred for his full name and calling him anything but Leo will get you a one way trip to the hospital.

Despite his outwards persona and anger issues, he's very soft with animals and children, often even helping the elderly around his neighbourhood.

Nobody knows what's actually going on with his family, though there are rumors that he's either homeless or that there's some abuse going on at his home that leads to him avoiding the place.

Milo Wagner

The smart bookworm of the school.

He's considered 'popular', if only because he's often the one who actually listens in class and thus has all the answers to tests and such.

Of course people often talk about him behind his back, but mostly due to his immense obliviousness he hasn't picked up on it.

He gets nervous when anyone asks about his family, though pretty much everyone has picked up that something's going on over there.

He's almost unhealthily skinny and never seems to eat anything, at least not around other people.

Royal Sunrise

Orpheus Draemdate

An artist who's detached from the world.

While he's incredibly in love with the world, it's mostly left at the aesthetic sense and he clearly views himself as an outsider when talking about the beauty he finds in everything.

While he's incredibly good at reading people and studying them, he doesn't truly understand the why and how of it.

He doesn't really have any friends or even acquaintances, as the most he talks to people is to ask to draw their portrait or when he gets commissions from people.

He doesn't spend a lot of time in his apartment when he doesn't have commissions to work on, and usually just wanders around the city in search of inspiration.

Daksh Mandal

A serious businessman with a workaholic streak.

He's perpetually tired and often on the verge of collapsing, as he tends to work himself to the bone as he perceives himself as having no purpose outside of his job.

He was previously married but his wife left him when his work became more and more important than her.

When he isn't working, most likely due to being forced to go home, he's at his apartment drinking tea and watching whatever happens to the on tv.

He used to be addicted to drugs before he got married to his wife. It used to be what he filled the void inside him before he started working and started using that as a replacement.

Lawrence Engelt

A clinically depressed hermit.

His father, largely the one thing connecting him to the rest of the world in any way, recently passed and Law inherited all of his money.

He leaves his apartment so rarely that sometimes the building's security guard is sent to check that he's still alive.

He has permanent dark circles under his eyes from his video game and energy drink addiction. He's especially fond of dating sims, most likely to fill his need for human contact and love.

He talks so little that his voice gets easily strained which makes his voice raspy and whispery.

Lazlo Farkas

An infamous serial killer.

He hates the world and everything that comes with it, but he hides it behind a charming and nice facade that makes everyone think that he's just another ordinary neighbour with a penchant for classical music.

He got his scars from his father, who was abusive to both him and his mother. His mother eventually ended up killing her husband and became a serial killer.

He listens to classical music while killing people since it reminds him of his mother and how it felt to be with her.

He has a habit of preserving his victims tongues in jars, as a way to 'remember' their last screams as they die.

La Dolce Vita Shopping Centre

Lennox Ashwell

An intimidating flowershop clerk.

Despite his looks and generally scary presence, he's actually a huge softie and is quite insecure about how people perceive him.

He often talks to the flowers at the shop when people aren't around, as other people don't really talk to him unless necessary.

His whole house is filled with various plants, as he has a tendency to take the dying ones with him to revitalize them. It makes him feel like he can actually do something good.

He's clearly had a troubled past that likely lead to his belief that he's no good, but he refuses to talk about it in any measure.

Shigeoki Nakayama

A barista with a grudge against his job.

He has a tendency to get stuck in customer service mode even outside of his job, as he's very aware that his prickly personality will just get him in trouble.

He's an alcoholic, coping with his shitty life and job by getting drunk at home, sometimes even on the job though he tries to avoid that when his superiors are around.

A lot of people hit on him on the job and even offer him their numbers, but his disgust at his job usually extends to the customers, who are clearly seeking to just spend the night with someone pretty.

He's a former street kid with hardly any skills other than bartending, so despite his hatred for his job he knows quitting isn't an option.

Ezra Nuit

A cheery jewelry shop clerk.

Due to being one of the longest lasting employees at the centre, he has a perpetual smile stuck on his face, that he seemingly can't take off even in his sleep.

His mother was one of the mysterious deaths in the shopping centre, when she fell through the glass ceiling of the jewelry shop while he was working there.

He always has jewelry on him, as he likes both feeling pretty and the attention he gets from it, likely stemming from having been a wallflower as a child to both his peers and family.

He lives with his younger sister now that his mother is dead, though neither of them spend that much time at home, much less at the same time. There's some tension there.

Iago

A bookshop keeper with a secret.

He has a calm and relaxed smile almost constantly on his face, though notably it isn't the same smile the rest of the shopping centre's employees have.

He always carries around a notebook, and while he on occassion writes in it when around people, nobody's ever read it.

He lives on the second floor of his bookshop, though people who've gotten in at night note that he never seems to sleep and that the shop gives off an eery feeling at night.

He's a bit arrogant when talked to, though his tone remains relaxed and teasing. He pretty clearly sees himself as being above other people in some way.

Black Spade Gang

Lucifer

The tough leader of the gang.

While to outsiders he comes off as sadistic and scary, to the members of his gang he acts like a reliable big brother.

He's a former orphan who founded the gang when he was 13, incidentally when he commited his first murder.

He keeps a pet snake around his neck at all times, a beautiful black Tiger Snake named Satan, who's extremely protective of him.

He has a particular fondness for getting into trouble, though he's very strict with his gang on where and what kind of trouble they can get into. He's very well aware he isn't the most dangerous thing in the city.

Luca

The clever second-hand man of Lucifer.

He's the brains of all their operations, being a master strategist and the only one out of the whole gang who's finished school.

He comes off as very kind, even to outsiders of the gang, and he knows how to take advantage of such presumptions. However, he's just as dangerous as the rest of them.

He comes from a well off family, but he was kicked out once he became too difficult for his parents to keep.

Lucifer is the one who introduced him to the life of crime when they were children, which is why he's extremely loyal to him.

Kit

The sweet looking maniac.

He's been with the gang for about as long as he can remember, and isn't really interested in anything outside of the little world he's created with his family.

He's always willing to go with whatever plans Lucifer may have, though he also has a tendency to go overboard with the violence so he's usually supervised by someone.

Despite his violent tendencies, he has a love for all things cute and fluffy and in fact often can't resist stealing things that fit the description if he sees them.

He's only calmed from his rampages if he's given his favorite stuffed animal, a little red fox named "Paddy".

Magnus

The silent muscle of the gang.

He's virtually mute, and usually communicates with grunts or charades. However, the rest of the gang seems to understand him just fine even without those.

Lucifer picked him up a few months after the gang was started, when he almost died in a scuffle he'd been pulled into by some kids who found him creepy.

He's very good at soothing the younger gang members, and is usually in charge of Kit. He also seems to always have something nice in his pockets, like candy.

He's very strong, capable of snapping someone's neck easily. In fact, he's done so on several occassions though usually it's to protect the other members.

Primrose Preparatory Academy

Enma Mephisto

A fellow yandere who pretends to be perfect.

He lives with his aunt, as his parents killed themselves when he was a child. Due to this he's desperate to please everyone around him, especially his aunt who always wanted a perfect little boy to dote on.

He's on top of the schools hierarchy, and is almost desperate to keep it that way which insentives him to keep the perfect facade on even more.

As he craves validation from the people around him, he sometimes goes to extremes to get it which has often resulted in him getting hurt.

The player, as the first person to see through his facade, grows into an immense obsession for him that he would be willing to do anything for.

Quincy Heverdoth

A crossdresser who's at the bottom of the school hierarchy.

Despite the harsh bullying he faces and the constant pressure from his mother to succeed and stop being who he is, he has an immense love for life.

He's physically very fragile and often sports more than a few bandages as his bullies tend to forget how easily he gets hurt.

He suffers from bulimia, as it's been drilled into his head that he has to look perfect for his family's reputation, which manifested in immense body dysphoria.

He cries a lot, from the slightest emotion he feels be it good or bad. Needless to say it's made him an even easier to pick on.

Mordecai Quintrell

An almost completely emotionless heir to a large conglomerate.

He's set to inherit his father's company in about a year and thus he's in a hurry to graduate and learn the ropes.

He doesn't have time for social interractions beyond business, but despite this he's popular at the academy as people admire his strong silent character.

He doesn't really know what he likes, as he's never had the time to figure himself or his personality out. All he's ever had to be is the heir to his father's company.

He's very good at reading people, but only in the business sense. His emotional intelligence when it comes to other people and himself is about zero.

Colin Stratton

A country pumpkin who recently came into a lot of money.

He's from out of city, and thus is unfamiliar with the societal expectations he has on him all of a sudden. Due to this most of the students tend to look down on him.

He's had very minimal education before coming to the academy and thus works extra hard to catch up. While this causes him immense stress, he tries to keep a positive outlook.

He's physically stronger than most people at the academy from years of farm work, and thus the students are slightly afraid to even try and bully him.

He's not used to being alone, so since the student body of the academy mostly avoid him he's very lonely at the school and is always looking for any excuse to chat with anyone.

Velvet Apple

Dae Kim

The "calm leader" of the group.

Outside of his stage persona, he's pretty energetic and the partying type. In fact, going to parties and engaging in reckless behaviour has grown into a bit of an addiction for him.

In recent years he's started caring less and less about his image, but some part of him is still afraid to disappoint all of his fans and ruin his career.

He's the most costly member of the group, mostly because they have to keep paying people to keep silent about his shenanigans.

He has an immense fear of darkness, and often sleeps in the same bed as one of his group mates so that he doesn't get nightmares from the darkness around them.

Sook Dang

The "innocent baby" of the group.

His actual personality is very foul and even hateful at times, as his time in the idol industry has left him pretty disillusioned with the world.

He often takes it upon himself to protect the rest of the group and despite his hatred for his stage persona, he'll play it up if it gets them out of uncomfortable situations.

He's the least comfortable in the group with showing his skin, and no one in the group knows why since at the start he was often in more revealing clothing to show off his cuteness.

He has a younger brother he has to take care of, which is why he's never really even thought of quitting or disobeying his manager and bosses.

Touyou Endo

The "playboy" of the group.

He's surprisingly innocent and naive, and the rest of the group are pretty intent on keeping it that way.

His parents, who were also idols, arranged for him to be a part of the group, and his immense fear of them keeps him from quitting.

He suffers from extreme insomnia, often not sleeping for days at a time. He wears a lot of makeup to cover up the effects of it.

While he isn't a fan of his career, he loves travelling and seeing new places. In fact, it's a dream of his to just travel the world without the pressure of being an idol.

Vasili Galkin

The "tough silent guy" of the group.

Actually a huge chatterbox, often to the point where his group mates have to physically keep him from talking while they're in public.

Considered the "exotic one" of the group, which he finds a bit weird, especially considering he isn't from a country that would be considered "exotic".

Only one of the group to speak more than one language, which makes him the translator of the group even if it's a bit hard to navigate.

Being part of the group is his ticket to permanently staying in the country, so his options for leaving the group are extremely limited.

Angelcare Hospital

Cyrus Leigh

The rough and uncaring doctor.

He specializes in the terminally ill patients, though he also has surgical training which he's immensely proud of.

Most of the staff is a bit scared of him, as it's a pretty well known fact that he can and will get people fired if they get in his way.

He isn't necessarily sadistic nor intentionally hurtful to his patients, he just doesn't view human life as worth caring for as a whole.

The only reason he became a doctor is because he knew it's a respected career choice and people would admire him for it.

Ira Banes

The sweet nurse with a dark secret.

Most everyone who comes into contact with him think him just the sweetest person alive and all of his patients trust him way more than any of the other staff.

Of course, his persona's all a ruse in order to get close to his patients before he kills them. This way no one ever suspects him.

He's extremely fascinated by dying people, which is why he became a nurse, and he desperately wants to know what it's like to die.

He keeps a diary of all his patients, up until the day they die. He has a whole cabinet full of them and he often sits around and reads them when he has free time.

He got fascinated with death when his mother accidentally slipped and hit her head, leading to a slow and painful death that Ira observed for several hours, never alerting anyone until it was over.

Narihito Glen

The patient who's been sick his whole life.

He's lived pretty much always in a hospital, dispersed with the few times he was allowed to go home when he was thought healthy only to be carted back into his hospital room.

His family has pretty much given up on him ever getting better, and they rarely even come to visit him and he doesn't really have any friends either, at least ones who last long.

Nobody's sure how long he still has, as nobody truly knows what's wrong with him, but he's outlived all previous estimates so he's a bit hopeful of living a long life.

He's not always in pain, but most of the time he's at least mildly uncomfortable or pained. In fact, most of his treatment boils down to lots and lots of painkillers.

Darling

???

Saves the player from a car crash at the start of the game and falls into a coma as a result. No one has any clue as to who he is.

His doctor's pretty sure that if he ever wakes up, he himself won't know who he is.

Sometimes mumbles in his sleep, though it never makes any sense, but at least it means he isn't brain dead.

Spider Lily Orphan Home

Reuben Aranha

The head supervisor of the orphanage.

Under constant stress to even keep the place running and taking care of the children, which doesn't help his already bad temper with them.

His family has owned the orphanage for generations. It's currently officially owned by his mother, but he's set to inherit it soon.

He truly cares for all the children at the orphanage, he just isn't the best with children and would most certainly not ever have taken this job if it wasn't his responsibility to do so.

He's aware that the orphanage and his family has some big secret to it, but he doesn't yet know what it is. He's been told he'll learn it when he owns the place.

Minekiyo

The eldest of the orphans.

He's always running after the younger children, helping Reuben take care of them, even going out of his way to get them out of trouble if something happens.

He's been at the orphanage his whole life, as he was abandoned there by his parents. Due to this, he considers Reuben a big brother and his mother his own mother.

He often ignores his own health and well-being for the sake of others, even if they don't deserve his help or sacrifice.

He's picked up a lot of skills while living at the orphanage, as they're almost completely self-sustaining and someone has to take care of the household chores.

Lysander

The delinquent type who hates the orphanage.

He's only been at the orphanage for a few years, as he arrived when his parent's died mysteriously and none of his family members wanted to take him in.

He has about no actual social skills, as he's always been a difficult child and his parent's thought it better to keep him away from other children.

He's not particularly violent, he just doesn't understand how to be around children or even most adults, and thus sometimes unintentionally hurts him.

Most of the kids at the orphanage consider him an outsider and he pretends not to care about it.

Kiku

The cheery arsonist.

He's been around for a good ten years, though no one at the orphanage knows anything about him despite it.

There's lots of rumors as to why he's at the orphanage, though the most widely accepted is that he killed his parents by setting their house on fire, but no one could prove it.

He doesn't really know how to do anything, as he's been largely restricted from helping around in fear that it will lead to a fire.

He keeps getting a hold of matches and lighters, and nobody knows how. Reuben has a large box of all his conficted fire hazards.

He frequently tries to set his own hair on fire, and his hands are permanently scarred and hurting.

Molchalin Family

Vladimir Molchalin

The head of the family.

He's an eccentric inventor, always coming up with new ideas and machines, most of which are scattered all around the manor.

He's very easily excitable, and tends to run around and shout whenever something surprising and/or exciting happens.

He's very affectionate with everyone, including strangers, but most of all his children. His youngest child, his only daughter, tends to get the brunt of it.

He never talks about his former wife, but he doesn't seem too bothered by her rather mysterious passing.

Anatoli Molchalin

The eldest son of the family.

He has a rather morbid sense of humor, and sports an impressive collection of taxidermied animals which he has made himself.

He has a very mischievous personality, often teasing and pestering his younger siblings much to their chagrin.

He's the closest in personality to his father, and seems to have an unfathomable hatred for his mother whom he refuses to talk about.

He's often around to encourage his younger siblings' hobbies and ambitions, doing anything he can to help them.

Naum Molchalin

The second son of the family.

He has an odd way of showing his affection, which is to try and murder the people close to him in increasingly elaborate ways.

He used to be his mother's favorite child, though the feeling has never seemed to be mutual. According to the people who know him, he got a lot more lively after his mother's death.

Despite being more "lively", he rarely exhibits any emotion on his face aside from boredom or occassional annoyance.

He rarely actually spends time with anyone, though if his siblings pester him enough he'll follow them around to do whatever, especially to Nadenka.

Sasha Molchalin

The third son of the family.

He's very daydreamy, and never seems to be aware of what's going on around him, though with the help of his family and servants he really never gets hurt.

Usually he spends his time in the garden, surrounded by all the butterflies and small animals that live there. He often naps at the base of his favorite willow tree.

He doesn't seem to even remember their mother, though notably he was always her least favorite and hardly spent time with her.

He has a weird tendency to find the oddest spots in the house to nap in, some that seem almost impossible to get to, especially for someone so unaware of their surroundings.

DeVille Family

Dario DeVille

The surprisingly sweet and cheerful boss of the family.

Most people tend to underestimate him, as they perceive him as "soft" and "kind", especially compared to his father who used to be a feared and ruthless boss.

He doesn't think that being cruel to his subordinates will get him anything, but that doesn't mean that he isn't willing to get his hands dirty if needed.

In a fight he's absolutely terrifying, though most people don't know about that since he's usually stopping fights rather than participating in them.

He knows how to use several different kinds of weapons, though he's most efficient with small firearms.

Clemente Galante

The serious and seemingly sadistic underboss.

He's pretty much always by Dario's side, only straying when ordered to or for his personal time, though even then he has to be forced to take it.

He's extremely neat and gets nervous if anything is out of place or doesn't go according to plan, which often ends in him tugging at his hair frantically.

It's rumored that he has a secret torture chamber in the basement of the DeVille family manor, though no one has ever found it.

He's very efficient with throwing knifes, though he himself prefers a bigger arsenal, like machine guns and rifles even if he's not particularly good with them.

Elio Sorbello

The clever & power hungry capo.

He only recently became a capo, after the unsolved murder of his former superior, though he's been a part of the family itself for most of his life.

Expert in poisons of all kinds, but he keeps it a secret as he'd rather people not know that he has the ability to poison them at any moment.

He ended up as part of the DeVille mafia as payment for his parents debts to them. Coming from relative poverty, he's always had a craving for the finer things in life.

He's the most outwardly ruthless of the more important family members, having made it very clear that he's willing to do anything if it gets him influence and power.

Vittorio Caito

The boss' cousin and a popular stripper.

He goes by his mother's maiden name since, while being part of the family, he lives a pretty separate life style from them, professionally speaking.

He's never had that much interest in the family business, which led to him passing his opportunity for being the boss to his older cousin.

He's still trained in fighting, and keeps a small knife strapped to his thigh at all times. That said, he's very slim and relatively weak, so he usually has a bodyguard tailing him.

He became a stripper pretty much only because it gives him attention and validation on his looks, which he views as his one strong point.

Heavenly Breath Church

Malachi Gallagher

A devout priest.

Came to faith after a near death experience he believes he was saved from by an angel. He left behind his previously borderline criminal life and became ordained shortly after.

He believes on occassion his dreams are prophetic and straight from God, as they've shown him the future and heaven.

He's very charismatic and can keep the attention of a room indefinitely, even though previous to joining the church he used to be rather soft-spoken and barely aknowledged.

Carries around a small cross with a secret knife in it, that he on occassion cuts his hand with for some reason.

Raphael Angelica

An angelical music director.

He's pretty much always available at the church, and many suspect that he lives there though he adamantly denies such claims.

Tends to hang around Malachi a lot, especially during services and events. They're always whispering together, which at one point led the members of the church to believe that they're in a relationship.

He has an extremely pretty voice, which is often described as sounding like an angel's choir, though he doesn't tend to sing a lot.

He's always helping the members of the church with anything he can, way beyond his actual duties. He might as well be an angel.

Asa Drued

A very gorgeous gardener of the church.

He's not actually particularly religious, or even a member of the church, he just works there and since he loves the church's garden he's perfectly happy staying there.

Many of the church members consider him an outsider, though it doesn't stop them from being enchanted with his looks.

He doesn't seem to be aware of just how pretty he is, though he's more than happy to receive compliments and get to know people because of them.

He's generally pretty friendly but he's often seen as unapproachable because of the way he looks, so he doesn't have many social contacts.

Micah Dulcie

A choir member with an innocent aura.

He's very gullible and his "friends" often convince him of ridiculous stuff or get him to do something silly to embarrass him.

He's a somewhat distant descendant of the church's founders, so he's considered an important part of it even and somewhat influencal in the going-on's of the church.

He carries around a small cross that he clutches when he feels afraid or nervous, given to him by Raphael.

His parents have always kept him under their strict watch, so he's not very knowleadgable about the world outside the church.

Gigglemug Psychiatric Hospital

Jahi Ayad

The lethargic head psychiatrist of the hospital.

He takes his study of the human mind very seriously and prides himself in his work, though notably his ability to discern actual human suffering is severely diminished due to his one track mind.

He's enjoys doing all sorts of experiments on people, and isn't afraid to get his hands dirty in his pursuit of knowledge and science.

He's perpetually tired & sleep deprived since he barely sleeps and tends to work until he collapses on his desk.

He's averse to modern technology, due to his belief that for things to work properly people have to be in direct contact with their subjects.

Kai Elton

The gentle security guard.

He always tries to treat the patients with patience, even if the doctor's at the facility get a bit annoyed and tell him to hurry up.

He hasn't been working at the hospital for long, and thus isn't all that aware of the worst of what's done there.

He often brings flowers from his own garden for the calmer residents, which makes him very likeable among the patients.

While he's originally from the city, he hasn't lived there for most of his life as his parents thought it better to not raise a child there. They were still quite against him moving back.

Tavi Vass / D'artagnan

The long time patient with a "volatile" case of DID.

Tavi is the host and core of the body, he doesn't remember what caused his DID. He tends to be a bit moody and quiet, but generally agreeable and sociable.

D'artagnan is a persecutor and non-human alter. He holds most of the trauma memories of the system but absolutely refuses to talk about it. He views himself as above other beings, especially humans, and can be violent to both others and the body.

Vevina is a caretaker alter, who's very careful with her words and actions, especially when it comes to Tavi and Cookie. She can be threatening if need be, but generally tries to make nice with everyone.

Cookie is a little alter, about 5 years old, and fronts very rarely. He's a bit shy but knows to be sweet to everyone since Vevina is, and he listens to adults as much as he can.

Kaita Ito

The patient with Dependent Personality Disorder.

His DPD is very severe and leaves him incapable of making the slightest of decisions, which is why he ended up at Gigglemug after his parents got tired of taking care of him.

His DPD is largely the result of his parents deciding and doing everything for him as a child, never allowing him to develop an identity beyond them.

He often neglects his own health as the doctors at the hospital aren't actually too interested in helping him, just observing and studying him.

Most of the other patients know that he's easy to take advantage of him, and the crueler ones of the bunch often get him to do stuff that will get him in trouble, which leads him to panic attacks.

Wainwright Detective Agency

Ariel Wainwright

The hardened head detective.

He's the only adult member of the Wainwright family left, as everyone but his 13-year old cousin are dead under semi-mysterious circumstances.

While he always seems calm and collected no matter the situation, he often has breakdowns in the privacy of his home or office from the pressure of being pretty much the only true facet of justice left in the city.

His knowledge of how corrupt the city truly is has lead him down some dark paths in the past, but he's sworn to himself to not become that person again.

He has a loyal pet dog named Sebastian that follows him around everywhere. He's actually a service dog that helps him keep his emotions stable.

Langston Hayes

The eccentric partner of Ariel.

He spends most of his time lounging casually around the office, usually in the strangest outfits.

He gets on Ariel's nerves constantly, but he's a good and just detective and can't be let go just for his eccentricities.

He was unofficially adopted by Ariel's father, the former head detective, after his parents died and Ariel's father was assigned to the case.

He has a talent for making people feel at ease around him and reveal all their secrets to him if he so wishes.

Sonny Ejiri

The newbie of the agency.

He's from outside the city and so isn't all that used to the violent and horrific crimes that happen there, at least not the amount.

He's a go-getter, but the silent type who'll listen to orders given to him dutifully unless he thinks it's an emergency.

Everyone tends to always underestimate him, even Ariel, because of his pretty face and small figure, but he's actually experienced in Judo and Bōjutsu.

He's not entirely used to the case process, especially not talking to people and he tends to get flustered when he has to do something new.

Lincoln Deantown

The serious secretary of the agency.

He has a very no-nonsense way with the agency, always keeping the three detectives in check and making sure they're doing everything by the book.

He's always making meals for everyone at the agency, be it the three detectives, witnesses, clients, or even the lesser criminals. In general, he tends to try and take care of everyone in his own gruff way.

He has a very intricate filing system in his little cabinet wall, and if anyone who isn't him touches it he is willing to break some bones.

He goes to anger-management therapy for his personality issues, as Ariel insisted he take them in order to be able to work at the agency.

Yokomura Family

Musashita Yokomura

The wise head of the family.

He's a very traditional man and tries to keep the family's secrets and traditions alive, even if it were to cost him his life.

He's the third generation leader of the family, and was born outside the city. He was only two years old when they moved in, so he doesn't remember much of the outside world.

He doesn't have the ability to feel compassion for humans, as he's been trained since he was born to simply kill.

He loves his two children, and while he can no longer do anything for his older son who's already been trained, he tries to prevent his younger son from becoming a monster like them.

Yoriu Yokomura

The emotionless eldest son who unlocks his yandere streak with the player.

He doesn't understand the emotions of others or his own, often leading to him saying or doing hurtful things without understanding why people get upset.

The first emotion he's ever understood is his "love" for the player, as explained to him by his father, which makes him unable to let go of them.

He's an expert in bladed weapons, just as his father is expert in poisons and his brother in technology.

He's the most mysterious member of the family, as nobody outside the manor has seen his face and lived.

Kitsuya Yokomura

The family's tech wizard adopted son.

He was adopted by Musashita when he was 5, possibly as a way to try and repent even in the slightest for his career.

He spends most of his time in his room, which is filled with screens and computers, along with other pieces of high-tech technology.

He's never killed anyone with his own hands, but he helps his father and brother by gathering intel and acting as a remote lookout.

He's a bit spoiled since his father wants to provide for him as much as he can and the servants are afraid to deny him in fear of his older brother.

Yasuki

The loyal & skilled head butler of the family.

His family has been serving the Yokomura's longer than anyone could trace back, possibly to the start of both families careers. Due to this, he knows nothing else than being loyal to the Yokomura's.

He started quite young, as his father who was the previous head butler died during a mission and someone from their family needed to replace him.

He takes care of the ten guard dogs of the manor, and considers it to be the highlight of his day.

He acts like a true gentleman and servant no matter the situation, even when killing or in danger.

Devil Hill House

Samael Teivel

The master of the house.

He only appears in his office when it's raining, always looking out the large windows to the surrounding forest.

He speaks in riddles, often so incomprehensible and removed from reality that they're impossible to decipher.

The story has it that he made a deal with the devil or a dark spirit of somekind when he was alive, and he and his house got burned down for it.

He seems extremely interested in sweets, as they're the only thing that can lure him out of his office if only for a moment.

Belial

The being in the mirror.

If people look into the reflective surfaces in the house, their reflection slowly turns into his form and they are driven insane by looking into his eyes.

He's possibly the dark spirit who made a deal with Samael, but he doesn't aknowledge questions about the house and inhabitants before it became haunted.

He always knows what's happening inside the house, often telling the other residents when there are intruders in their areas. The only room he won't go in is the main office.

He clearly enjoys messing with intruders more than the others, his laughter often echoing throughout the house as they're being tormented.

Faust & Mephisto

The pair of twins in the hallway.

They always move in perfect sync, mirroring each other and talking together to make their voice echo.

They walk around the hallways of the house, and on occassion enter a room that was clearly theirs when they were still alive.

Most people couldn't possibly tell the twins apart, despite them being mirror twins. Even when they were alive they were impossibly similar, which often annoyed them.

During the night they'll sing lullabies to each other, taking turns until they fall asleep and then disappear.

???

The thing in the basement.

He doesn't seem to be capable of talking, only communicating through growls and yelps. Often his howls can be heard through the forest, leading people to the house.

He refuses to leave the basement, and people who go into the basement don't often come back. In fact, most of the other residents usually herd intruders in there to get rid of them.

Sometimes he looks out the small window in the basement, especially when it snows though he'll avoid everything that comes from through the broken window.

He's constantly starving, only eating when intruders arrive as there is no other food in the house.

Fanfare Fits Carnival

Lockhart

The weird ringmaster of the carnival.

He speaks in a very grandiose way even outside the ring, his powerful voice grapping the attention of passerby's easily to lure them into the carnival grounds.

While he himself doesn't really do acts during the shows, he clearly directs the other performers and often springs suprise tricks on them to amaze the audience.

He's very boisterous and enjoys the spotlight, but his willingness to do anything to keep the carnival running comes from his love for it, as both his home and family.

He was raised with the travelling carnival, his parents being former performers before they died during a show and the previous ringmaster adopted him.

Arion Crystalion

The grand-star of the show, a magician.

While not performing his shows in the main tent, he has a small personal tent where he reads people's futures and gives them life advice.

He joined the carnival a couple of years before they settled in the city, though he seems awfully familiar with the place.

He doesn't talk about his past before the carnival, and is incredibly protective of the only thing he had with him when he joined, a crystal ball.

The rest of the performers admire him a lot for the things he's capable of doing, though some of them are incredibly jealous of his star-status.

Thingamajig

The creepy clown.

Nobody remembers when he joined the carnival, and people in general have a hard time remembering anything about him when he's not present.

He likes handing out balloons and treats to the people exploring the carnival grounds, though most who take them disappear shortly after.

He rarely talks, and when he does people can never agree on if his voice is high-pitched or low and gravelly.

Children seem to trust him a lot for some odd reason, and he often escorts them around the carnival, showing off all the attractions.

Andromeda

The beautiful carousel ride sculpture.

He sits inside one of the carriages on the carousel, originally there to make lone riders feel less alone.

He thinks he came to life shortly after the carnival came to the city, though his memory is hazy.

He loves watching the quests ride on the carousel, though his longing to talk to them only grows larger with every spin the carousel makes.

He has never actually talked or moved much, afraid of someone discovering him and getting rid of him. He loves his carousel home too much to leave it behind.

Wraithfeat Cemetery

Jade Eidolon

The odd undertaker.

He speaks very slowly and lethartically, often devolving into mumbling and whispers if he speaks longer than a couple of words.

He lives at his shop at the very edge of the cemetery, and only ever leaves the place to do his job inside the cemetery. He never steps a foot outside the cemetery gates.

He avoids talking to people as much as possible, as he considers them to be terrifying and dark creatures since he only ever sees them in the throes of sadness which often turns to anger.

People tend to be very uncomfortable in his shop, as it's always a bit dusty and the shelfs are filled with jars of unknown substances and strange taxidermied creatures. Not to speak of the opossum people swear is alive but can never catch moving.

Shi

The shade who hangs around the cemetery.

He's usually seen sitting a top the brickwall surrounding the cemetery, around the main gates.

Normal people can't see him, but they can feel him looking at him and if he happens to touch them they'll get intense goosebumps.

He was born from the dark negative emotions of the people visiting the cemetery, so he doesn't really understand or experience positive things.

Everytime someone brings flowers to someone's grave, he'll take one from the bunch and stash it away in his private collection.

Luan Quy

The unaffected caretaker of the cemetery.

He doesn't believe in the supernatural so he doesn't really think there's anything odd going on in the cemetery, plus his iron-nerves, makes him perfect for his job.

He's the only person taking care of the cemetery besides Jade, who fears him a lot, so he's usually busy cleaning gravestones or weeding the flowerbeds.

Somehow he's very social outside of his job, though most people do think him a bit weird for taking the job, no matter how essential and well paying it is.

Despite the job being pretty well paying, most of his money is sent to his family so he lives in a small cheap apartment near the cemetery.

Peregrine

Odd bird-like fellow who regularly visits the cemetery.

He always visits the same grave, at the very back of the cemetery who's headstone is broken and overgrown.

He's often followed around by a flock of crows, who assist him with whatever he's doing and bring him fun little trinkets.

He seems to disappear when he leaves the cemetery, only the flock of crows left behind to fly off.

He tends to avoid talking to the other visitors, though the ones who've managed to catch him say he's quite a pleasant fellow.

Crystal Mirror Club

Lazarus Rhodestone

A mischievous and seductive vampire.

In modern words, he'd probably be called a 'playboy' but he despises it and insists that he's simply 'someone who enjoys things life throws at him'.

Despite the fact that he can't actually get drunk, with the amount he drinks he could technically be considered an alcoholic.

He often tells grand tales of travelling the world, living in a dark mansion where he was free to torment travellers and the villagers who fear him, though he doesn't like talking about why he's now in the city, not in a grand mansion or a dark castle.

He keeps a locket on him at all times, that he's extremely protective of and never takes off for anything.

Hamao Fujiki

A socially awkward jorogumo singer.

The only time he feels confident is on the club's stage, though unfortunately for him that confidence translates into his magic seduction abilities and usually leaves him swarmed with admirers.

He lives at the back of the club in a small room Amadeus arranged for him when he first started working there.

He used to live in the forest, but something drove him out and forced him into the city. where he was found by Amadeus and take in.

He tends to cover his face with his signature scarf when going out, not only to hide his otherworldly appearance but also to stop his seduction abilities from accidentally activating.

Amadeus Octave

An incubus who owns the club.

He's owned the club for about 250 years, though back then it was a completely different sort of establishment.

Because of his way with human emotions and dreams, he's particularly sensitive to people and their blights and can't turn away hurting people.

He has a special room in the back that he sometimes brings people into, but nobody knows what happens in there as the people who go in never remember when coming out.

He has a collection of sketchbooks, full of potraits of different people and places, presumably ones he's met and been to.

Gratie van Helsing

A clumsy and silly monster hunter.

While his style of speech is usually whimsical and playful, but on occassion it will drop down to a dramatic drawl, lead on by ominous warnings and mutterings.

He usually presents himself as a simple doctor from a foreign land, who travels looking for a place to settle.

His whole entire family are and have been monster hunters, most of them believing they're descendants of the van Helsing. Whether or not this is true is debatable.

He's a bit reckless when it comes to his job, often rushing into things without thinking about he consequences first.

Holdem Forest

Moriki

A mischievous tanuki.

He often hangs around the entrances to the forest, pranking visitors by taking on ghostly forms or a friendly face, leading them astray.

He isn't a cruel person, he simply knows that the more haunted the forest seems, the less people will want to seriously harm the place.

A lot of the forest folk know him and appreciate him for protecting the forest, often popping by for crackers and tea.

He's not originally from the forest, he came there looking for his brother who he believes is somehow living in the city.

Nishith

A bit too friendly naga.

He's extremely curious about humans, despite the fact that every member of his family has warned him against them.

He has a small territory he lives in that he never leaves, even if he desperately wants to explore the rest of the forest and beyond it.

He's unfortunately oblivious to his own dangerousness, like his poison fangs and strong tail, which more often than not ends in a dead little friend.

While he's very intelligent, especially for someone who's grown up in a forest, but he's very easily distracted and forgets to think when excited.

Valdemar

A lonely and elusive näkki.

Usually he appears to people as a beautiful horse to lure them into his pond, but his 'real' form is that of a beautiful but corpse-like man.

Even the other residents of the forest fear him and avoid his home pond, and he considers it to be best this way, as he can't help his nature and thus would be a danger to them.

He's very protective of his precious violin, though if someone were to bring him a specific kind of gift [three drops of blood, a black animal, or vodka] he'll gladly teach them to play it.

As calling him by his name is the only way to kill him, he never tells it to people unless he absolutely 100 percent trusts them, which has never happened.

Oberon

Fae king of the Unseelie court.

He often rides through the forest with his entourage, causing mischief to travellers, especially if encountered head on.

He has a blood feud with the Queen of the Seelie court, Titania. No one in either court knows why, though there's rumors of a love triangle.

As he's incapable of lying, he's gotten very good with words to entice and entrap people with.

He loves stories, especially interesting and new ones, and they're a good way to get out of his bad favor or not end up kidnapped by him. Or it'll make him want to kidnap you more, he's a bit unpredictable.

Death Parade Offices

Bela

The God of Death.

He is the CEO of the Death Parade Corporation, along with his brother Valentin, though he's clearly the more responsible one.

He doesn't understand living creatures, especially love and feelings of affection, though he's indefinitely curious about them.

He has a small black french bulldog named "Surma" who follows him everywhere and often fetches stuff for him.

He's very conscious of his appearance, as he's a bit paranoid of humans finding out who he is. He's very aware of the human opinion on death.

Valentin

The God of Love.

The other CEO of the Death Parade Corporation, the whole thing being originally his idea to hide both his and his brother's jobs.

He's always been the more popular brother, so he's very social and popular among the mortals around them.

He has a large white Norwegian Forest Cat named "Psyche" who usually lounges on a luxurious pillow in his office.

He's capable of possessing people to help people with their love life, though he usually leaves such stuff to his employees.

Aeron

Reaper just trying to do his job.

He pretty much fuels himself with coffee, being a worrying regular in the coffee shop near the offices. 19 shots of expresso.

He usually rides around doing his job on a white, sleek motorcycle, a sharp contrast to his black and pink office suit.

His co-workers like to often remind him of his rebellious phase before the company was established, when he was wild and reckless.

He has a stuffed bunny on his desk in his office, which he tries to desperately hide from people, not wanting to ruin his serious image.

Desi

The cupid to be blamed for all of this.

He loves experimenting with his job, which usually results in good things, at worst a few broken hearts.

He often spends time sleeping on fainting couch in his office while he's supposed to be doing paperwork, much to Aeron's chagrin.

He often gets away with a lot of his nonsense because of his cute and innocent face, and his very convincing apologies.

He's pretty notorious for being the reason for a lot of minor tragedies of the past, and despite people pointing it out he ignores it and continues his nonsense.

[a-very-fond-farewell]

The forbidden crack! Untamed prompts: 25/?

Gaming Chat AU [xuexiao + songxiao = ?]: “Lie to Me”

[tw cyber bullying; tw use of slurs; tw fake suicide mention; there’s a redemption arc, but it starts with 15yo Xue Yang being... well, himself I guess. so be warned.]

[attn!: I don’t know shit about playing games and going to quests with strangers on the internet so bear with me. if you feel inspired by this please, by all means, feel free to use this prompt and write something and then tag me so I can read it and reblog it!]

[enjoy!]

*

It’s been 15 years since that idiotic intern at the school counseling center suggested him to... what did he say? “Channel his anger in something productive”. And then tried to talk Meng Shi into purchasing a fucking computer to let him “get off some steam” by killing fictional people instead of smashing actual valuable objects like, say, the principal’s Mercedes with a stolen golf club, or, the nurse’s desk with a fire extinguisher back in middle school.

Good thing Su She had disappeared under mysterious circumstances after Xue Yang had surreptitiously let the intern’s uni professor know in a detailed email how the aspiring counselor had suggested him (a sweet innocent 15 year old) to use his new computer to watch porn instead of focusing on his studies. Song Lan was much better than him, and bitchier too, which was fine by Xue Yang anyway. Not that he cared.

What good had that stupid glorified television brought him in the end? Most of the computers at school had become intimately familiar with many a malware and virus already with how frequently he used to browse through the deep web. The ones at the local library had let him in on the secrets of 4ch*n since the tender age of 8. Hell, even his pediatrician had made the glorious mistake to leave him alone in her office one merry day of winter when he discovered the wonders of x-rated videos.

But Meng Shi had tried to cheer him up anyway, buying him that stupid thing. Working her ass off at the bar trying to make social services forget she used to be a stripper back in the days. All to provide a place for children in foster care to feel safe, the stupid hag. Xue Yang wasn’t fucking stupid, he knew she was collecting money for every kid ever stepping inside her ratty flat. He knew that she would have never adopted anyone for real because she already had a son and she was working to send him to university anyway.

Yet, she had come home one day with a big smile on her youngish and bland face, hoisting up the heavy computer in a box, and told Xue Yang to share it with his siblings. Yeah, fuck that. That little bitch A-Qing was even worse than him, and she probably used to sell feet-pictures recycled from the internet to disgusting men online. To this day Xue Yang is none the wiser and he doesn’t need to know what that fucking witch had been up to at 14. XuanYu would have used the computer to stream and torrent shit nonstop to sell at school even if he was only, like, 12. Qin Su was 15 like him and she would have been tempted to set up a fucking YT channel and subject him and XuanYu to whatever scientific experiment she would have come up with. And Meng Yao had too much embarrassing blackmail material on Xue Yang already, he didn’t need to have access on his erased search history after digging gods-knows for how long.

Ahah no. No thanks.

But detention got him occupied for so long by cutting library books pages down to papermen without getting bored out of his mind. And he did have his fun that one time when he caught a pervert with a hand down his pants when they chatted on Om*gle after Xue Yang had catfished him good by pretending to be a girl. Got everything on tape and published the whole interaction on the school website for everyone to see. Which had been appropriate at the time, given that the man had been part of the board of directors. Fittingly hilarious too.

Still, boredom loomed over him like a quilt of sadness on summer break and he had been tempted to log in and play games in the end. Nobody wanted him in their stupid ass teams anyway, with him having higher kill counts than them and all, not following tactics and so on. Whatever.

Until one day user shuan_ghua naively trusted Xue Yang when the other assured him that “teabagging“ was just a fancy slang for ordering a cup of jasmine tea. The 17 year old boy named Xiao XingChen had thanked him for teaching something new to him and then proceeded to ask him to join his one-man-party out of fucking nowhere.

Everything changed after that.

[more under the cut. it’s long long tho]

XXC family!:

XXC is 17 at the beginning of the story and he used to live with his mother Baoshan [i know that “Sanren” and “Daoren” are titles, but in absence of a real surname I will use them as such for this prompt. feel free to change that if you take inspiration from this post to write your take on the story] and the rest of their family on a mountain before they moved back to the city in Gusu.

XXC’s mother was barely 20 when she got married the first time and her first son Daoren YanLing was born. two years later her husband died and she travelled a lot afterwards, adopting 4yo CanSe when she was 25. then she married again at 41, had XXC at 44, and then divorced at 48.

CanSe eloped with ChangZe when she was 18 and got WWX at 20, the same year her own mother got married again (at 41).

BaoShan got XXC three years later (at 44).

hence, WWX is 3 whole ass years older than XXC despite being his nephew. both boys find the thing absolutely hilarious.

YanLing and CanSe are only 1 year apart and they still bicker nonstop. both of them went to school with Lan QiRen and his older brother and frequently got in fights back in the days at Gusu.

(if YanLing had a thing for Lan QiRen, well, nobody has to know)

XXC, being the baby of his family, is doted on by YanLing and brought to mischief by CanSe until XXC’s father divorces their mother and they move on the mountain along with ChangZe and 7yo WWX.

up on the mountain BaoShan works as a tour guide and she takes baby XXC and WWX on hikes along with tourists to admire the beauty of the scenery.

XXC’s sight starts deteriorating when he is 12 and WWX is 15. they have been homeschooled until then, so when it gets clear XXC will not improve much so far away from proper healthcare, the whole family moves back to the city in Gusu.

XXC is not comfortable leaving his new home, not with all those new noises and flashing lights. WWX is drawn to them instead, more than happy to enroll in school, where he meets JC and he realizes the boy is the son of CanSe’s middle school boyfriend. WWX declares them to be almost-brothers and is perfectly fine with adopting even JC’s older sister in the family and CanSe can only laugh at that. JC and YanLi visit XXC often as a result and they help him make sense of the new environment without stressing him too much.

YanLing finds a job as a cook in WWX’s school and he is back to making Lan QiRen’s life impossible after learning the man is a teacher there.

LWJ and LXC’s mother is a music teacher there as well and YanLing bonds with her to make Lan QiRen life’s an absolute nightmare.

LWJ and LXC make friends with the mountain gremlins and they are initially horrified by their manners: XXC would pick food from the ground and eat it, it doesn’t have to be his for that to happen to begin with; WWX doesn’t realize he should cut his nails (both for his feet and hands) until he is forced to wear shoes outside and not climb up trees, for he assumed nails simply never grew bc he used them constantly, wearing them down; etc.

LWJ hates himself for falling for WWX but he cannot care less.

LXC notices how lonely XXC feels when wangxian becomes a thing, so he buys him a computer to better gather more information about the world and adjust the settings to maximum accessibility whenever XXC wants to read something.

by the age of 17 XXC is mostly left alone in the house: WWX goes to uni; his mother BaoShan works at a local museum; his brother YanLing is trying to not get fired at his job; and his sister CanSe has started to travel with her husband selling the delicate dizi flutes ChangZe makes as an artisan.

XXC is also on the waiting list for an important eye surgery and he figures he has a couple of years to go before he will either lose his sight or be granted a second chance at life altogether.

XY’s family!:

Meng Shi had Meng Yao at 19 and started stripping the following year in Yunmeng. 

her friend SiSi helped her both financially and emotionally, spending time with A-Yao while she worked at night. after four years she can move out of her flat and finds a job as a bartender downtown. she would have kept her old job, if SiSi hadn’t convinced her to think of A-Yao first, who was painfully shy and didn’t know how to socialize with other kids his age.

at 24 she starts the paperwork to become a foster parent and has to child-proof her entire apartment before the first kid arrives. at 25 she welcomes Qin Su, who is only 5, and initially A-Yao doesn’t want to share his mother with anyone. the situation gets bad to the point social services have to take Qin Su away one year later, because she tried to set A-Yao’s hair on fire in retaliation once, but two years later Meng Shi gets her back.

A-Yao, now 9 years old, has thought about it and reasoned that having a sister wasn’t so bad after all. Qin Su is only one year younger than him and she will not take up much space, right? wrong. but they bond over their shared nerdiness and while A-Su likes to blow things up, A-Yao helps his mother with taxes every year.

at 29 Meng Shi takes in XuanYu, who is not an orphan like A-Su, and still misses his birth mother fiercely. she had to give him up for adoption when he was 3, because she had been only 15 when XuanYu was born and her family threatened to disown her. 

being profoundly deaf on top of that, no foster home wanted to have him and he was kept in the system for three years after his mother had to let him go. the woman had tried to be present for him while he waited for a family to pick him, teaching him sign language and reading lips, but she had been forced to eventually let go.

XuanYu arrives at Meng Shi’s when he’s 6. A-Yao (10yo) and A-Su (9yo) try their best to involve their new brother, but they don’t know how to communicate with him. SiSi takes the children to sign language classes at the community center after school and XuanYu warms up to them. he teaches Meng Shi what they learned the previous day every morning, before going to school. teachers don’t really pay attention to him, but he manages by reading lips when people face him properly, which is a rare occurrence, but he tries his best.

when A-Yao and A-Su realizes A-Yu is being bullied, they start to get nasty, setting backpacks on fire and terrorizing the other children at school. even when they move to middle school one after the other nobody picks on A-Yu, fearing what his siblings could do.

XY arrives at Meng Shi’s when she is 32 (A-Yu is 9, A-Su is 12, A-Yao is 13) and XY is 12. A-Su initially gets jealous bc they are the same age, but XY doesn’t talk to anyone for a year and ignores her attempts to rile him up. Meng Shi had been warned about him: his father had killed his mother and then failed to kill himself afterwards... and XY still believed the man was out there, looking for him to finish the job. XY had lived on the street for years before social services could find him, but he had felt trapped like a dog, not wanting to be touched, frequently running away.

XY doesn’t remember much of his life before entering foster care. he only knows everything is a bother, that his nightmares give him constant migraines, and that he doesn’t care how he lost one of his fingers. but anyone who makes fun of him for that gets kicked, that’s for sure.

it’s only when A-Qing (12) comes one year after XY’s arrival that things get a bit better... so to speak. 

she is even less well behaved than him, thrashing around at night, screaming at the top of her lungs, saying that she doesn’t want to be there. that she’s better than the rest of them combined. 

her anger issues trigger something in XY and the two of them get into fights with each other constantly.

A-Yao (14) and A-Su (13), reminiscing of the 2 years they spent apart because they couldn’t stop hitting each other up, take the issue seriously and convince Meng Shi to ask for help. SiSi is the one taking A-Qing and XY to therapy two times a week and they are followed through by professionals who know how to tackle their issues, an elderly woman who goes by the name of Lan Yi (LWJ and LXC’s paternal grandma) and her assistant Wen Qing, an intern working there for uni credits.

one year later XY is 14 and A-Qing is 13 and they... don’t really love each other, but at least they can talk to one another without trying to kill anyone in the process. they spend a lot of time with A-Yu (11) and learn sign language to keep him entertained.

by the age of 35, Meng Shi has 5 kids and can barely afford food for herself but she is happy like never before. A-Yao (16) is already considered smart enough to attend advanced math classes in high school. A-Su (15) has won a science competition sponsored by city hall. A-Yang (15) is trying to work on his anger issues with video games, making friends online. A-Qing (14) doesn’t let anyone make fun of her for her dyslexia, asking adults and classmates to take her issue seriously for once. And A-Yu (12) wants to learn how to sign in different languages to maybe travel the world one day.

Meng Shi is very happy indeed.

now, the plot: (tw fake suicide mention; tw use of homophobic slurs)

XY (15) and XXC (17) meet online every night before bed, playing video games together. XY made a mistake first time they chatted, saying he was 17 instead of 15 bc he didn’t want the other to look down on him.

XXC trusts him a little too much and doesn’t question if his new friend is lying to him or not. he’s the funnies person he has ever met, after all.

WWX (20) notices something is wrong by the way XXC starts speaking around others, using inappropriate language when he has never been anything but polite and gentle. even if, technically, XXC is WWX’s uncle, the latter sees the other more like a cousin than anything else given that he’s older. so he takes the matter in his own hands and one day asks him to let him play games with him.

XY doesn’t like his only friend not telling him someone else would have joined their party, and initially he covers XXC in insults and threatens to leave. but then WWX is really good at killing fictional people and XY reconsiders. he makes fun of WWX for being the older one AND the other’s nephew at the same time, but aside from that he doesn’t try to run away like a caged animal anymore.

WWX trust XXC when the younger says XY is 17 like him, but he still supervisions most of their sessions just to be sure XY cannot teach too many horrible things to XXC. WWX wants XXC to make more friends and maybe one day leave the house to attend university if the other will feel inclined to do so, but he doesn’t pressure him.

in the meantime, XY changes counselor at school and it is Song Lan (23) who tries to make a better human out of him. SL is deaf and occasionally uses cochlear implants to hear, but only because his family made the choice for him to have surgery when he was only a child. he can speak if he feels like it at times (not frequently, he’s very adamant about reminding others he doesn’t owe them anything. he’s also trying to make a change at the school where he works by organizing classes on Deaf culture and sign language for the students to take as an elective)

XY already knew of SL thanks to XuanYu, bc A-Yu had seen the counselor at the community center where SiSi usually takes the kids to for sign language classes. counseling at school doesn’t really happen one-on-one, detention kids being too many to follow one at a time and all, but when SL comes by to chat with them he’s always funny as fuck and XY (who will never admit it) feels good about being the only one in class able to understand SL only through sign language.

SL forces himself to talk to the kids and read their lips only bc... well, they’re young and did nothing wrong to him. he occasionally asks XY to help him translate, but aside from that there are really too many kids to look after and he doesn’t treat XY differently from the others, nor he notices him much.

two years pass and XXC (19) announces to XY (17) that wangxian (22) is having their wedding. since XY has learned all about their family, he asks XXC if it’s a common thing to get married super young in their household and XXC laughs... but it’s a sad and brittle thing and XY gets a bit worried.

XXC reveals then that soon after the wedding he will have a surgery to (hopefully) fix his sight and he’s very anxious. he timidly asks XY if he wants to go to the wedding with him, because he would like to see his face at least once before the surgery.

XY panics: he knew XXC’s eyesight was bad, but he never knew to what extent exactly; he’s not really of age yet, so he cannot move on the other side of the country just to attend a wedding; he has never talked specifically about XXC with his family and Meng Shi is working a lot and A-Yu should get his hearing aids soon and A-Qing needs help for her finals and... and...

...and he’s not ready to meet XXC.

XY lied to him and told him they’re the same age. he had never told XXC his name, even if the other had revealed his own, always going by his username jiang_zai. he called him and chatted with him and made fun of his own family and the other had been nothing but kind and amazing and... and... and XY realizes he’s been in love for a while and he abhors the idea to the point where he openly laughs at XXC and calls him a sap.

XXC notices the change in his tone immediately and wonders if he’s overstepped, if he’s asked too much by inviting the other over to celebrate with the rest of the family. XXC apologizes to XY and begs him to not step away like he usually does when he feels cornered.

XY feels absolutely cornered and attacks XXC by asking him why he’s so keen on asking him out (“are you a f*g or something?” etc.). the other doesn’t even know what that means but hearing XY so scared hurts, bc he doesn’t want to make the other uncomfortable in any way.

XXC does like XY romantically, but would never dream to say anything and hinder their friendship. yet, it hurts more to hear his only friend so afraid and angry. he apologizes profusely and promises him not to bring the subject back.

after that, XY doesn’t log in much, avoiding XXC. A-Yao (18) notices he’s sullen and tries to spend more time with him, but the younger doesn’t budge and talks less and less. even SL (25) sees XY less and less, but he doesn’t thinks the younger one is actually skipping classes or anything.

but XY is, in fact, skipping school and Meng Shi covers for him saying he doesn’t feel well enough to go to class. she knows something’s up and she also understands the need to have days off in order to take care of yourself when everything goes to shit.

wangxian wedding happens and XXC is both happy and sad. they made him the official photographer of the day, which is both sweet and incredibly hurtful, because he’s the one taking all those beautiful pictures... and maybe he will never be able to look at them ever again after the surgery. WWX and LWJ already had to organize the wedding earlier than what they originally planned to accommodate XXC and the date of the surgery. XXC feels bad but he’s very happy for them.

YanLing and CanSe worry about him and they ask their mother to help them figure out what’s going on. BaoShan agrees with WWX that XXC had a fight with a friend, alright, but that cannot be all, surely...

it’s the week before XXC’s hospitalization and WWX takes the issue in his hands. logs in pretending to be XXC and plays until he takes XY’s place in the rankings of his and XXC’s favorite game.

XY receives notifications about it and initially fumes at the idea of being outranked, but then he understands what XXC is trying to do and doesn’t know how to react.

he does something horrible instead.

WWX waits to be contacted by this jiang_zai boy who broke XXC’s heart, but when it finally happens... it’s not the familiar, high-pitched voice he expects to hear in the chat. it’s a girl (A-Qing), who tells him her brother had died and that he won’t be playing games anymore. she sounds too serious to be joking and WWX tries to ask more about it... but she just tells him her brother killed himself before ending the call.

WWX doesn’t have the heart to tell this to XXC, not before the surgery and not until he has properly recovered (one year later).

XXC had wondered about XY in silence, not trusting himself to reveal all about his crush to his family, worrying about making the other boy uncomfortable. 

XXC misses XY, but he is patient. he can wait.

A-Qing had agreed to lie for XY only because he lied to her first: he told her a creep on the internet had tried to meet with him and he needed a way out; outraged, A-Qing had helped him without a second thought and answered the chat in his place. 

this spurs her to take more seriously what she and her siblings had been doing on the Internet and reconsiders some of the things she herself posted in the past. she will take this topic so much at heart that she will pursue an academic career to become a social worker.

XXC’s surgery goes well, but he still loses his sight after a while. WWX ends up telling him what happened to his online friend and XXC is so heartbroken he doesn’t even blame WWX for keeping the secret from him for so long. 

after some time BaoShan makes sure he goes to therapy and takes better care of him, helping him figure out what to do. she fears people will look down on XXC and, as a blind person, he will probably be hindered by the system to pursue a career, so she retires from her job at the museum and focuses all of her attention on him.

XXC feels guilty for XY’s passing, but he doesn’t think the other had been triggered to commit suicide bc of him: XXC simply fears XY had hid a different type of sorrow from him; a pain so deep that XXC had failed to see while they were playing silly games. so, three years after the surgery, when he’s 21, he enrolls in uni to study psychology to help kids who are struggling to ask for help.

15 years after XXC and XY had met online:

XY is 30 and a professional carer. he studied to become a nurse, of all things, after what happened. he got a lot of time to think about the horrible thing he had done to XXC and considered helpings others to atone for that.

he is the first to say such a choice was very out of character for him, and even if he has to bite his tongues at times he doesn’t mind his job: it keeps him occupied and exhausts him well enough... but after working in the hospital for 5 or so years he decides to become a carer and trains to help disabled people in particular in his late twenties.

A-Su (30) has become a chemical engineer and married a man working as a lawyer (who happens to be LXC), while A-Yao (31) ends up moving in with his best friend (NMJ). A-Qin (29) doesn’t find romance interesting enough to give up on her career as a social worker, so she doesn’t really move out of Meng Shi’s old flat and everyone is fine with that. A-Yu (27) has graduated from uni and travels the world as an interpreter. Meng Shi and SiSi have lived together since the first has adopted all the kids and they opened a B&B near the seaside. they are wives and very in love.

XY lives with A-Qing in Yunmeng until his late 20s and they fight a lot for stupid things (like when A-Qing makes fun of the boring people her brother hooks up with on the regular, or when XY tries to coerce her to do the fucking laundry by tickling her into a pulp of pain and tears), but otherwise they work well together.

A-Qing is working at the community center as a social worker to help the kids find purpose in life and use the internet safely. she still believes a creep had tried to mess with her brother and doesn’t want anything to happen to the kids under her care. XY knows this, but never got around to tell her the truth, believing it would have been pointless to reveal her how everything she knew had been a lie. even her own purpose on top of that.

A-Su’s husband (LXC) rarely got to speak with XY in person, the latter busy with his job as a nurse most of the time, but during a dinner party LXC has to suddenly leave because of an emergency: his brother-in-law had been brought to the hospital after a car crash and lost the use for both of his legs.

one year later, XY (29) coincidentally becomes WWX’s personal carer and decides to move closer to the man’s house in Yiling since it would be troublesome to help him as efficiently otherwise. XY does not recognize WWX (34) from his voice or name (he did play games with him in the past, sure, but he knew him as XXC’s nephew by the name of Wei WuXian, not Wei Ying, which is the name LWJ uses around him) and helps him around the house and out of it.

WWX’s husband (LWJ) is frequently out of the house to work as a lawyer like his older brother and entrusts WWX to XY, even if begrudgingly so. 

WWX pretends to be fine, but he has a tendency to try to sneak out and walk on crutches without anyone noticing, so LWJ has asked for a carer to come to their house every day. XY doesn’t have to bite his tongue as much around WWX, their interactions easy enough for the both of them to work together despite bickering about the stupidest things.

XY discovers WWX is friends with Wen Qing (37) (the same intern who helped the psychologist take care of XY and A-Qing while they sorted their shit out in the past). 

he meets her and learns from her how WWX’s family had moved in Yiling to help him recover after the crash. her brother Wen Ning is the physiotherapist helping WWX regain control of his legs, but there are basically no chances for him to go back to be a professional athlete even if he were to walk once more.

this new information spurs XY to force WWX to rest more and take his situation more seriously. they work together to find possible solutions and WWX decides that he would much rather have his legs cut off from the knee down that suffer through the pain of having multiple fractures splitting him apart day after day. the surgeons had done their best to save his legs, but the fractures had compromised his nerves maybe forever and the pain is now unbearable.

LWJ trusts his husband but he’s weary at the idea of having him evaluated for amputation. XY refuses to feel responsible for the tension in the house, since this is clearly what WWX wants. XY knows WWX is secretly considering running again on prosthetic legs in the future, but he doesn’t want to anger LWJ more by mentioning it. it’s too soon to know anyway, and who is he to tamper down what little hope WWX has managed to harbor for himself after an entire year drowning in grief?

one year later WWX (35) gets permission from his physician to get prosthetic legs fitted for his needs and he couldn’t be happier. his family visit him more frequently now to congratulate him, even his grandmother who has descended from the mountain where she retired to in order to celebrate him.

XY (30) has already met WWX’s parents and his oldest uncle, but he never suspected them to be related to XXC, because he had never knew them by name. 

yet, one day Song Lan (38) comes in with a huge backpack on his shoulders and recognizes XY immediately. XY doesn’t know why his old counselor is there: he knew WWX’s other uncle was coming over, but he never imagined it was SL they were talking about. 

SL is beaming at him, signing he met XY’s bother A-Yu during one of his travels as a tour guide and that they kept in touch. SL has come to know XY is the reason behind WWX’s recovery and he tells the younger man that everyone in their family is happy XY has appeared in their life.

XY doesn’t have time to answer, overwhelmed with this sense of belonging, this sense of being finally, finally accepted somewhere outside of his own family... that someone else enters the house with a backpack on his shoulders.

XY doesn’t know the man and SL enthusiastically guides him over to meet the newcomer. XY is surprised to hear SL speak out instead of using sign language as the older man asks “A-Chen” to come meet “his nephew’s savior”. based on the pronouns SL has just used, XY recognizes the newcomer to be WWX’s actual uncle and he smiles at the beautiful man in front of him...

...only to be filled with horror the minute the other speaks.

XXC (32) greets XY without knowing who he really is, smiling at him without even recognizing the younger man’s voice. the two of them had never seen each other, playing games only through chats and calls... but XY recognizes XXC immediately, aware that his own voice has changed drastically over the years.

XY is still transfixed and petrified when XXC asks him if it would be okay for him to touch his face to have a better idea of who he’s interacting with. XY doesn’t even register himself voicing his consent when he feels XXC’s hands on his face. only then he understands the infamous surgery had failed and that XXC did not regain his sight after his nephew’s wedding.

overwhelmed with grief, guilt and longing for what never was and never could be, XY is unaware of the tears rolling down his cheeks as XXC gently trails his features. XXC apologizes when he feels his palms dampening and he asks XY if he overstepped. next to them SL is distressed, not understanding what’s happening in front of him.

XY shakes his head and simply says... that he lost someone and that XXC reminded him of that person. then he excuses himself looking for WWX, to ask him to give him something... anything to do. he gets himself a task to accomplish and leaves the house brimming with relatives that he will never be able to call his own.

1 year later:

XXC and SL do not leave the city as they originally planned. they have travelled long enough for the time being and they decide to get a house close to WWX and his husband. they spend the following year after their return looking for stability and peace.

XY (31) didn’t stop working for WWX (36) and doesn’t plan to. not now that he got his new legs finally fitted. the recovery takes long, but it’s already been two years since the amputation now and WWX tries his best every day. he believes to be a handful and doesn’t dare ask for things he needs after receiving the prosthetics. XY is there to loudly remind him to stop being an idiot and that he is paying XY to boss him around however the fuck he wants. LWJ is very grateful to hear WWX laugh more and more these days thanks to XY.

XXC (33), however, is frequently around his nephew’s house, keeping him company. before his three-or-so years of traveling with his boyfriend SL, XXC has briefly worked as a psychologist with Wen Qing, of all people and the two of them have applied for a position at the community center in Yunmeng at the same time. there isn’t one available in Yiling and the commute shouldn’t be too bad. during that first year after his return, XXC has met A-Qing multiple times to inquire for a place at the center in Yunmeng and they are quickly becoming more involved with each other because of their shared passion for the job.

XY feels the end nearing, time ticking away. it had been an agonizing, brilliant, terrible year the one he had spent so close to XXC... and it is now coming to an end. knowing that A-Qing will eventually tell XXC how and why she became a social worker, spilling everything about how “her pitiful bastard of a brother had been molested by a pervert online” and so on. he only hopes A-Qing will never get to meet WWX... she would absolutely recognize the other man’s voice and accuse him of being the pervert in question and XY... XY will die.

XY feels trapped and he will most certainly have a stroke the moment XXC will realize that he lied to him, that he is still alive, that his reason to become a psychologist to help troubled kids was not a real thing... XY will die and Meng Shi will cry.

only because he lied about being 17 when he was 15 one day of 16 years ago.

XY disappears the same night XXC tells him he invited A-Qing over. SL (39) is overjoyed at the idea of meeting the girl once more after the time she and her step-siblings used to go to sign language classes at the community center in Yunmeng. WWX is interested as well, having heard all about A-Qing from XY along the years.

but XY disappears anyway.

2 years later:

it’s XuanYu (30) who finds him, but doesn’t ask him to go back home. A-Yu takes XY (33) with him in his travels for some months to hide him. he doesn’t ask him what he did in those two years, but he does force him to call Meng Shi and SiSi at least.

XY complies but still feels empty inside. the single year he had spent with XXC while the other visited WWX will be permanently engraved in his memories and he cannot stop thinking about it. about how gentle XXC had always been with him, how sad he had looked and sounded reminiscing an “old online friend who had died many years back”, how generous he had always been towards him and everyone and... and XY cannot do this anymore.

A-Yu may be younger than him, but he protects him well for those months... waiting for XY to tell him the truth. so one winters night finally XY does, starting from the beginning.

the following week, close to New Years, XY realizes A-Yu had betrayed him.

someone rings the bell of their shared apartment and A-Yu asks him to go open the door. XY does and it’s A-Qing (32) and WWX (38) who greet him with tears in their eyes. A-Qing tackles him on the ground and tries to hit him they way they used to do as kids, fists getting the point across faster than any word ever could, but WWX pries them apart and hugs them instead.

somehow, XY had not been notified of having acquired a new sibling, but WWX clearly considers him a brother of sorts and he had missed him greatly. A-Qing explains that A-Yu had sent her an email with XY’s version of the truth, sure... but she also tells him that she and WWX had solved the mystery soon after XY’s disappearance already, after talking extensively on the matter.

A-Qing had recognized WWX as the person she had talked to in chat all those years ago, that is true, but she also realized WWX was not, in fact, a bad person and that something didn’t add. when she understood who XY’s online friend actually was... she had felt sick to her stomach for having let someone as kind as XXC presume XY had killed himself bc of him.

hurt and confused, XXC’s family and even A-Qing’s one had initially blamed XY for the pain he had caused, the lot of them filled with anger and grief. especially BaoShan, who had felt guilty for not supervising and protecting her younger son better when he was still too naive to understand the ways of the world.

but then, seeing XY was not coming back, Meng Shi and SiSi insisted for XXC’s family to help them with the search instead. after two years the lot of them missed him. yes, even those who still berated him for his poor choices in life.

XXC now knows the truth and only wants XY to come back home.

some days later:

XXC opens the door after hearing the bell and he knows, he knows who the person in front of him is. he already had his suspicions back when he used to visit WWX every day two years back. WWX’s carer reminded him so much of his friend that... that he may have hoped.

but now XY is back and he has a name and a face and is alive and XXC greets him with a smile as the other hugs him and never lets go.

XY has never been happier in his entire, miserable life.

and XXC will never lose sight of him ever again.

the end.

[now imma go weep for fucking ages. also fuck typos.]

[willow-salix]

New chapter is up. You can read the previous ones here.

The man could only be seen in profile, the room he sat in so dark that you could make out nothing of his features, even his voice was carefully neutral, leading them to believe that he was using some kind of voice modifier. 

It didn't matter to them who he was though, just that he was the one paying them ridiculous amounts of money to follow his instructions to the letter. They never questioned the reasons behind their clients instructions, it wasn't their place to, they were just there to do the job. 

                                 ***

He could still picture the scene perfectly, even though he tried to avoid doing so. No one wanted to be reminded of the day their world had come crashing down around them and changed forever. 

She had been everything to him, the only family he had ever known and truthfully the only family he had ever felt he needed. She had never remarried, nor had he ever known her to even go out on a date. Her whole world had revolved around him. 

He had gotten used to the taunts, the sneering chants of "mama's boy, mama's boy" every time he had broken down in tears, the bullying getting to be too much. It hadn't been his fault that he didn't have the latest fashions on his feet or the newest phone in his pocket, his mother worked long hours in a job she hated just to keep the roof over their heads and just enough food in the cupboards to fill their bellies. 

But they had been happy, she had been the very best mother that a boy could ever have wanted. Caring and kind to a fault, cherishing him above all others. She had never blamed him for ruining her life or for holding her back from the things that she would have liked to have done had he not existed. She had showered him with love and affection. 

He had only asked her once where his father was, but the sadness in her eyes had made sure he never asked again. 

"Your father was a good man," she had smiled. "And I loved him very much. “

"Then why did he leave us?" he had asked with all the innocence of childhood, not knowing just how painful his question would be. 

"He didn't leave us, Bayi, he died." 

"I want to know all about him, Beguk," he had demanded. His mother had laughed, she had the sweetest laugh, like the tinkling of a bell, and ruffled his hair, kissing him softly on the forehead. 

"When, you're older, Bayi, when you're older."

But he never got a chance to ask her again. A fatal seizure from undiagnosed Epilepsy had made sure of that. 

He'd walked home from school for lunch, it being cheaper for him to eat at home, and found her in their kitchen, her right arm blistered, the now cold and empty kettle beside her on the floor. 

The doctor had said that her dizzy spells had been far more serious than she had ever believed, although lack of funds had meant that she had never visited a doctor, 

She had been cremated with little ceremony and he had become a ward of the state, spending the years between 8 and 18 as an orphan with no known family. 

The day after his eighteenth birthday he had been called into the office of the orphanage that had been his home for the past ten years. He was handed a box of his mother's belongings, a small amount of money and the keys to a room in a hostel and was instructed to pack his meagre belongings. 

He was on his own. 

He had spent his first night alone with nothing but the bare essentials in his room and a box of memories. In it he had discovered things about his mother that he had never known before, finding her birth certificate and his, her passport, a number of letters from her to her family, all returned unopened, and two from the man that his mother had loved so much along with a picture of his heavily pregnant mother and the man who had fathered him. 

                                  ***

"You have your orders, you know what to do. You will do everything in your power to bring International Rescue to the scene, and when you do, we shall be watching them. We know the mistakes of the past made by those who wished to bring about their downfall, they thought too small. The world is bigger than just their operation, they are just the tip of the iceberg, but they are one of the  biggest cogs in the wheel, but by no means the only one."

Twelve faces on twelve screens nodded their understanding. 

"You will not engage, you will not attack, you will simply observe. Many a battle has been lost through underestimating your enemy. These and the coming months are nothing but a fact finding mission. I want to know everything about them, even the things you may deem insignificant. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, and we shall be keeping the closest of eyes on them. Do you understand your orders?"

Again they nodded. 

"End transmission." 

The screens went dark as he cut the feed. 

                                ***

"I don't care! I'm not listening!" 

"You have to care, because it's a fact! You can't change it, it's been this way for over fifty years!

"Fifty years? Is that all? Just because a bunch of scientists and astronomers suddenly decided it doesn't count?" 

"I'm one of those astronomers!" 

"And I don't care! I don't give two shits what you and your little space buddies say, I refuse to acknowledge it." 

Selene stomped through the lounge from the sleeping quarters, John following closely behind. 

"You have to care, because you're wrong!" 

She spun around to face him, both of them seemingly oblivious to the fact that they had an audience, and a very captive audience at that. They had never seen Selene and John argue like this, John never yelled. 

"Ha! And I say it again, ha! Because that's what I think of your opinion. You say it's wrong, so that's the way it has to be. What you say goes. You always have to be right."

"I always have to be right? Have you met yourself?" 

"I have, and I'm fabulous. You on the other hand, are annoying."

"What are they arguing about?" Gordon whispered to Scott, who shrugged. 

"I'm annoying? You're the one arguing scientific facts based on what? Come on, give me one good reason. Just one." He crossed his arms, bestowing a glare on her that had beaten down untold numbers of unhelpful officials and rescuees over the years, but had zero impact on the love of his life. 

"I have one very good reason."

Scott and Gordon actually leaned closer, waiting to see what her one good reason was, even Jeff had put down his tablet to see what all the fuss was about. 

"And that is?" He couldn't think of a single thing that could be a valid argument. 

"I refuse to piss off the Lord of the Underworld."

"Must be something to do with the wedding," Scott whispered back to Gordon, "some pagan thing? Weddings can make anyone stressed."

John blinked. Had he heard her right? 

"Can you repeat that?" Because I don't think I heard you correctly."

"Oh you heard me, you just didn't want to listen. I know you." 

"The reason you give for arguing that Pluto is a planet is that you refuse to piss off a god?"

Scott burst out laughing, he couldn't hold it in any longer. 

"That's right. I am not prepared to risk it. Hades is a fair god, even though he gets a bad rap, but I'm still not willing to tell one of the big three that he's been demoted. Pluto is a planet, it's a forgotten planet, but a planet none the less and nothing you can say or do will change my mind."

"I have proof!" 

Selene waved her hand dismissively. "And I don't want to see your proof. It's boring and I don't care. You do you, boo."

"It's a dwarf planet, a dwarf. There is scientific proof, it does not meet the the criteria to be classified as a planet."

"Did you just say that Hades is too small to count?" The shocked look on her face was hilarious to behold. "You keep your little scientific knowledge and I'll keep the favour of the one that will decide my fate when I die. You wanna be stuck in Tartarus for eternity, go for it. Me, I'll be living my best afterlife, I'm going straight to the good times, baby!"

"Did you really need to emphasise that with a hip swivel?" 

"Yep," she popped the P loudly. "I'll need me a new husband by that point because he'll have let Cerburus eat you." She bumped her hip against his and walked away. 

"We are not done with this discussion!" 

She flipped him the bird, not looking back. 

"Give it up, bro. You're never going to win against her," Scott commiserated. 

John flopped down on the couch with an exasperated sigh. "I'll never understand that woman, never."

"Welcome to the world of women, son, "Jeff added.

"How can she argue with facts?" 

"Because women have their own unique logic that we are not privy to and never will be," Jeff answered. "Let me bestow upon you the wisdom my father once told me."

All three sons gave him their full attention, ready to partake of his genius. 

"Women don't care about facts, they deal in feelings and they are ruthless, often bringing out their greatest weapons."

"And they are?" 

"Tears, breasts and the withholding of sexual favours. Most of the time it's not worth arguing with them, but if you insist on being an idiot, protect your balls."

Gordon howled with laughter, Scott joining in a second later. 

"Thanks for that, Dad. Remind me again why I'm getting married?" 

"Nothing to do with me, son. I wasn't even here when you asked her, that's all on you."

"I'm beginning -" John's comm beeped. "Yes, EOS?" 

"Hello, John, you said to report anything where International Rescue might be of use. There is a breaking news report on almost every channel, though we have not received any calls for it as yet."

"Thanks, EOS, keep monitoring for me."

Jeff was already moving to turn on the holoprojector. 

"Early reports can not confirm the origin of the explosion that rocked the Clifton Mall in San Diego, and police are unwilling to comment on the possibility that it may be counted as a terrorist attack. Local rescue crews are on the scene and doing all they can to help the walking wounded as they await permission to enter the building as well as out of area teams as back up crews. "

They all watched as the camera panned away from the news anchor to show the devastating scene. Flames were licking at the roof of the building, or at least what was left of it, smoke billowing out of ragged holes that had been blasted outward. What looked like hundreds of people milled around, dodging between or climbing over piles of rubble, some standing out as emergency services but others were obviously civilians. A sea of people in torn and bloody clothes, their desperate screams and wailing sobs could be clearly heard as they searched frantically for their lost family members. 

"Selene! Alan! Virgil!" Scott yelled, already running for his launch chute, not waiting for Jeff to issue the order. 

All three arrived around the same time, rushing into the lounge from various directions, skidding to a halt when they saw the news.

"Gordon, Alan, let's move," Virgil ordered, his booted feet thumping the floor as he walked. 

"I'm going too," Selene announced. 

"No you aren't," John insisted, grabbing her arm as she passed by. 

"Who made you the boss of me?" she snapped back, shaking off his hand. "There are families down there and if there's anything I can do to help them, I'm going to be there."

"Now is not the time to start another argument," Jeff stepped in. "You're both going, it's all hands on deck for this one."

"But won't you need me help here?" John asked, clearly worried about both his system and the state of the rescue.

"Your Grandma can help, and we have that computer of yours-"

"EOS," John interrupted, "her name is EOS and she's far more than a computer."

Selene took his hand, their previous argument forgotten, giving it a quick squeeze. "Babe, we'll do this later, come on, we don't have a lot of time."

John nodded, accepting the wisdom of her words, but he didn't look happy about it.

Together they followed after Gordon and Alan to get suited up.

[agrcengrass]

NATALIA DYER? No, that’s actually ASTORIA GREENGRASS from the GOLDEN TRIO ERA. You know, the child of ELIJAH GREENGRASS and ELIZABETH GREENGRASS (NÉE ROWLE)? Only 20 years old, this SLYTHERIN alumni works as a WIZARDING NANNY and is sided with THE NEUTRALS. SHE identifies as a CIS WOMAN and is a PUREBLOOD who is known to be JEALOUS, FRIVOLOUS, and MATERIALISTIC  but also DIPLOMATIC, CHARMING, and NURTURING. 

Warnings: PTSD, slight alcohol abuse, depression

HEADCANONS

01. Her parents raised her and her sister with blood purity in mind. That she was to marry a pureblood man and have pureblood children. At first, Astoria was more than okay with that. Was happy to play the part of a simple pureblooded girl. However, after the war and seeing classmates die and families ripped apart all because...of blood? She didn’t want to be part of that world anymore. She’d rather teach kindness and acceptance than spilling blood over ancestry. Her parents, however, do not understand why Astoria can’t be like other pureblood women like Narcissa and Bellatrix. But Astoria has tuned them out, whenever she sees them she tries not to talk about any of her relationships. She doesn’t need them meddling into her life. Astoria, while not completely confident in this, knows she can live her life outside of what her parents think. She’d be lying, however, if she said it didn’t hurt her when they compared her to the other girls or try to steer her back in the Death Eater path.

02. At Hogwarts, she was very ambitious and always tried to rise to the top. Not because she liked her classes or was particularly clever, but because she wanted to be on t o p. She would study relentlessly and stay up making sure her homework was just perfect. She was planning on NEWTS and planning out possible jobs (she wanted to be a curse-breaker). Was focused on carving out her own achievements that did not include blood purity. But then came the war and everything she had been building came crumbling down. Now, her ambitious streak has dried up and she’s lost at what to do. Astoria never returned her 7th year to take her NEWTS and is unsure if she should even try now. Currently, she’s a nanny and l o v e s it and the children. Loves taking care of them and playing with them. For the first time, it feels like she’s actually good at something and she doesn’t have to try so hard. Caring for these children just comes...naturally. 

03. Astoria is used to being doted on, whether by her family or friends or whoever she was seeing. But the minute whoever she was seeing at the time gives attention to anyone (but especially another woman) she might as well actually turn green. She’ll force herself by his side and smile all polite, then will talk about how she is his date and ‘who are you again?’. She’s not asking to be the center of attention, but she’d like it if her date didn’t get too close to other women and smile when they got all touchy-feely. Even with just her regular friends, she’ll feel it b u b b l i n g up inside her when they ignore her to talk to other people. Unfortunately, this also means that Astoria believes in the “two can play at that game” mentality at times. 

Short Bio

The second-born daughter of Elijah and Elizabeth Greengrass. Her parents had been hoping for a boy, especially after Daphne, but instead Astoria came into the world very early that October morning.

Her mother especially doted on her and was more than happy to give their youngest daughter whatever she wanted. Her father, while he was able to hide it, was still trying to get over the fact that he had no sons to pass on the Greengrass name. 

The doting became problematic when it was time for Astoria to head to Hogwarts, she didn’t want to leave her mother who gave her whatever she wanted. Suddenly, being thrown into a whole different world where she had to look out for herself. (The doting still is problematic. Her parents sending her money and gifts that Astoria doesn’t realize is them trying to bribe her back to the path of blood purity.)

Growing up, Astoria looked up to Daphne and looked to them for guidance while at Hogwarts. She was a bit attached to her sibling up until fourth year when she started coming into her own.

And come into her own she did. She flirted with whoever she pleased. Became friends with whoever sat next to her in classes, regardless of house and only had slight reservations about blood purity. She enjoyed the social side of Hogwarts, making connections and friendships and things more than friends. Although watching her friends and boyfriends or girlfriends talk to other people, become close to other people, made her stomach turn. It made her feel as if she was being left behind as if she was as unwanted as last year's dress robes. 

School did not come naturally for her, but she worked her ass off to get good grades on her OWLS and to qualify for NEWTS. However, she was doing all of this for the wrong reasons. She did not want to disappoint her parents, who always believed in their children being well-rounded with school, activities and well...finding a pureblood husband. A respectable pureblood husband at that. 

After her OWLS came back and she only qualified for two NEWT classes, she really stopped caring about school. She’d skip frequently and hang out with her friends or hook-up with whoever she was seeing. 

The war changed everything. Blood purity seemed pointless. School was even more pointless. She tried her best to help students around Hogwarts, to keep them safe. Slowly building up the courage to stand up to the blood purists. Her parents could not believe this and still chose to forget this ever happened. But helping people and standing up to the bullies gave her new confidence. It was much more fulfilling than any class she could take or EE she could’ve gotten. 

[TW: Slight PTSD]

Of course, of course, the war took more than it gave to her. She knows she had it much easier than some people, but the aftermath still lingers with her. Still follow her around. It’s hard to care about things she was interested in before, classes and subjects she even enjoyed sparked nothing. Only charms really stuck with her, trying push down the memories of classes where they did their best to ignore...everything that was happening.

Flashing before her are people that couldn’t be saved. The bodies in the Great Hall. Someone said something along the lines of survivor’s guilt. 

[TW end]

Astoria did not return to take her NEWTS. Instead, bounced from party to party to social gathering to social gathering to fill her time. Her parents still taking care of her from kilometers and kilometers away. Until one day a neighbor asked her to watch their baby girl and Astoria fell in love with taking of children. Even loved getting up early and going to their large flats or sprawling estates to take care of them. She still loves filling her free time with parties and gatherings, but at least she has a job that she loves. She just wishes her parents could understand that as well. 

The time jump...is mostly an annoyance in Astoria’s eyes. Through a series of unfortunate events, she’s found out that she’s not alive in 2029. In fact, she’s been dead for ten years. This is what is most worrisome and plagues her thoughts. She’s not too interested in figuring out why it happened or what caused it.

Character parallels

Sansa Stark (ASoIaF/GoT) + Serena van der Woodsen (Gossip Girl) + Vex’ahlia (Critical Role) + Alison Hendrix (Orphan Black) + Lydia Martin (Teen Wolf) + Rachel Green (Friends) + Emily Fields (Pretty Little Liars) + Glinda (Wicked)

Random Tidbits 

She was enjoying her life before the time skip and so it’s annoying that she’s here and not back in 2001. But in Astoria’s eyes not much has to change, she can still be a nanny and go out and about. In the grand scheme of things, she doesn’t take the time skip that seriously...except for...

The fact that she’s supposed to be d e a d here upsets her greatly. She shouldn’t even be here. Her thoughts about this are extreme and she tries to not let it show how upsetting it is. She puts on her happy face and pushes the feelings aside. Other than that, the time skip is just an annoyance. 

While Astoria makes a lot of her decisions based on emotions rather than facts or logic, she knows how to keep a cool head even in an argument and is very good about walking away when need be.

Except maybe when it comes to talking to her parents about her life and trying to get them to understand where she’s coming from, she gets very emotional talking to them about it.

[TW: Depression + PTSD + ALCOHOL ]

Is low-key depressed (lack of motivation and ambition, going out and drinking far more regularly, feeling of emptiness and like she’ll never make people proud) but is not medicated and has never and doesn’t want to see a therapist. 

Suffers from slight PTSD. Explosions, fireworks, and sometimes just random loud noises still can trigger her as if she’s back at Hogwarts that May. (She chose to stay behind, even though her parents wanted to take her out.) 

[END TW]

Tries to put her energy and time into other people so she doesn’t have to think about herself and her own problems.

While most of her friends and Daphne knows, her parents do not know about her bisexuality. And frankly, she’d like to keep it that way.

Is brilliant at charms and was her favorite class at Hogwarts and is a decent dueler. 

She only qualified to take two NEWT classes (charms and transfiguration), but other than that her grades fell a bit short despite her best efforts.

Worried that people will leave her, this is mostly based on losing people in the war and her own parents being...not the best.

Personality

Very outgoing and extroverted. Would much rather be around a ton of people — a bar, a restaurant, a party, etc — than be alone. People distract her from the fact that she’s basically a dropout that has no prospects.

Also because she can’t stand to be alone with her thoughts. The memories of the war. Of the destruction. The bodies. 

Or her thoughts about her death. She doesn’t know how she died, or why, and frankly she’s not positive she wants to find out.

Empathetic — she’s good at being able to understand people’s feelings and making them feel validated. Meaning she’s also good at getting other people to open up. 

Astoria is great with children and adores them. She’s very nurturing and her maternal instincts kick in almost immediately. 

This goes for...most people regardless. But she’s especially good with children. But if you’re not a complete asshole or Death Eater, she’ll be nice to you.

Tries to be mostly positive and happy, despite the PTSD and depression. She doesn’t want people worrying about her (especially Daphne).

Being upper-class, she’s materialistic and doesn’t quite understand that not everyone can afford designer brands and have cushy flats. Or understand that some people’s parents can’t just give them money.

She is impulsive and will decide to do something slightly drastic at the drop of a hat. Like dying her hair, going out and getting blackout drunk. And has a hard time saying no to things she probably should not do.

For the most part, Astoria has a hard time taking things seriously. She figures that after surviving a war, she’s allowed to be carefree and not worry about her future or jobs or anything that really entails being an adult. She’s not necessarily worried about being in the new timeline, outside of the fact she’s not supposed to be alive.

Has a mean jealous streak that can extend to from friends to romantic partners to just one night stands.

ABOUT page ⚘⚘ CONNECTIONS page ⚘⚘

[faithandfairies]

Comparison between OUAT and The Nanny Expanded

The first thing I noticed on The Nanny that reminded me of OUAT was Mr. Sheffield referring to himself as “the ogre that won’t send his daughter to the ball” when he doesn’t want Maggie dating because he doesn’t want her kissing boys. He then continues to refer to himself as an ogre any time he feels his children, particularly Maggie, won’t like his actions/decisions regarding them.

I’ve never heard this expression used anywhere ever. Until this show. So it immediately caught my attention. 

OUAT is full of ogres that want to hurt people. The other thing OUAT is full of, I believe, is symbolism. “It’s a metaphor” is probably a good description of the show.

(x)

As for ogres, Emma even mentions that she might have dated some. 

(x)

Aside from that, both Emma and Henry are confronted with an ogre that wants to kill them on separate occasions. It’s one of the few times Emma doesn’t know how to fight her opponent let alone defeat it and is saved by Snow shooting an arrow in its eye. 

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Emma facing an ogre. There is something very unsettling about this image

(x)

Henry facing an ogre.

I kind of feel like Emma’s confrontation with the ogre parallels Emma facing the snow monster and being saved from it by Regina after it knocks her out. 

(x)

Regina standing up to the snow monster and killing it as Emma is passed out in the dirt and Marian-Zelena looks on

There are instances where Emma and Regina defeat ogre-like creatures together like the Chernabog and the armored snow monster that the Snow Queen sics on them. But I think in most other instances Rumple is the only one who can defeat the actual ogres. He ends up saving Henry when he is faced with one and he also ends the ogre war by killing all of them simply by killing one.There is also the sympathetic ogre story line, where Belle saves an ogre she thinks means no harm and turns against anyone that wants to kill it.

2.There was Mr. Sheffield and Fran slowly falling in love with each other and Niles, the butler, trying to use kitchen-related analogies to make Fran and Mr. Sheffield see that they were in love or at the very least attracted to each other. One in particular stood out. When he compares Fran to the last apple in the basket that he only realized he wanted when Mr. Sheffield sunk his teeth into it. This after Mr. Sheffield wonders why it bothers him that Fran is dating other people. Analogies like this, using apples, have been made on OUAT as well.

(x)

3.Mr. Sheffield being jealous over Fran dating other people when he doesn’t want to move their relationship along. And when Fran confronts him about it he covers it up by saying he’s concerned for the children. Even Niles calls him on it at a later time. On OUAT any time Emma and Regina realize they’re showing care or concern for each other or are downright jealous in the beginning and it feels out of character to them, they say it’s because they’re worried about Henry or doing it for Henry.

(x)

Regina’s jealousy Exhibit A. She ends up blaming it on worrying about Henry. Oh, and this little moment also happens right after Regina’s been passionately talking about the possibility of her and Emma making magic together and Emma flat out rejects her plan in favor of Hook’s. Can’t forget that.

4.The gay episode, Mommy and Mai, on The Nanny.

(x)

Val and Fran on The Nanny. Oh, look, it’s a blonde and a brunette. What do you know. To be fair I don’t think they had any sexual chemistry. But there were certainly a lot of gay references/ hints regardless. 

-In the gay episode we find out Fran and her best friend, Val, adopted a Cambodian baby girl together when they were in High School. Couples’ fights and actual couples’ therapy ensues when the now teenaged girl comes to visit. Fran ends up distraught over her break-up with Val as a result and when she discusses it with her mother her mother assumes that Fran is talking about Mr. Sheffield. There is a LOT of sexual tension between Emma and Regina on OUAT unlike between Val and Fran. And there is also a lot more pointing to a possible past and potential future romantic relationship between the two. Not to mention that they also share a son, that is biologically Emma’s but was adopted by Regina. They also end up fighting a lot over their son.

-On The Nanny there is also Fran’s fear that Mr. Sheffield may be sleeping with her daughter, who is staying at the mansion for a while at that point. She talks about how it couldn’t be since Mr. Sheffield would practically be the girl’s foster father to her mother role. There are a lot of references on OUAT that point to a father figure abusing the trust a young girl put in him.

(x)

She went to him for help. And yet she’s afraid of him. Throughout the show there’s the development: from genuine fear of what he has in store for her...

(x)

to annoyance at his antics. Notice also how she goes from being the picture of pure innocence when she first meets him to eventually being the picture of pure sexiness, seduction and rage. Which she blames on him. On more than one occasion. And he actually takes credit for. On more than one occasion. He literally calls her his version of Frankenstein’s monster and in the Wish!Realm he coaches her back into dressing and acting like the Evil Queen in the span of a few minutes when he believes she’s lost her touch.

(x)

Regina tied up by Rumple in her vault to keep her from helping Emma/saving Emma from him. To get her to help him to hurt Emma instead.

(x)

This happens right around the time Regina is once again trying to save Emma and failing at it because she doesn’t believe in herself and Emma doesn’t believe in her and she simply doesn’t know how to help Emma. Literally the only one who has told her they don’t believe in her at this point is Emma. 

When teaching Emma magic Regina even tells her that Rumple was a bully. We even see Rumple reduce Regina to tears on the show whilst teaching her.

(x)

Decades have past and yet there still seems to be a hint of fear there. And sometimes hate and anger. Another thing I noticed is that The Evil Queen is known for her drag queen make-up, including more often than not lipstick the color of blood. And yet, here, one of the few intimate moments that she looks afraid of Rumple as the Queen, where she’s once again asking him for help, her lipstick is the lightest shade of pink I’ve ever seen on her. It’s almost like a mirror of their first meeting. And I’m not even going to talk about that choker.

-Grandma Yetta keeps calling the butler, Niles, “Neal” in the gay episode on The Nanny, because she’s senile and forgets names. On OUAT Neal is actually the name of the father of Emma and Regina’s son. 

(x)

Neal dying in Emma’s arms as Rumple/Mr. Gold hovers over them. Not so surprisingly we don’t actually know Rumple’s curse first name. Not even Belle, his wife, used it. Ever. She tended to call him by his fairy tale name, Rumple.

Makes me think of how Fran called Maxwell Sheffield Mr. Sheffield for most of the show because it was inappropriate to call him by his first name given their original relationship. When she pretends to be married to him in front of family yet still calls him Mr. Sheffield while doing so even her family calls her on it, commenting “You call your husband Mr. Sheffield?” In fact, the switch to first name basis is a big deal on The Nanny. And at first both Fran and Mr. Sheffield get a perverse sort of satisfaction from it. As if they’re breaking the rules. And even after they’re married they still end up referring to each other as Ms. Fine and Mr. Sheffield when they forget themselves.

But to continue, Neal is also the name of Snow’s baby boy.

(x)

Baby Neal

This also makes me think of how Fran once described Niles as her and Mr. Sheffield’s love child before they ever got together in earnest. The love child that gets to watch his parents fall in love. Niles also once says how it’s always the butler who suffers, I think after one of Fran and Mr. Sheffield’s fights. He’s also the one who suffers most obviously/instantaneously-becomes emotional or excited depending-any time Fran and Mr. Sheffield “split up” or reach a new milestone in their relationship. The first time Fran plans to leave because she’s been proposed to by Danny, her ex-boyfriend, Niles actually cries a good amount. He only cheers up when she makes plans with him to see him often. He also cries happy tears when he finds out that Fran thinks she’s pregnant. And Fran only figures it out when he cries over the tea he’s pouring her and Val, I believe.

Ha, I just realized that the guy Mr. Sheffield almost lost Fran to in earnest was called Danny. Which makes me think of Regina’s Daniel. And the actor who plays Niles is actually called Daniel. Coincidences.

5. Actually, Neal isn’t the only name that comes back on OUAT as that of an important/ recurring character. Mr. Sheffield’s eldest daughter on The Nanny is Maggie, which is short for Margaret. 

(x)

Margaret, The Nanny

I also just remembered that when we meet Maggie she’s this shy, soft spoken, conservative 14-year old girl that pretty much looks like an orphan in her too big tan clothing, with skirts practically reaching to her ankles. It’s with Fran’s influence in her life that her style and self esteem actually improve. They even mention Grace, her little sister’s, improved sense of style due to Fran on the show.

(x)

Mary Margaret, OUAT

Snow’s curse name on OUAT is Mary Margaret.  

(x)

Fran, The Nanny

And considering that The Nanny is actually based off of The Sound of Music, that would make Fran Maria. Which if you think that OUAT used this show as inspiration that would mean somehow Mary Margaret is a combination of Fran and Maggie. When Fran once loses her memory her situation in the family I think it makes her ask whether she once sang on hills sporting a butch haircut.  There’s also Grace. Grace or Gracie is Mr. Sheffield’s youngest daughter. On OUAT Grace is the daughter of Jefferson, The Mad Hatter. A character that appears early on and one of the few child characters to actually recur.

(x)

Grace and her father on OUAT

(x)

Grace on The Nanny

6. Niles, otherwise known as Neal on The Nanny if you ask Yetta, is very invested in Fran and Mr. Sheffield’s future as a couple on The Nanny. He does everything in his power to help them get together romantically, from coaxing Mr. Sheffield into giving Fran her job as The Nanny back any time he fires her to straight up frustratedly clutching Mr. Sheffield’s coat and yelling in his face to get him to act on his feelings for Fran. He does it because he loves them and wants to see them happy but also because Fran becoming Mrs. Sheffield would only work in his favor. No one is as happy as he is when he finds out Fran thinks she’s pregnant. On OUAT Mr. Gold/Rumpelstiltskin, Neal’s father, is also very invested in Snow and Charming’s future (as a couple). Also because that is something that will work in his favor. He’ll get a child out of it, which is what he wants.

7.EDIT

I can’t believe I forgot about this, especially since I made a separate post about it, but The Nanny did an animated Christmas episode with a 28 year curse. Which had C.C., a weather deity, get grumpy for a few days every 28 years and cause a blizzard that kept Santa from delivering his presents. It was actually a metaphor for a menstrual cycle. 

C.C.’s mood also ended up being resolved by her finding true love in the Rain Man. 

The episode also involved Fran briefly taking on the role of a kind of Snow White surrounded by the seven elves, of which Niles was one. And featured an ice palace.

(x)

[comic-movieheroesranked]

Cinematic Comic Characters Ranked! (Year 2009) Part Three

It’s rough coming right after a fantastic year of movies (2008) but 2009 did pretty well for itself. Terminator Salvation is our only sequel and we also get an X-Men spinoff with X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Kids favorite shows come out with Astro Boy, Dragonball: Evolution, and G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra, and we got a couple of thrillers with Whiteout and Surrogates. We also get the debut of the controversial Watchmen! Let’s get started with numbers #40-21!

*SPOILERS AHEAD FOR ALL HIGHLIGHTED MOVIES ABOVE*

40. President Stone/Peacekeeper (Astro Boy)

"Declare war! This is gonna get me re-elected."

How did this guy even get elected in the first place? He's an idiot who thought the only way to stay in power was through violent technology. It's his arrogance that gets Toby killed and it's his arrogance that puts the whole city in danger when he still decides to use the red core energy. He ends up getting absorbed by the Peacekeeper and starts a city-wide battle with Astro that only ends when Astro sacrifices himself and connects the two cores. Stone is then arrested by his own men and taken away.

39. Delfy (Whiteout)

"They don't make them like that anymore."

Delfy was just a regular pilot who just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. He's the one who first discovers Weiss's body out on the ice and contacts Carrie. Afterwards, she makes him her personal pilot as she sets up an investigation. This new job ends up nearly killing him twice: Once when he gets buried under fifty feet of snow with the others inside the Russian plane, and another when Haden breaks out and stabs him. He recovers and ends up bonding with Pryce and Carrie for six months until the winter is over.

38. Abel Shaz/Breaker (G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra)

"Is that Double Bubble?"

Although he isn't the only brains on the team, if anyone needs advice on technology, Breaker is your guy. I will always enjoy the member of the squad who understand gadgets like no one else can yet doesn't truly understand most jokes that said. With the nanobite warheads being the most dangerous pieces of technology known to man, Breaker comes in handy in helping the team stop Cobra from bringing whole cities down.

37. Agent Zero (X-Men Origins: The Wolverine)

"It's funny how innocent people tend to die around you!"

For some reason Wolverine and Agent Zero DID NOT get along with each other. Everyone would be joking along with everyone else then all of a sudden they're both threatening to kill each other. The years after Logan leaves Stryker's team doesn't cool off the tension because those two are ready to pop off again when they reunite. It's a pointless rivalry though because we all knew Logan would come out on top, and it's not because he's the main character either. I mean, yeah, Zero is really good when it comes to shooting bullets and jumping over high fences but bullets don't do anything to Wolverine especially once he gets the adamantium in his skeleton. So when the two clash, Agent Zero ends up exploding in a helicopter and Logan...remains unharmed.

36. Sally Jupiter/Silk Spectre (Watchmen)

"I don't hate him because he gave me you."

The original Silk Spectre and one of the few remaining heroes alive from the Minutemen. Sally Jupiter is retired now and totally missing the game, so much that she trains her daughter to be the next Silk Spectre. She reminds me so much of those pageant moms that now live through their daughter's lives to fill young again. Although I'd really like to know why, it's never really explained, only assumed, why Sally goes back to sleep with The Comedian, who tried to rape her previously. The result of their one night stand is Laurie, who ends up coming to terms with it by the time she finds out and confronts Sally about it.

35. Chi-Chi (Dragonball: Evolution)

"Just because my name is Chi-Chi doesn't mean I'm an idiot."

I liked Chi-Chi and I'm pretty sure the only reason why they didn't have her in the movie more was because they knew I'd rank her higher than Goku if they did. I mean if I were in the group hunting Dragon Balls I would have totally added her in once I saw her fighting skills but it never happens. Instead we just see her every time we need someone to flirt with Goku.

34. Maggie Greer (Surrogates)

"It's better this way."

Maggie is Greer's wife and together they lost a son before surrogates became globally used. This causes her to mourn in a unique way where she locks herself in her own room and just lives her life through her surrogate. Even though she cares for Greer, she ignores the distance between them instead for the new fun life she has as a surrogate. When the surrogates are destroyed, she almost kills herself but ends up connecting with her husband again in their child's old room.

33. Dr. Bill Tenma (Astro Boy)

"You're still my son."

It took me a very long time to like Tenma, and I was starting to believe that he was a lost caused until he pulled through in the end. First he completely ignores Toby when he was alive, treating him like a unbothered teacher would a student instead of a father, then goes into a huge depression after he dies. Because of this, he creates Astro, a robot version of Toby but then completely abandons him shortly after and then aids President Stone in capturing him and shutting him down. It isn't until after he removes the core from Astro that he finally accepts him as his son, returning the core and bringing him back to life.

32. Goku (Dragonball: Evolution) 

"Kamehameha!"

With Dragon Ball being a Japanese anime I was glad that there was a lot of Japanese influence in the movie. The setting, the background actors, even some of the core cast but you know who wasn't? GOKU! Like I don't understand the reasoning as to why they thought casting a white guy as Goku would be a great idea when Grandpa Gohan was clearly Asian! But besides that, Goku was lame! He wasn't exciting to watch, which is a huge shame because I loved the watching the show with my older brother when I was little.

31. Bulma (Dragonball: Evolution)

"Everybody has a price."

Bulma was my favorite in the movie. I loved the guns, loved how she handled herself with the boys, and loved all her cool technology that basically was the reason they got around (her compact motorcycle) and found the Dragon Balls (Her D.P.E.). Her interest with Yamcha was fun and flirty and when it came down to business she was ready to help any way she can. She definitely should have been Asian, but at least her character wasn't as bad as Goku's.

30. William Stryker (X-Men Origins: Wolverine)

"Welcome to the war."

Our mutant-hating government official is back and now we get to see how his connection with Logan came to be. On a mission to create the strongest mutant weapon for the government, Stryker creates a team of mutants, including Logan and Victor, to hunt down adamantium. When this costs the lives of innocents, Logan's out, which is bad business for Stryker since Logan's he key to his secret weapon. He creates an elaborate plan, staging the death of Logan's girlfriend, Kayla, and pinning him against Victor to bring him back so he can put the adamantium inside him and successfully create, Weapon X. Of course, everyone that's a mutant figures out he's playing them all and his plans go down the drain with the death of Weapon XI. His adamantium bullets are what cause Logan to lose his memories and they're eventually what kill Kayla, but not before she can control his mind and send him away for good...at least until he turns up again.

29. Cora (Astro Boy)

"Didn't your nanny-bots teach you not to sneak up on people?"

Cora accidentally ran away from Metro City to the surface world where she becomes a sort of leader to the orphan kids Hamegg takes care of. She's the first one to discover Astro and quickly befriends him and he proves he's a kind person. She's the only one who feels betrayed when it's revealed he's actually a robot, but she quickly gets over it and helps him save Metro City from President Stone. After everything is done, she's even able to reunite with her parents.

28. Edward Blake/The Comedian (Watchmen)

"This is a joke. This is all a joke."

The biggest asshole in this movie BY FAR. Like even though everyone had their faults and definitely weren't saints, The Comedian was straight up a bully working for the government. In his worst moments, he beats the shit out of citizens protesting, attempts to rape the original Silk Spectre, and ends up murdering a Vietnamese woman carrying his child! For some reason he suddenly cares about being a father when he wants to get to know his other daughter, Laurie, but ends up just drinking his life away until Adrian shows up to murder him. Even though he dies in the beginning of the movie, his bad punchline of a life haunts everyone throughout the film.

27. Wade Wilson/Deadpool/Weapon XI (X-Men Origins: Wolverine)

"You whip out a couple of swords at your ex-girlfriend's wedding, they will never, ever forget it."

Wade Wilson is very conflicting because even though he's missing his signature costume, he was absolutely spot on when he worked on Stryker's team. He's deadly with the sword, has the same healing abilities as Logan, and will never shut his mouth. Then things got weird. Somehow Stryker is able to gain control over Deadpool and turn him into everything he's not by giving him powers of previous mutants Victor has either killed or kidnapped. Mouth sewn shut, Deadpool becomes Weapon XI and is such a threat it takes both Wolverine and Sabretooth to take him down.

26. Kate Connor (Terminator Salvation)

"I'm a doctor, not an engineer."

I don't know why, but I kind of expected Kate to have a bigger role? Not that being one of the only doctors in the resistance isn't important, because it is, but I always thought she would be like what Barnes was, a second in command. Still, she was fiercely loyal to her husband and was his support when he needed her. He especially needed her towards the end of the film, as it was her hands that operated on him to save his life.

25. Dr. Lionel Carter (Surrogates)

"My son's death will not have been in vain. Not if it heals mankind."

Lionel Carter created surrogates because he wanted people with disabilities, like himself, to live a better life then his partners and company took it to a global scale and by 2017, ninety-eight percent of the world population used a surrogate for basic every day activities. After his son dies for being mistaken for him, Lionle decides enough is enough. Using all his resources he gets a hold of the weapon that killed his son to return the favor to the man responsible. He also creates the ultimate virus that will destroy all the surrogates and kill everyone attached to them. Thinking his plan will never fail, Lionel takes a cyanide pill before seeing his plan come to life.

24. Dr. John Fury (Whiteout)

"I never meant for anyone to get hurt, but Haden got greedy."

I'm not gonna lie, I felt some type of way when it was revealed Doc was working with Haden to smuggle the diamonds. He probably had the closest relationship with Carrie and their personal conversations were some of my favorite scenes in the movie so when it turns out he was working with Haden, the guy who cause Carrie to lose two of her fingers, I was shocked. I guess the silver lining is that once he was caught he didn't fight it. He explained why he did it then walked outside to the deadly snow storm, killing himself.

23. Ana Lewis/The Baroness (G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra)

"Do it. You already killed me once."

I'm so glad it was revealed that Ana was being brainwashed to act as The Baroness the whole time because I just could not accept her willingly participating in the death of millions all because Duke disappeared after her brother's death. No one is that dramatic. Still, as The Baroness she was a force to be reckoned with. She killed all of the men in Duke and Ripcord's old unit, gave Scarlett her first fight, and she helped nearly destroy Paris. Good thing for the Joe's that Duke's gorgeous puppy-dog face broke her out of her mind control and she was able to free him and help stop her evil brother once and for all.

22. Dr. Elefun (Astro Boy)

"Everybody has their destiny, Toby."

Out of all the older males in the film, I truly believe that Dr. Elefun cared the most about Astro. He never saw him as just a robot that can be used for his own personal gain (President Stone, Hamegg) and he definitely didn't think he was a mistake that needed to be destroyed (Dr. Tenma). He really took his time to get to know and bond with Astro, who was still trying to come to terms with himself. I think in the future Elefun will morph into a huge father figure to Astro.

21. Remy Lebeau/Gambit (X-Men Origins: Wolverine)

"You miss me?"

Gambit has been the mutant everyone wanted to see on the big screen ever since the first X-Men came out. He's always nearly made it in the previous films but was cut out at the last minute. Well now he's here and he was a little bit of a let down. He wasn't horrible but he had such a minor role. He's a mutant that escapes Stryker's island before going back to his thief lifestyle in New Orleans. His fight with Logan was cool because we saw his signature staff and kinetically charged deck of cards, but after that he just remains in the background. He takes Logan to the island then is the first one to talk to him after he loses his memory, going his own way shortly after.

[taurielkeeperofbravery]

--- VERSES ⤏

Check back for any changes!

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[[ Hobbit/LOTR Based Verses ]]

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Little Warrior;; Any thread set in Tauriel’s childhood.

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Before the Storm (Pre-Hobbit);; Set before the events of the Hobbit, where Tauriel is immersed in her duties in Mirkwood as the Captain of the Guard. Can also be set before she was Captain, depending on the thread.

Deserter of the Guard (Pre-Hobbit);; (NEW!) At some point during the growing spider infestations, Tauriel feels caged, watching all that was once good about the forest fade around her. She wants to see the world, look upon the vast expanse of sky and horizon, with nothing in her way. So, after months of standing at the edge of the forest, wanting and wishing, she leaves.  

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Main (The Hobbit);; Takes place during or shortly after the events depicted in The Hobbit movies. May be some AUs mixed in (i.e. everyone lives AU)

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Wanderer of the Wilds (LOTR);; Tauriel has left Mirkwood after being treated badly by her kin due to her actions during the Battle of the Five Armies. She wanders Middle Earth, hunting orcs and the like to satisfy her thirst for revenge and lessen the pain she holds in her heart. This pain has made her more hardened and less willing to form close friendships.

Warrior of Mirkwood (Alt. LOTR);; Tauriel stayed in Mirkwood after the Battle of the Five armies, no longer Captain of the guard, but a warrior still. Through the years, she works her way back up in the ranks after most of her kin trust her again. She has changed, though: after the battle, she became more hard-hearted and less willing to form close friendships.

A New Home (Alt. LOTR);; (NEW!) Tauriel left Mirkwood not long after the events of the Battle of the Five Armies, after becoming disillusioned with Thranduil and his isolationist ways. It no longer felt like home to her, and she wanted to see more of the world, more of her kin. She traveled some, then arrived at Rivendell, where she decided to stay for some time. Would this be her new home?

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Captain of Paperwork (Modern!Verse);; Tara is secretary to the head of a big wine company known for it’s quality, though it has had quite the few scandals lately. Her hours are very long and grueling, and her boss is known to work her hard. With so little time to herself, she has few friends other than those at her workplace. She feels trapped, like she may always be behind a desk and never travel or meet someone.

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Darkness I Became (Dark!Tauriel);; A darkness has worked its way into Tauriel’s mind, making her manipulative and power-hungry. She holds grudges and sees vengeance as her main priority.

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Another Life Beyond;; (NEW!)

[[Crossover AU ]]

Tauriel has found herself in a world that is not her own. Will she be able to return to the realm she has always called home or will she start anew in this unfamiliar land?

( Note: This verse will also be tagged with another verse that reflects where Tauriel is in her life. For example, if she finds herself somewhere before the events of The Hobbit, the thread will also be tagged as the “before the storm” verse. )

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[[ Other Verses ]]

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Stranger Than Mirkwood;; (NEW!)

[[Stranger Things AU]]

Tamara was widowed at 28 when her husband Keith died while away at war, leaving her alone with her then 2-year-old daughter, Joan. She raised her alone, working hard as a waitress in Indianapolis while spending as much time with her daughter as she could. There was some help from Tamara’s adopted family, but she refused to take too much money from them, wanting to earn her own living and feel independent.

By the time Joan was 13, the city had tired both of them out. Tamara was stressed by the sheer number of customers she had to deal with and Joan had nowhere to play outside, and there were few children her age. She would often find her cooped up in her room, nose in a book.

It was because of this that Tamara decided that they both needed a new start. They moved to Hawkins, a small town that seemed like the perfect getaway from the city. It had plenty of space for Joan to play, and a number of children she could make friends with.

They would be safe and cozy there, or so Tamara thought.

——

Home Sweet Home;; (NEW!)

[[ IT AU ]]

[ TW: ptsd, pregnancy, death ]

Tara Sullivan moved to Derry as a young child to live with her grandparents after her parents died during a home invasion. They thought it would be best for her, to live in a smaller town with other children her age. To them, the disappearances of 1988 and 1989 weren't cause for concern— Tara was responsible, and always came home before curfew.

She was quiet in school, a good student. There were a few people she talked to, but she really didn't have many friends outside of the classroom. The bullies teased her about her grandparents, occasionally slapped books from her hands and laughed, but nothing severe. Their sights were elsewhere.

During the summer of 1989, Tara had what her grandparents said were "night terrors". Vivid hallucinations dreams of the night her parents died, along with dreams of large spiders invading her room. They stopped suddenly later that summer. Her grandparents, and later, her as well, pushed them off as a reaction to the trauma she experienced from losing her parents. They shrugged off the idea of any kind of therapy, thinking it to be a show of weakness. Tara still suffers from anxiety and PTSD because of this.

Tara never left Derry. She grew up, spending most of her days in the public library, learning from books. When her grandparents eventually passed, she inherited their house, getting a part time job at the library to help maintain it. The money wasn't enough, however, so she took a job at the bar as well.

At age 28, she met Keith, whom she quickly fell in love with. They had a whirlwind romance, wonderful but fleeting. Six months in, Tara was newly pregnant and Keith died in a violent bar fight while she was at her library shift. Most of the town sneered at her for being an unmarried single mother, but Tara ignored them and clung to her precious daughter, Joan.

27 years later, strange things start happening again. Joan is 13 when some of her classmates start disappearing, and Tara feels as if she's young again, scared, trapped in her room with the night terrors.

She still splits her time between the library and the bar, often getting in trouble for leaving early to walk her daughter home. Part of her wonders if she should take Joan and leave Derry, but it's always been home.

——

Sea of Starlight;; (NEW!)

[[Pirates of the Caribbean AU. Note: This could also just be a normal Pirate AU if needed!]]

Tauriel was born the daughter of merchants. She had a relatively happy childhood, traveling through the countryside with her parents. When she was about nine, they were killed by highwaymen, their goods stolen. Tauriel barely survived. She was found by other merchants passing through, who rode her to the nearest village.

An orphan with no where to turn, she took to thieving to survive. One day, the royal navy came through the village on their way to the shore. It was the day Tauriel took to large a risk pick-pocketing and got caught by one of the soldiers. Their Captain, Thranduil, took pity on her, and decided to take her with him to the coast, where his son, Legolas, awaited. Tauriel has known family again since.

When Legolas was old enough to begin training to follow in his father’s footsteps, Tauriel trained beside him. They trained daily, and grew to match each other in skill and strength with a blade. Years later, they both joined the royal navy with Thranduil’s blessing. Tauriel now sails the seas, Captain of the Starlight under her adopted father’s armada. She has little love for pirates, as she grew up hearing Thranduil talk of the awful things they had done. Something about them also reminds her of the highwaymen that robbed her of her happiness long ago.

But some days she misses the thrill of thievery, and part of her wishes to be free of the boundaries set by her duties…

——

Blood and Fire;;

[[Vikings AU. Note: I created this AU back in 2015 when I was still watching the show and I kind of fell out of it. I would be willing to rp in this verse, but I might not know everything I need to.]]  

Tauriel is a budding shield-maiden of Hedeby. Her father was a warrior, her mother a shield-maiden— they both died in battle when she was young, leaving her to be raised by a few women there. She was always insisting on learning the ways of the battlefield, wishing to become like her mother. Battle had always interested her, and gave her a sense of belonging and adventure.

As she grew, she became better at combat, learning what she could from those who were willing to teach her. She took especially well to the bow, and uses it as her main weapon, though when in close combat, she uses two small axes. At the arrival of Lagertha in Hedeby, Tauriel is excited to meet her and learn from her, and is disappointed when she cannot speak to her at length, since Earl Sigvard keeps her so close. After his death, and Lagertha’s rise to Earl, she undertakes training, along with the other shield-maidens of Hedeby, with her whenever she can. She looks up to Lagertha, wishing to be as great as her in battle someday. Tauriel is headstrong, fierce in battle, but she is also very compassionate, and aware of other’s needs.