#Merridy steals jewels and hearts

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What is your caretaking style? (Permissive, tough love, smothering, etc.) - hey ross, eilis, merry, whatcha think

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Eilis: Stares at you blankly before leaving you standing there.

Merry: "What? I don't know what— I'm trying my best, okay?"

It's Damien who gives you a deadly glare.

Ross: "Would you mind explaining what those terms mean?"

After a lengthy explanation to which he nods along, he states, "None of that makes sense. She's my sister, not some kind of... pet."

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When did you realize you cared enough for whumpee to do something to help them? - i don't think i've pissed off merry as much as i have eilis, so uh. XD

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I don't— Two seconds after I realized that he was still alive? I didn't have time to think about it. I had to save him or kill him. How could I not have helped? Yes, I was a bit scared. I didn't know who he was, or what he had done, but. I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself if I had left him there.

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Do they empathize with non-sentient things (dolls, plants, books…)? - for merry <3

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Well. Hm. I'm not sure how the question is meant, but probably no.

She does easily get attached to things, often because she connects them with people or memories, and will be super sad if they break or get lost, but that's more because she lost so much already.

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From the OC Ask Game--let's go with Merridy!

2. Were they created for the story, or was the story created for them?

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Yes.

As with most of them, it's kinda mixed. I did make the char in GW long before I wrote her story, tacked a little bit of backstory on - street kid in the big city, family dead. When I wanted to do nano, I had already paired up 6 of my other OCs, so some of the only few ones available (and probably the only humans) were Damien and Merridy.

I stuffed them in a cell and the rest happened on its own. Most of the details developed along with the story. Her framework existed as an idea, but she wouldn't be who she is without the story.

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🌫️Sublimation: How does your OC handle stress? What do they do when they’re overwhelmed? - for merry and eilis

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They're both pretty similar in this. They both need to do something, try their best to fix things, with no regards for their own health. They both might go outside to break down crying for a while, and then return and try again, trying to keep it together until the worst is over.

On the plus side, anything that isn't the one they love bleeding out in front of them, eh, I mean, a life and death situation, does really not stress them out that much*.

*"not that much" is still too much, but I think we have a slightly skewed view of things here 😅

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Do they have any shared interests/hobbies? Do they ever do these hobbies together? - for merry/damien

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Besides the whole "live in peace in a pretty little house in a quiet little town" they don't overlap in many hobbies; Damien enjoys working with glass and cooking, while Merridy is delighted to become a seamstress and have her own garden.

Something they both enjoy is walking or sitting on the beach before dawn and watching the sun rise. They also both love books and stories and will often sit together in front of the fireplace, either each with their own book, or Damien will ready to Merry.

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OC Questionnaire Tag

I was tagged by @winterandwords <3

Answering this one for Merridy, who is definitely sitting at a table with Damien when she answers those.

1. What is your go-to comfort food?

"Sheep cheese!"

Next to her, Damien mouths the same answer at the same moment, looking amused.

2. Is there anything you're probably more proficient at than most other people?

"I can juggle quiet well. And sew. And climb!" She grins. "You know. Trees."

Damien coughs quietly.

3. What is your worst habit?

"What, me? I don't—"

Damien clears his throat. Merridy rolls her eyes.

"I guess I need to think of myself more often," she says in a tone that more than implies she's repeating words someone told her, with no intention of following through.

Tagging, if you want to, @leahnardo-da-veggie and @sarandipitywrites and open tag! Your questions are:

1. How old are they?

2. How many languages do they speak?

3. How much blood have they lost so far?

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🍄 ⇢ share a head canon for one of your favourite ships or pairings

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*runs in circles, screaming* How am I supposed to pick.

Damien still often reads to Merridy or tells her stories. Now that he has made up with his brother and believes her when she says she's not afraid of his magic, he will sometimes use it to let the stories come to life.

Despite sleeping together almost every night, Finnian and Eilis keep the second bed. Sometimes things are too much for her, and she needs to be alone for a bit, but not alone alone. Eventually, those nights are the only ones she needs the oil lamp still.

Once their two children are a bit older, Josephine will be the one to return to work part time for the Order, while Valadan keeps his job as a carpenter and will take care of the kids while she's gone. He's a great dad!

Under the cut for what isn't even out yet:

Aurelia falls in love with dancing, and Laurent keeps his promise of teaching her; first they dance alone, with a music box or two, then later at public festivals or balls.

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🟡 Yellow- What is something your OC wants but knows they can never have? How does it feel to never get this specific desire?

- sara

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I'm gonna go with Merry :)

She wants nothing more than to find out what happened to her family. She never will. She just has to accept that they're dead, even if there will always be the small voice in her head wondering "what if", so she tries not to think about it too hard.

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nightmare: What does your OC have nightmares about? How do they deal with their nightmares? Do they tell people, or keep it to themself?

For Merry!

hate: What does your OC hate? Why? How do they act towards the object of their hatred?

For Damien!

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nightmare: What does your OC have nightmares about? How do they deal with their nightmares? Do they tell people, or keep it to themself?

For Merry!

Her nightmares are either very random with themes of failing, losing something, getting caught - or of dead people :) For the first kind, she might read a chapter of a book or something but then go back to sleep, for the second, she'll find something else to do for at least an hour, sometimes the rest of the night. She does not tell people, not even Damien.

hate: What does your OC hate? Why? How do they act towards the object of their hatred?

For Damien!

Well uh. Sadly. I think what he hates most of all is himself :(

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break: What would cause your OC to break down completely? What do they look like when that happens? Has anyone ever seen them at their lowest? - for Eilis and Merry

hide: What does your OC hide? Why do they hide it? - for Caldyn

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break: What would cause your OC to break down completely? What do they look like when that happens? Has anyone ever seen them at their lowest? - for Eilis and Merry

Eilis is terribly afraid of the dark. If one were to, say, lock her in a dark basement, that wouldn't go over well :) She'd get a panic attack, and might hurt herself trying to get out

No one has seen her. It's dark, Anna.

Merry can't lose any more people. We get a glimpse of that at the start of arc 3 of Glass Shards. If she were completely alone, with absolutely no one remotely close to her, it's likely she'd just give up.

I'm not sure which exactly would be her lowest point, but it's safe to assume people have seen most of those. Well, the start of Nuisance was pretty low, for starters...

hide: What does your OC hide? Why do they hide it? - for Caldyn

Early Caldyn hid part of his magic. It's not what it's supposed to be, and it would scare people, and it scares even him.

Current Caldyn hides his nightmares, when he's in pain, or otherwise feeling unwell. He's fine!

There's a lot of reasons for that. He doesn't like to seem helpless, because people easily assume he is already. He has some trust issues (no shit). He has a hard time accepting help, when he is the one who should be helping. Deep inside, he fears that when he's too weak or needy, those close to him might turn away from him (thanks, fucker).

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Round 1 :)

For Merry/Damien

11. Which member is more physically affectionate?

22. Who gets more easily embarrassed?

For Eilis/Finn

25. Who’s the most stubborn?

39. What other couple would they get along with the best?

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11. Which member is more physically affectionate?

They're pretty even. Merridy is a bit more likely to initiate, while Damien will just give her this sad look lol

22. Who gets more easily embarrassed?

I think they both have things they get embarrassed about. Damien tries very hard to be a Regular Guy with capital letters, so if he'd draw any kind of attention it might embarrass him. Meanwhile Merridy gets very self conscious when someone points out a weird habit of hers.

25. Who’s the most stubborn?

Oh Eilis is by far the most stubborn one. Worse than the goat.

39. What other couple would they get along with the best

Probably Merry and Damien. Because I clearly have a type, the guys' trauma has similarities, and hey, goats and sheep aren't that different, are they?

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1 - MASK - Would your oc recognise their love interest even if they're fully masked? (For Damien and Merridy)

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Depends. If it's just a mask, covering the face/head? Absolutely. I mean uh, even if we ignore that missing arm thing 😅 They know each other well.

Now for the interesting interpretation, I think even with a full body illusion, Merridy might be able to recognize Damien — more likely if she has any reason to suspect it. She wouldn't think a random stranger who has the same posture as Damien is him, but if she were searching for him, or he did anything suspicious, yeah.

On the other hand, if she really wants to vanish behind a mask, it's less likely he'd recognize her. She does not only dress up, she plays the part, hiding her own mannerisms, at least for a while.

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♦ - quirks/hobbies headcanon for Merridy?

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A few fun random little things I can think of:

She rereads her favorite novels so often, she can quote whole chapters.

The seamstress she works for has a flock of sheep, and even though caring for them isn't part of Merry's job, she spends much time there. She loves sheep. She also owns a few chickens on her boss' property, so they don't have to keep them in their own yard.

She doesn't like to mix some parts of her food, like sweet things with hearty stuff, and she'd rather dip stuff into sauce one by one than allow her food to be soaked. Damien will serve things separately, or keep some aside for her, unless she tells him it's fine.

Cilantro tastes like soap to her, much to his confusion.

She returns to Caldeia at least once per year, visiting her friends. Usually it's around the time of the queen's festival, because who says no to free food? She'll bring back enough candy to last for months.

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Old age and appearance headcanons for Damien? (And Merry!)

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As she grows older, her eyesight gets worse, until she can't read anymore - so Damien learns how to make glasses. Even with glasses, he will often read to her instead, which she still loves as much as the first time he did it.

At the end of the current story, Damien is already going grey. Merry is 10 years younger, but she'll follow in a couple of years.

The speed of which might depend on if I get my hands on them again.

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I'm not sure I quite understand this ask game, but here we go :)

∇ -. old age/aging headcanon - Merry & Damien

☆ - happy headcanon - Riordan, Breannan

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Eh, I've shoved it back and back and back for weeks now, and I got tired of it, so I allowed it to escape queue, lol.

∇ -. old age/aging headcanon - Merry & Damien

The two of them will stay in Nimrisé forever. After certain events I might or might not get around to writing, Damien is pardoned, so he doesn't have to live in fear of being discovered anymore. Merridy keeps working at the tailor, and he runs his glass business for a long time.

They will not have children — Damien has had enough after raising his brother, and Merridy would never want to have some of her own — but they're great uncle and aunt to Valadan's kids, and later grandkids.

☆ - happy headcanon - Riordan, Breannan

Riordan buys the house next to Merry and Damien. He pretty much spends more time at their place than his, but he's messy, and also occasionally enjoys having company overnight, so it works out well that way.

Breannan's dream was always to collect stories and legends that are locally told, some of which don't even have written records. He took lots of notes during his time of traveling the world.

Unfortunately, he has zero talent for storytelling. He can recite what he's read, but he has a super hard time putting stories down. After certain events that I absolutely will write, so nano will, he'll find a co-author, and together they will publish at least one work that becomes famous.