#and the fact that he also has them in a vault….possible good family memory he can’t leave behind….

[curi0uscreature]

* Nerd on isle EVERYWHERE 

[jadelotusflower]

It’s Cold in that Fridge: The Case of Nakari Kelen

Since The Case of Mara Jade has been doing the rounds again, I’ve finally gone back to this post that has been sitting in my drafts for literally years. So let’s honour this absolute badass who deserved better:

Once upon a time, the Star Wars universe was but six films (and a tv series) in the story of the Skywalker family. But beyond George Lucas’ story was an absolute boatload of books, comics, games, and other materials that made up the Expanded Universe. When Disney purchased Lucasfilm and the rights to the Star Wars saga, everything in this universe was decanonised and deemed “Legends” - some aspects of this universe were retained or re-purposed, others sit in Disney’s figurative vault and will likely never see the light of day (and seeing how the ST turned out, maybe that’s for the best).

But this transition between Legends canon and Disney canon was not so simple, because the nature of publishing meant that there were novels approved during the time of Legends canon that would be released in the time of Disney canon. In particular, there had been the planned trilogy “Empire and Rebellion”, set between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, with each novel from the perspective of one of The Big Three.  

Razor’s Edge (Leia) and Honor Among Thieves (Han) were released prior to the Great Canon Split of 2014.  But while the Luke-centric novel had been planned, it was not due to be released until well after the Split. So Heir to the Jedi (so called as an homage to the Legends progenitor Heir to the Empire) became one of the first books of the Disney canon.

What does this background have to do with Nakari Kelen?  Perhaps nothing, but I do wonder how the writing process was affected by the shift from Legends to Disney - was the novel a relic of the old EU with any reference the LFL storygroup didn’t like excised during editing, or was it a trendsetter for the new EU, a Sign of Things to Come?  

The most salient point being, of course, that Nakari Kelen - like so many love interests before her - was not allowed to go along her merry way at the conclusion of the novel, but was shoved into the fridge.

If there was one constant of the Legends EU, it was that Luke Skywalker’s love interests couldn’t catch a break. Mara Jade naturally lasted the longest relationship-wise, with almost twenty years of marriage to Luke before some bright spark decided she had to go (as per the aforementioned case study). But before Mara there was Jem, Shira Brie, and Gaeriel Captison (who came close to escaping the curse), and in the Legacy of the Force series they brought back sole survivors Akanah and Callista, only to kill them off for good too (and rather brutally, if I may add).

So perhaps when Kevin Hearne began writing HttJ within the confines of the Legends continuity, he was merely sticking to the status quo, or perhaps once subsumed by Disney they needed to make sure Luke's slate was clean (so to speak).  And I can’t put all the blame on Hearne since I don’t know whether it was his idea, or LFL mandated - but regardless it was a poor decision.

The root cause of fridging, imo, is limited imagination.  How best to cause your male protagonist pain if not kill off someone they love, or at least have strong feelings for? The answer is of course, easily. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

The Luke Skywalker of HttJ is fresh from his victory in ANH, a lieutenant in the Rebellion: young, not dumb, and full of...

Nakari Kalen is an absolute Queen a civilian volunteer and crack-shot sniper who loans her ship Desert Jewel to the Alliance. Luke is immediately attracted to her, they bond over a mutual love of fast ships and leaving behind desert home planets, and engage in the inexpert flirting of two nineteen year olds while also risking their lives several times over.

I want to make it clear: I actually really like this book. It's a breezy read, almost serialised as The Early Adventures of Luke Skywalker, and is ofttimes genuinely funny. And credit where it’s due to Hearne, many of of the supporting roles in the novel are female. Other than Nakari, there's Soonta, the Rodian who gives Luke her uncle’s lightsaber, Sakhet the Kupohan spy, and the Givin cryptographer/math genius Drusil Bephorin. In a genre where male characters are often the default for these kind of roles, it was nice to see, but makes the regressive fridging of Nakari even more egregious.

Luke and Nakari make a good team fighting brain-sucking monsters and Imperials, but more importantly they have fun together - she encourages him to work on his Force skills, and he successfully moves objects with his mind for the first time (leading to Nakari adorably dub him "a little noddle scooter"). It's a very sweet, if brief, relationship, and a respite from the danger of the mission. They spend the night together (leaving the reader to decide exactly what happened behind closed doors), and share a kiss before splitting up to try and escape bounty hunters. No prizes for guessing what happens to Nakari immediately after she received the Skywalker Kiss of Death.

I assume there were two motivating factors for why Hearne and/or LFL couldn't let Nakari live:

1. If she survived, fans would wonder why she doesn't appear in ESB/subsequent material.

I recall this bandied about on forums back at the time of the book's release, and to that I say - so what? Fans are always going to wonder, and try to paper over the gaps in canon, to make up their own headcanons to explain any any perceived inconsistencies. It's certainly no reason to kill someone off.

It is in fact possible for two young people to have a romance that just fizzles, or doesn’t work out for whatever reason - it should not require great maneuvering or explanation. If Nakari doesn’t show up in the next book in the timeline, what about it? The reader is smart enough to assume she and Luke broke up, decided to just remain friends, whatever. But it seems that the only way for a female character to exit stage left is for her to die, which is bullshit.

And actually, there's no reason why she couldn't have shown up again. ESB and RoTJ cover a month and a few days, respectively, of Luke's life - just because there was no mention of Nakari doesn't mean she didn't exist at that time, whether or not she and Luke were an item. She could have made an appearance in a subsequent novel, or Rebels, or the comics - she could have become a recurring character, showing up when the Rebellion needed her, or - heaven forbid - even have her own comic/book/show! Her existence in Star Wars canon didn't need to begin and end with Luke Skywalker, merely to service his plotline and backstory and abandoning the richness of her own.

No, the only reason Nakari had to die was to facilitate this:

It was a blow to the gut, realizing what that sudden absence meant. I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, but I had felt Nakari's life snuffed out through the Force, and into that void where she had shone anger rushed in - anger, and a cold sense of raw power and invincibility...I took a step to join in the hunt but stopped, breathing heavily, unaccountably sweating even though I felt so cold inside and the power of the Force roiled within me... I shook with emotion and power, and none of it felt the way the Force had before...I saw what kind of space it was , a black hole that would always be hungry no matter how much I fed it. I might never feel warm again if I didn't get myself under control.

Luke feels the dark side and is tempted by the boost of power it offers him, but immediately identifies it as dangerous and unnatural. I can understand why Hearne wanted to include this - it is a book of firsts after all: Luke's first solo mission, his first time using telekenisis, and ending with story with his first experience of the dark side makes sense. But it wasn't necessary, which leads to:

2. How to push Luke to touch the dark side without killing someone he has romantic feelings for?

Also, obviously, shite of the bull (or nerf, if you prefer). Even if this brush with the dark side was absolutely necessary for the novel's climax, there's any number of ways it could be achieved. At this point, Luke is fresh from losing important people in his life - Owen and Beru, Ben, and Biggs - lumping another death on top of that a narrative trick for Luke to react not only to losing Nakari, but the others as well. But it's cheap, the first card in the deck, and why not show a bit of imagination? Luke is young and inexperienced enough at this point that any number of things could be the catalyst - the whole book he's struggling with his growing powers, why not try and reach too far in the firefight with the bounty hunters, his anger and frustration with himself in not doing enough trigger the dark side temptation? It would work thematically and doesn't involve a fridging that ultimately has very little payoff.

Because Nakari is killed less than ten pages from the end of the book - afterwards Luke grieves, but ultimately chooses to honour her memory and be grateful for what he learned with her, recommitting to becoming a Jedi. It's all very surface level, and once again a female character's death facilitates a male character's development. Was it so imperative that Luke lost someone he cared about as part of this story? Sure, this was a time of galactic civil war, and it's far from unrealistic that these stories have a high body count, but who to make collateral damage remains an authorial choice, and in this case Nakari Kelen was (a) a female character of color, (b) a love interest of the protagonist - not just of this book, but the entire Original Trilogy.

I don't know to what extent (if any) race had to play in the decision. I'm sure there was a segment of the fandom absolutely livid that Luke Skywalker kissed (and maybe had sex with) a black woman. Was her death LFL hedging its bets, or demonstrative of the general lack of attention/respect they show their characters of colour?

In any case this was a chance to stand out from the old EU and it's fridge full of Luke's dead girlfriends, but instead they chose to introduce and kill off Nakari for the sole purpose of Luke's manpain and character development, and that's gross.

And then there's this:

A grisly yet reliable fact about custom bounty hunter ships is that you can always count on them to have body bags stashed somewhere for the easy transport of their kills. They often have built-in refrigerated storage, too.

NAKARI IS KILLED AND LITERALLY STORED IN THE FUCKING FRIDGE I COULDN'T BELIEVE WHAT I WAS READING.

I really hope this was unintentional on Hearne's part, because yikes. He was halfway there, this book was full of interesting female characters who had agency - Drusil in particular was a delight with her super math and inability to understand human interaction. Nakari was full of life and fun - capable but relatable, showing a different side of the Rebellion and those that suffered under the Empire's rule. Fridging her in her first appearance is considerably more vile, because it reduces her to a footnote of Luke's story, a plot device to Help Him Grow, rather than a springboard to tell more of her own story.

Because Nakari was a compelling character ripe for spinoff potential. I would absolutely have read or watched her continued adventures, juggling missions for her father's Biolabs company and trying to aid the Rebellion, shooting her slug rifle and cracking wise, maybe even finding a way to amplify her mother's song Vader's Many Prosthetic Parts to really stick it to the Empire, or try and free the political prisoners on Kessel.

The old EU was made great by allies and enemies of Our Heroes showing up again to help or hinder them, and/or branching out into their own material. We fell in love with them, and followed their stories even as they diverged from the main saga, eager to read more about their lives.

Nakari Kelen never got that chance. In many ways, she exemplified what Disney Star Wars was to become: an exercise in wasted potential.

[littlemisssquiggles]

What do you think of the idea of Emerald/Oscar? They have some soft moments together.

Hello Sweet o/ Well this squiggle meister is definitely on-board with the Green Team/Emerald City pair as a FRIEND-ship with Emerald being yet another proxy big sister figure to “adopt” Oscar as their close companion whereas the little prince in turn could finally provide Emerald with the strong and devoted family type of bond that Emerald truly wants and failed to garner from the villain side especially with Cinder Fall who she saw as a “mother” or close guardian figure who saved her from her former life of poverty.

Another reason why I like the Emerald City duo is because I’d like to think that part of Oscar’s willingness to believe in Emerald and desire to look out for her stems from him and Oz essentially fulfilling Hazel’s role of continuing to watch over her in his absence.

After all, it wasn’t just Oscar to be saved from Monstra. Emerald was too. Hazel Rainart gave his life to ensure that both Oscar and Emerald were finally free of Salem and since Hazel is gone, Oscar probably sees it as his right to stand by Em in his place; especially since he also owes her for his salivation.

Plus, a second reason why I think the showrunners may be pushing the Emerald City bond is because, ultimately, Emerald will become the next Fall Maiden; replacing Cinder Fall. 

Think about it. Professor Ozpin was the Headmaster of Beacon Academy. Beacon Academy is the fortress secretly housing the Vault of the Fall Maiden which contains the Crown of Choice---the only relic that Salem couldn’t acquire on her own since the true path to claiming it still rests in Ozma’s memories. Memories that will soon be passed onto Oscar Pine who is Ozma’s current incarnate officially succeeding Professor Ozpin.

Even if Oscar gains the knowledge to locate the Relic of Choice; he and the heroes would still need the hand of the Fall Maiden to open the vault. And as it stands, the Fall Maiden powers still rest with Cinder Fall who Emerald Sustrai was a former affiliate of and whom she shares a bond with; whether Cinder dares to admit it or not.

You see where I’m going with this?

 Emerald becoming the Fall Maiden after Cinder has been a headcanon for her that I’ve been rooting for since the conclusion of V5. Based on how things are shaping up and what is required to move forward, I think Cinder’s final curtain call may be drawing near and what would actually be most fitting is if Emerald is the one to deal the killing blow to Cinder.

As a matter of fact, it would almost be symbolic if Emerald is the one of all characters to be the one to put a stop to Cinder---not only saving the others from her but also ironically saving Cinder from herself. Emerald killing Cinder would be an act of mercy from someone who genuinely loved Cinder and wanted nothing but the best for her. And why I love this idea is because it would be a fantastic parallel to the end of Cinder’s backstory in the Midnight episode.

In RWBY V8CH6, Cinder’s path and descent in her megalomaniac madness was forged the instant she killed Rhodes. Say what you will about him as a character; Rhodes cared deeply for Cinder…even up until the moment she cut him down with the very same weapon he gifted her. 

So with that in mind, imagine how fitting of an ending it would be if Cinder died the very same way she was ‘born’, essentially.

You can pretty much say that the person we know Cinder Fall to be was born when she killed her former mentor and the one person in her life that actually genuinely cared about her at the time. 

 So…imagine the poetic irony that would be for Cinder Fall to now die---killed by the hands of her own former apprentice and the one person in her life who genuinely cared about her at the time---Emerald Sustrai.

Imagine if…Emerald kills Cinder and Cinder gets a strange sense of déjà vu because not only did her surprised expression at being killed by Emerald reflect the one Rhodes made to her the night he died but through Emerald, Cinder sees her former young self---the side of her she discarded when she chose her path that night. 

Cinder began her path with the bloody end of a blade through the chest of someone close to her. So for Emerald to kill Cinder the same way---even better if it’s done with her very own weapon---then that would be…downright perfect as ending to Cinder’s arc.

Apologies to all the Cinder Fall fans reading this post. The CRWBY showrunners have had Cinder dance with death one too many times. I myself have honestly been curious about how Cinder’s story was going to end in the canon. While I still like my Red Queen headcanon for her, I would be okay with Cinder dying if Emerald was the one to kill her.

NOT Ruby. NOT Jaune. But Emerald. If there is one character who would be most fitting to be the one to put an end to Cinder Fall, it would be Emerald.

Killing Cinder, especially if it was done in protection and/or aid of the heroes, would be the final nail in Emerald’s own arc of “switching sides”.

As stated back between V6 and V8, Cinder was technically the one thing still tying Em to the side of evil as she once remarked that she was only on Salem’s side out of her loyalty to Cinder. Emerald already left Salem but Cinder still lives as an anchor to possibly tempt Em back to the side of evil. But if Em were to be the one to stop Cinder, then that cord would finally be cut thus cementing Emerald as being on the side of good---officially in respect to her story.

Emerald helping to save Oscar and return him to his allies on Monstra doesn’t make her a “good guy”. Emerald helping our heroes take down Ironwood, help Penny and save the refugees of Atlas and Mantle doesn’t even make her a “good guy” either.

But stopping Cinder Fall for good---to be the one to put her down and essentially save everyone from the monster she knew Cinder would ultimately become if not stopped--- that, to me, would be the move to officiate Emerald Sustrai as a “good guy”.

Even better if Cinder were to plant the tough choice right in Em’s face. Imagine if…Cinder puts Oscar’s life in danger and orders Em to be the one to kill Oscar for her; like the devoted pawn she always treats her as. Imagine if…Em is placed in a position where she is made to choose between her old loyalty to Cinder as a villain or her newfound loyalty to Oscar as a hero.

Just as how Cinder was Emerald’s anchor to the villains on Salem’s side, Oscar is technically now Emerald’s anchor to the heroes on Ozpin’s side. So if Cinder forces Em to kill Oscar but Em ends up killing Cinder instead to save Oscar for a second time----this would be it. This would be the deed that cements Emerald as formally giving up on Cinder and fighting for the side of good; at least in my humble opinion.

And the cherry on top would be that killing Cinder causes the Fall Maiden powers to go directly to Emerald and if Emerald becomes the Fall Maiden---the maiden tied to the vault and relic housed in the school that is tied to Professor Ozpin whose very successor is her closest ally on the hero team---I’d like to think this would be a perfect conclusion to Emerald’s “arc”. I think that could work epically.

This is why I’m rooting for Em to become the next Fall Maiden. This happening would definitely further cement the Emerald City dynamic since Oscar’s new “big sister” or rather “cousin” would be the maiden tied to “his” relic needed to open “his” vault hidden in “his” school.

(I think I’d rather refer to Emerald as Oscar’s adopted cousin since I low-key like the concept of Oscar taking Emerald back home with him to Mistral only for her to be adopted immediately by his family since Emerald was an orphan who grew up on the streets and never truly had a family of her own but ultimately finds one with the Pines who willingly take her in. It FITS; dagnabbit.)

My one gripe with Emerald City duo though is that I wished it had better build-up throughout the series run. I’d be lying if the fact that Emerald and Oscar barely had any interactions prior to V8 definitely hurts the believability of them suddenly being close now with Oscar willing to vouch for the good in Emerald…even though he literally just met her like yesterday according to the timeline.

I know it helps the meme of Emerald “only knowing Oscar for 24 hours and would be willing to kill anyone who dares to hurt him” but from a storytelling perspective, I really wish the development of this dynamic had been delivered better. I mean I’m happy that we finally got the payoff of Emerald and Oscar becoming friends and seeing Em joining the heroes thanks to her friendship with Oscar…but it’s like eating a delicious cheese burger without the cheese.

You get to see the beginning of it and the joyful payoff of the end but the middle part that was needed to make it fully work is non-existent and ends up hurting it in respect to consistency. 

While I understand that Emerald helped to save Oscar’s life---that’s not really enough to sell his sudden faith in her. At least for me. Can’t speak for everyone else. Since, like I said, we barely got any scenes of Oscar and Em interacting before she showed up to help get him out of Monstra.

The ONLY thing that’s canonically helping sell Emerald City to me is the fact that Hazel was shown to care for and look out for Emerald’s wellbeing in the past and since Oscar spent more time with Hazel; by extension; custody of Em was transferred to Oscar/Oz the minute Hazel died…especially since, he was technically the one forced to kill him when he sacrificed himself to stop Salem.

I guess I just personally would’ve liked to have seen these two interact more over the seasons, particularly for V8 while Oscar was imprisoned. 

Perhaps that chance will come now that Em is on the team working with ALPN. And it would probably work even better if Em becomes the Fall Maiden. But for now that’s mostly just speculation.

All in all, bottom line---as I’ll say again, this squiggle meister really likes Emerald City as another close friendship dynamic for Oscar and Em respectively and I’m looking forward to seeing how this dynamic develops over the next season. 

I’m curious to see how much more Em and Oscar can help each other as friends especially since Oscar still has own inner demons with the Merge to deal with emotionally and I’m especially curious to see how Em would react to reuniting with Mercury in Vacuo now that she’s joined the heroes---even better if she’s now the Fall Maiden after killing Cinder. 

That should be a fun development but we’ll see how that goes. In the meantime, hope this lengthy response answers your question, Sweet XD

~ LittleMissSquiggles (2021)

[carewyncromwell]

💕 for Ru and for Jacob Cromwell?

+pros+

💙 Ru is very happy with very little. They are the definition of "low-maintenance" when it comes to a lover -- you don't need to give them presents, coddling, or a lot of intimacy, so long as you're by their side. They also are rather self-sufficient and don't get hurt easily, so you forgetting anniversaries or needing time to yourself won't bother them in the least.

💙 On that note, though, Ru has a perfect lust for life! They'll want to share the whole world with you, every little detail of it, and record every wonderful memory with you.

💙 Ru might not be much of a charmer, but they are sincere and deathly loyal. You never have to doubt their feelings for you. And although Ru isn't a nurturing type at all, they care about you enough that they'll try very hard to work against that shortcoming and protect and take care of you.

💙 They actually are oddly sentimental, in their own weird way. Ru loves recording things through film and photographs because they want the world to remember you, as they do, even long after they die and are forgotten themselves.

💙 Ru is sharp as a whip and sassy as hell, so they'll really enjoy bantering with you. They also may or may not rope you into some good-natured "trouble" like playing a practical joke on someone or sneaking into the rafters of a theater to get a sneak peak at a new moving picture. 😏

💙 If you’re need of quiet time, Ru's got you covered. They don't see the need to "fill the space with worthless words," so they're very content to just lie beside you in bed and enjoy the silence of the early morning.

💙 Don't forget, Ru's a a shapeshifter! Once they get their collar off, you can be sure they'll turn into whatever you need, whether someone tall to help you reach something or a cat to curl up in your lap after a long day at work. Ru will also let you ride on their back in their real form, a privilege few witches and wizards ever experience.

+cons+

🌊 The biggest one is that Ru, as a Kelpie, will inevitably have a much shorter lifespan than you. You will outlive them, unless you die through unnatural means.

🌊 Ru = blunt and insensitive AF. If you prefer your lovers to be kind over honest, don't choose Ru.

🌊 Ru also can be really condescending and rude toward those people they view as uninteresting or conventional. They will very frequently "stick it to the man" just because they can and might be needlessly antagonistic, if you have friends or family members who disapprove of them or your relationship for whatever reason. They will not pacify or equivocate on their opinion, for just about any reason.

🌊 Ru isn't the most romantic person out there, so don't expect chocolate and flowers on Valentine's Day or love-filled poems and speeches. They might give you gifts now and again, but that will be rare -- gifts aren't second nature to them, and they're not the sort to gush about their partner to others either. They tend to get bored when others gush endlessly about their love lives, and they may not always have the best instincts about how to take care of you emotionally.

🌊 Yeah, on that note, this kiddo gets bored and impatient easily. Don't f*** around and sidestep big issues -- be upfront with Ru and don't waste their time.

🌊 Ru can't cook. At all. Don't let them near the stove, under any circumstances.

+pros+

💙 Unyielding, unquestioning loyalty. To quote a famous Bryan Adams song, this guy would “fight for you,” “lie for you,” “walk the wire for you,” or even “die for you.” 

💙 Jacob will want to be a family with you, whether by having kids with you or not. He’ll want you to know and be very comfortable with his mother and sister, and he’ll want to know and become very comfortable with your family too. Jacob’s always had a very small inner circle, but he loves very strongly and he wants to be close to you by also being close to the people in your life, just as he wants you to be close to the people in his life. 

💙 Jacob’s all about thrill-seeking, trying new things, and traveling to new places...and if you’re ever the least bit scared, he’ll have enough courage for both of you. 

💙 This guy is also a real smart cookie, excelling in just about every branch of magic and having a broad scientific base of knowledge too! If you’re studying just about anything or need someone to look over a paper before you turn it in, he’s got your back. 

💙 Jacob is a total nerd, so when it comes to you nerding out about your interests, he’ll be all over it. He’ll want to know everything about your interests and he’ll want to share all of his with you too. 

💙 Jacob will want to solve all of your problems. If you suffer from severe cramps during your time of the month, or deal with chronic migraines, or are struggling with finding a good binder, no worries -- this guy will use his big brain to do whatever he can to make your life easier. His flair for problem-solving with both magical and Muggle means served him well when he had to help Muggle-borns hide from the Ministry during the Second Wizarding War too. 

💙 Along with a lover, you also get a bodyguard. Jacob will f*** up anybody who messes with you, whether with his rapier wit, his fists, or his extensive knowledge of spells. 

💙 If you like physical intimacy and PDA, Jacob’s your guy. He’s not always smart when it comes to expressing his emotions, but he will make it very clear how much he loves you based on how he’ll flirt with you in public, and he’ll always be up for any cuddling you initiate. 

💙 Jacob’s got a very handsome singing voice. He will serenade you without even being asked, whether a doofy romantic song to make you blush or a more seductive number in bed. If you like singing too, then Jacob will be over the moon at the thought of singing duets with you!!

💙 Jacob is also pretty capable in the kitchen! He’ll be happy to brew you alcoholic drinks and cook you a full breakfast spread. 

+cons+

🖼 Jacob is a book-smart, people-dumb spaceman -- meaning he is as dense as a ROCK when it comes to picking up on other people’s feelings. His talent for Legilimency (shared with Carewyn) makes it easy for him to predict people’s actions before they happen, but it doesn’t give him any insight about how people tick or ability to place himself in someone else’s shoes. It will take forever for him to even figure out he’s sweet on you, and even when you two get together, you’ll have to be upfront with him, if you want him to pick up on your emotional state.

🖼 Jacob has a really hot temper and a super overprotective streak -- you will sometimes have to hold him back to keep him from starting fights. 

🖼 Considering Jacob is only 5′7″, it’s very possible you will be around his height or taller. If you are taller than him, be careful -- Jacob’s very sensitive about his height, and he’ll get prickly if he’s reminded of that fact too much. Let him be the big spoon in bed most of the time and that might cushion his ego.

🖼 For a Ravenclaw who values wisdom and logic, this guy NEVER looks before he leaps. He’ll constantly be jumping into situations recklessly and you’ll have to play the voice of reason. Jacob’s also kind of arrogant, so it makes him sometimes overestimate his own capabilities and underestimate the problems he faces. This can then result in him getting in way over his head and you having to come to his rescue. 

🖼 Jacob still has nightmares about being trapped in the Portrait Vault. Be ready for some accidental punches and kicks in bed every-so-often when he’s trying to “escape” the nightmare and to cuddle with him for a while until he stops shaking. (He’ll brew you some Healing potion if he hurts you. 💔)

🖼 Jacob’s disorganized as all get-out. Sorry, but you’ll have to deal with this guy falling asleep at his desk at odd hours and not keeping his side of the closet tidy. 

🖼 Jacob’s inner demons can often make him feel like a burden to the people around him, hence why he tries very hard to be useful and all-knowing to the people he cares about. You’ll need to be gentle with him when his demons rear their ugly head, even if he won’t always be very smart about how best to be gentle with you.

send me a “💕 + (an oc)” for the pros and cons of dating that oc!

[multifandomthoughts]

Picture Perfect

Requested by: @aspergerhero​

Word Count: 1,285 words

Triggers: None!

Synopsis: You’re the newest member of the Straw Hats, and it’s taken a little while for the rest of the crew to warm up to you. All except her... Nico Robin. But when the pursuit of your talent happens to cross paths with her own interests, that all changes... Now later down the line, you want to use your camera to spend a little quality time with Robin. If only the rest of the crew would stay out of the way...

Author’s Note: This is my first ever large fic (something over a thousand words) and I’m so happy with how it came out! It took a while to complete but I hope y’all like it!

The devil child: Nico Robin. One would think from that epitaph that she would be a monster; someone with large horns or something that would constitute “devil child.” But nope, she is the last of her kind, a caring, kindhearted and often morbid person. She is a tall, thin and intelligent being, traits fit for an archeologist.

You knew the first day you had seen her that something special was going to happen between the two of you. Your new captain, Luffy, had admired your resolve and had pretty much demanded (in his own special way) that you join the crew. You had always had a dream of taking pictures of all the islands you could, to document the world just in case something happened. The crew welcomed you with open arms of course, but it seemed like the mysterious woman with long black hair and sunglasses was avoiding you at first.

It was no wonder she was avoiding you. It was when you had learned her past that it all had made sense. After speaking with the others over time, you had learned the truth; the horrible truth. She was the last of her people; the island of Ohara had been destroyed, her friends and family gone, and she had been hunted down just for the fact that she was the lone survivor. And then the water 7 incident; where she sacrificed her life so the rest of the straw hats could escape just because she didn’t feel she was worthy of their friendship. You could remember the first time she had learned of your skill. You had gotten off of the ship to explore an island. You thought back about that day…

The trees were lush and green as you traversed a windy path that led to a hill, looking for that one landmark that would help you remember the island forever. Walking along the stone pathway, you noticed that the ground was littered with these tiny pieces of metal that you were unaware of the origin or purpose of. Intrigued, you kept up your pace as you walked, seeing more and more chunks of this metal. You decide to pocket one of the smaller pieces in hopes of maybe getting an idea of what it was from, possibly through Franky or Usopp. Just in case, you decided to document your journey up the hill. Maybe there would be something that you missed upon first glance.

As you kept walking, you noticed less and less of the metal objects, and more tall grass and trees. Maybe the metal had been from some kind of outer fortification and you were now coming to an inner garden or the like. That hypothesis was soon tested as you came upon rising stone structures. Incomplete walls and archways were scattered in a manner you couldn’t make any sense of. Architecture was more of Robin’s area of expertise. Thinking of her, you brought your camera up to the hill to start finding good framing for a few snapshots. A place like this needed to be documented, and you weren’t going to wait for someone else to come do it. After wandering around and getting a few angles of the major structural remnants, you started to head back to the Sunny. On the way back you bumped into her by accident.

“Oh! Robin I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to bump into you, I must not have been looking where I was going.” You apologized profusely as she turned around and gave you a wide smile. “It’s okay, I’m just glad it wasn’t a group of bandits looking for hostages.” You were slightly confused by her comment but shook it off. “Hey Robin, I heard that you’re into archeology…could you possibly tell me what these buildings are?” With a wide eyed look of glee, she put her hands around your camera and with a nod you let her take it. “From what it looks like, it seems like it’s an open garden…some of the sides of the walls have poneglyph writing on them…it must be very very old, predating my family.”

Fast forward to now, where the two of you have become much closer than you ever thought you would, and certainly much happier. You’ve expressed many times how photogenic you think she is, and how much you’d like to get the chance to have her pose for a shoot. She never hesitates to tease you on what you might do with those photos, or just what sort of photoshoot it will really be, but you know she’s also flattered that you like her appearance to that degree. Finally you both have some free time and you set up your camera and a few outfits for her to wear. It was a warm day so most of the outfits she’s wearing corresponds to the weather.

“Hey Robin, why don’t you lean up against the mast and we can get a couple shots of you looking badass, okay?” “Yeah, that sounds good!” She saunters over to the mast and did a variety of poses; a squat, a lean, one with her arms crossed and even one with her Devil fruit, her arms dotted across the top of the mast, aiming down. “You want to try another outfit and then we can we can do some of you over the side, maybe looking wistful?”

Nodding, she heads over to her room to get changed into a different outfit; she always has a good sense of fashion and that’s something you’ve admired about her. Unbeknownst to you, you and your subject have attracted quite the bit of attention. Sanji has been discreetly watching the two of you, and Chopper and Luffy have been a bit confused, albeit intrigued to what you were doing. It looked like Luffy had a plan to cause some mischief; you don’t know what kind but you were not going to let him ruin your day.

Robin returns swiftly, having changed into a white dress with purple polka dots and matching lace at the bottom. She really does look lovely in that, you think to yourself. “Alright, you ready to take some more pictures?” She gives an enthusiastic nod and heads over to the side of the boat, resting her hands on the rails and looking off in the distance.

As soon as you try to take the picture, Luffy and Chopper giggle loudly, attacking Robin with a hug. Sanji emerges from where he was watching and takes the chance to put his head in her chest. Even though this shot was totally not what you were expecting, you could live with it. It makes good memories of you and your crew. With a loud shout, you alert the rest of the crew to what you are doing; Franky and Usopp come tumbling out of their workshops like something is wrong. Nami vaults over the railing, running over to the picture as Zoro complains about all the noise. And finally, Brook comes out from inside the galley to see what all the fuss is about.

“Hey all” you start. “I was doing a photo shoot with Robin when Luffy and Chopper photobombed me and I have a great idea! Why don’t we do a few group pictures to create some good memories?” For the most part, the group agreed; minus Zoro who was still grumpy from being woken up. Upon agreement, you begin to put everyone in a place before everything falls apart, and you decide to just let them pose the way they want. The smile on Robin’s face as she’s surrounded by her dear friends is an image you want to treasure forever. Fortunately, you can.

[firelxdykatara]

I was the anon who sent the ask about cs, and you actually addressed some of the major arguments i've seen - being with hook turned emma from a strong, independent woman into just a love interest, hook pursued emma with no reciprocated feelings, and that he never really redeemed himself. I've also seen arguments that cs is abusive, which i've seen to some extent in anti-kataang posts. i try not to dive too deep into the anti tag for my own sanity but these are some of the main things i've seen

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

ok, sorry, i was just caught up in the euphoria of reminiscing about my captain swan feelings that for a moment there i lived in a world where the Anti CS Brigade didn’t exist. but no, yeah, i know exactly what you’re talking about and honestly i think i just......blocked 90% of it from my mind because so many of those arguments were so vitriolic and widespread but also baseless, like...

gods, ok, here we go. anon you have activated my dormant ouat wordvomit processors and idk if i’ll be able to shut up any time soon but i have A Lot Of Thoughts Here, and also a lot of really bad memories cause ye gods, the ouat shipping wars of the days of yore were vicious.

ANYWAY, like, the vast majority of these arguments came from the ‘swan queen nation’, which is where you can trace a lot of super toxic wlw ship stans back to--just for a little context, but clexa and supercorp both had their roots in swan queen, among other ships, but those are the Big Three i always go back to because what they have in common is ‘the main character of the series is explicitly abused/treated horribly by another woman and for some reason the shippers go nuts over this pairing and will insist the show is queerbaiting them if this specific pairing is not made canon’. and swan queen stans, in particular, had it out for captain swan, because they were incredibly insistent about regina and emma being in love, and naturally the existence of emma’s romantic arc with killian threatened that.

as a result, they quite literally made shit up.

it’s funny (not ‘funny ha ha’ but like funny depressing), because a lot of what they accused CS of is actually shit that happened explicitly on screen with regina and emma. they claimed that emma was no longer strong or independent because she fell in love with killian, while ignoring the fact that she’d become a literal doormat for regina’s many abuses (there are so many things regina did to emma even after her alleged redemption which, if she weren’t being so coddled by the narrative, emma would never have let her get away with--like blaming her for saving the life of a woman regina had murdered in the past, or like telling emma to her face that she wanted to tear killian’s throat out because he managed to come back from the underworld while the man regina loved stayed dead) because, for some reason, they interpreted emma being happy and no longer closed off to the people she loved, choosing to let down the walls she’d built up over a lifetime of trauma as her being ‘reduced to a love interest’ which just did not happen.

like, factually, straight up, emma was every bit as badass while dating killian as she was back in season 1. the only difference is, in season 1 emma didn’t trust anyone, she was closed off, she had a million walls built high around her by trauma, and she wasn’t willing to let anyone in because she believed that if she did then she’d only be traumatized again when they inevitably left. by season 4, when she started officially dating killian, many of those walls had come down, she was happier and healthier, she was falling in love and she was letting herself be in love, she had her parents, her son, the whole town full of people she loved. she was fucking happy, but she wasn’t happy with the right love interest, so swan queen shippers insisted they wanted ‘season 1 emma back’. because they would rather emma be miserable so they could interpret her antagonism with regina as closeted gay pining, than have her dare to be happy with a man and a family that didn’t include regina.

as to the other claims, while hook did make his feelings for emma clear once he realized he felt them, the ball was in her court almost completely. he made comments, told her how he felt, said things like ‘when i win your heart, and i will win it, it will be because you want me’ where the clear emphasis was on emma’s feelings--he believed she had some feeling for him, but he wanted anything between them to be because it was what she wanted. emma initiated every explicitly romantic interaction. killian made a flirty comment, which he was wont to do, and which she could easily have brushed off--instead, she grabbed him by the coat and yanked him into a kiss which lasted far longer than it needed to if all she wanted to do was make a point. (sorry, that scene is just burned into the brain of every CS shipper, i know it literally by heart lmfao) he made it clear that if she wanted him he would be there, but i she didn’t he wasn’t going to push her. he followed her through an entire damn portal into the past because he wanted to help her, because he’d go anywhere for her--to the end of the world, or time--but emma was the one who invited him to dinner with her family. emma was the one who noticed he hadn’t come in yet, and went to see him. emma was the one who kissed him, initiating their relationship.

like @storynightlight said in the replies to the last ask you sent, a majority of the important milestones in killian and emma’s relationship were initiated by emma. she was the one constantly progressing their relationship, it went entirely at her pace in large part because one damaged soul recognizes another, and killian had been through enough trauma in his long (long, long) life to understand that emma needed to work things through on her own terms. he wanted to be part of her life, but it had to be when she was willing to let him in. and he was perfectly content to wait for her to be ready.

as far as the ‘abuse’ claims go, that was honestly just straight up fabrication on the part of swan queen shippers mostly, which is intensely ironic considering the state of emma and regina’s ‘friendship’ for literally the entire damn series. most of them referenced things that happened while emma and killian were enemies (they called their sword fight ‘abuse’, which like.... i’m sorry but two people on opposite sides of a violent conflict having a fight is not abuse, and incidentally that’s an argument that zutara gets hit with too, to this day, clearly words don’t actually mean things anymore), and ignored the fact that killian’s behavior changed as his redemption arc progressed. he didn’t become a good upstanding citizen overnight, but he did feel remorse for his prior bad actions and the harm he caused, he went to great lengths to make up for that harm when and where he could, and he tried to be as good a man as he possibly could in later seasons, even when circumstances (like, oh, gold having possession of his heart and using it to control him, which anti CSers also blamed him for, go figure) made that nearly impossible.

meanwhile, as late as season 6, regina was still blaming emma for everything that went wrong in her life. regina happily browbeat emma about everything she ‘stole’ from her for basically the entire series. regina, in the context of their friendship after her alleged redemption, was constantly verbally and emotionally abusive to emma--and yet that behavior was completely overlooked, or deemed ‘pining’ or some other obvious evidence of romantic feelings, by swan queen shippers who would prefer to claim emma was being abused by her caring and loyal boyfriend who constantly believed in her even when she had trouble believing in herself. (incidentally, it truly is incredibly rich of regina stans (and rumple stans, a lot of them say this too) to claim that killian never redeemed himself, when regina is the one with a vault full of hearts she never returned to their proper owners, and regina is the one who murdered someone emma cared about and never confessed to it, let alone apologized for it; graham died in emma’s arms while regina crushed his heart, and it was never once brought up again. regina got away with it scott free, and it is just one on a list of crimes she literally never expressed even the slightest bit of remorse for, let alone tried to atone for. yet killian is the one who ‘never redeemed himself’ mmhmmm ok sure jan.)

I’M SO SORRY ANON, you probably had no idea the can of Worms you were opening with these asks, but CLEARLY i still have a lot of damn feelings about this fucking show lmfao. THANK YOU THOUGH!!! i haven’t talked about captain swan or even really reminisced much in a while, and i miss them a lot, so it was nice to dive back into my Feelings and remember so much of what i loved about them! i may do a rewatch soon >.> it’s ok if i just skip 4b except the finale and then turn it off immediately after emma and killian’s reunion at the end and pretend the entire show ended there, right????

i hope you’re having a good night! thanks again for the asks <33

[danceworshipper]

The Family Business AU: Part 2

Part 1

Alright I honestly don't remember much of the game plot anymore and the memories feature didn't help much SO I apologize for this probably being horribly inaccurate to the game's canon. Eh, canon sucks anyway, this is an AU, whatever! Colette Belrose belongs to @gcldensnitch and Alex Vega belongs to @weirdcursedvaultkid

I do want to mention a couple things before the part starts. First, the way I headcanon Legilimency works is that it's a bit temperamental even for the most powerful Legilimens. Connect enough with a certain person, and disconnecting becomes harder and harder, and eventually you'll be linked forever with nothing to stop the transfer of thoughts and emotions. Second is about the twins. Tessa's got it really hard in this AU. Most of her development in 'canon' comes from her giving up the vaults and becoming more independent from Gracie, but that obviously didn't happen here because her family would never let her, so she has even more self worth issues than she should. About Gracie: from a young age she's been selected to be the heir, right? Her family and the other R members have always put her on a pedestal, and it's gone to her head a bit. She's a little too arrogant, and even too naive in a few ways. And she really doesn't know just how upset Tessa is, or how unworthy she feels, because unbeknownst to Gracie, Tessa's Occlumency is far stronger than hers. But both of them will get their proper development, I promise! They'll figure out just how fucked up their lives are soon enough.

Onto the story!

Are you questioning your grandmother's intelligence? Clarissa's stern voice rang through the twins' heads.

R's planned attack had not, in fact, gone as planned. Instead of throwing a few curses and leaving, as the agents were supposed to, they stayed and decided to duel with the twins and their friends, resulting in Ben getting a nasty curse to his leg that almost caused it to fall off. After a couple risky maneuvers to get the agents to finally leave, he was hurried to the Hospital Wing, where most of the friend group was at the moment. Thankfully they were paying Ben too much attention to notice that Gracie had crept away to the window to scream mentally at her mother - the only other member of R who possessed Legilimency. Tessa hoped that following her would make it look like they were just talking silently to each other. Clarissa hadn't taken too kindly to being shouted at in the middle of her lunch, unsurprisingly.

I'm questioning whether we're being given the correct information in the first place, or if Grandmother decided we don't need to be alerted when there's a change of plans, Gracie snapped. If I hadn't risked being outed by jumping in front of everyone else, he would have lost his leg!

And why do you care? I've heard your complaints about this young man. You don't even like him.

He's our friend!

Gracie, just stop, Tessa pleaded, grabbing Gracie's arm. She glanced over to Ben's bed; Ismelda (why was she even there?) was staring back at the two of them.

Sensing her sister's distress, Gracie followed Tessa's eyes to Ismelda, who kept her gaze. Tessa felt a wave of suspicion from Gracie. Either Gracie was so angry she wasn't keeping herself together well - which was very possible - or the twins' link had deepened without them realizing. Either option posed an issue.

I give you the information I've been given, Clarissa spoke, drawing their attention away from Ismelda. If you're truly this upset, I could have your grandmother stage a kidnapping so you may speak to her yourself.

No, no, Tessa interjected, not letting Gracie agree while still so uncontrolled. We can manage.

Good. I will be in contact on Tuesday to update you.

The intense headache Tessa had been feeling dispersed. Clarissa had closed their link. Tessa sighed, leaning back against the wall and finally dropping Gracie's arm. Legilimency over such long distances really took a toll on someone.

Gracie seemed fine though. Tessa knew she was just weaker.

You'd think the heir to the metaphorical throne would be shown a bit more respect, Gracie hissed. They really aren't doing themselves any favors here; I thought they wanted to bring in our generation? How in Salazar's name do they expect to gain more members if they keep fucking attacking them?!

Stop, please, Tessa begged, pressing her hand into her eyes. The anger Gracie was feeling was unnerving at this point, almost as if it was impossible for her to calm down, and Tessa could feel all of it like a fire burning in her heart. She didn't like being angry herself, so feeling someone else's anger was so much worse. Our link deepened.

Gracie's hand found hers and intertwined their fingers. It helped, just a little.

I noticed. Ismelda's still staring at us.

Tessa's eyes shot open. Ismelda had a blank look on her face. Too blank. Forced blank. What was she thinking? The idea to get into her mind was tempting, but Tessa had never liked using her Legilimency without permission. It just felt too violating; she would hate it if someone did it to her.

Gracie didn't have the same issue - within a second she was in Ismelda's head. This was important enough to warrant the intrusion, Gracie reasoned. No one could know until they had been recruited. The twins couldn't afford for anyone to be suspicious of them before they were able to get their most important people safe; Ismelda could ruin everything.

Thankfully, Ismelda hadn't drawn any connections to R yet - probably because she hadn't been very involved in the vaults and barely knew what R was, Gracie reminded herself. But Ismelda was very observant, and noticed almost every instance where the twins had mental conversations with each other or their mother.

The twins' Legilimency wasn't a secret. It may have been supposed to be, but in moments of blind panic an untrained Legilimens' mind will latch itself onto the nearest person to beg for help, and no one had been fully prepared for the Ice Vault, so Bill, Ben, and Rowan had very quickly realized the twins were not screaming out loud. The information spread quickly.

All things considered, it was fair for Ismelda to wonder why the twins sometimes chose to speak silently instead of out loud, and why they always seemed so upset while they were doing it. It was also fair for Ismelda to think that maybe the twins knew more than they were letting on. After all: it was true, they did. But she hadn't told anyone of her suspicions yet, which was the most important part, and she wasn't going to until she had proof.

Gracie extracted herself from Ismelda's head as smoothly as she could - the exit was always more noticeable than the entrance - but it didn't seem like the girl had felt anything. Gracie squeezed Tessa's hand.

"We're safe," she murmured aloud. No need to keep speaking silently, though neither of them closed the link. It was a strange sort of comfort to the both of them to keep their sister so close, even if their link was getting too deep to be completely safe.

"I don't like it when you do that," Tessa scolded gently. "What if someone invaded your mind without you knowing?"

"No one could," Gracie deflected. "Not even Mother can get in without permission."

Tessa shook her head in disapproval.

"It was important, Tessa. What if she started rumors we couldn't shut down? You know how Hogwarts is."

"I know."

"Come on." Gracie tugged Tessa's hand. "Lets go check on Ben."

The large crowd had mostly left, leaving just Alex, Merula, and Ismelda. Gracie idly wondered what Ben felt like being surrounded by Slytherin girls all the time.

"If they hadn't left I could have gotten some information out of them," Ben was saying. "We almost had them."

Merula scoffed. "If they hadn't left when they did you'd have to hop everywhere."

"A small price to pay if it meant we were closer to stopping them once and for all."

"I agree with Merula," Alex said. "Your health is more important, Ben. You'll have more opportunities."

"I wasn't concerned with his health!"

----------------

It seemed extra dark that night, sitting in the Slytherin Common Room with Colette as the fire died down. It was just Tessa awake; Colette had fallen asleep on her shoulder a while ago. Something about huddling under a blanket with a friend helped Tessa think more clearly, even without talking. The weight of Colette's head on her shoulder helped to ground her and remind her she wasn't alone.

Of course, even being comforted left Tessa feeling guilty these days. This was Colette. Colette, who had always been there, who always brought sunshine to the dark days. Colette, who had no idea that the girl she was sleeping on was technically her brother's superior in a wizard cult. Tessa had done nothing but betray Colette since the day they met. There were too many lies that would tear them apart, and Tessa selfishly remained anyway, taking the comfort Colette offered while tearing the girl down behind the scenes. How could she do this? What kind of monster took advantage of someone's kindness like this?

Times like this were when Tessa cursed R with her entire soul. She cursed her mother for bringing children into R, she cursed her grandmother for starting R in the first place, she cursed Vance for not giving his sisters the option to flee with him and for never contacting them, and most of all, she cursed herself for taking that stupid magical vow that meant she could never tell Colette any of this, because Colette was too good. She'd never join R, and when she inevitably found out, Tessa would never be able to explain herself. When that happened, Tessa would lose Colette forever.

The link Tessa shared with her twin flared just a little, grief seeping in and mixing with what she was already feeling. It was too muted for Gracie to be awake. Bad dream? Tessa let her mind expand into Gracie's to try and calm her - one of them needed to be well rested, at least, and Gracie was the stronger of them in every way. Whatever dream she was having lost its grip on her as Tessa yanked on it, leaving no trace and no more grief spilling over. Good.

This was Tessa's only way of protecting her sister. Gracie was always the one who led in battles, who talked their way out of things, who people respected. Tessa was a follower, nothing more. It hurt, but at least Tessa knew that she could keep people safe like this. Her first practices with using her Legilimency undetected were on her friends as they slept, trying to influence their dreams, and nightmares were always easy to dispel. Fears never mean as much when you can't remember them. To Gracie's knowledge, she hadn't had a bad dream since she was thirteen, except on the nights they shared nightmares.

The only downside was that dispelling a nightmare sent the sadness, fear, and/or pain barreling into Tessa in full force.

As Tessa let the tears she didn't understand fall down her face, the fire flickered more, casting just a bit more light into the room, illuminating Liz as she appeared from the hallway to the dorms.

"There you guys are," she whispered. "I woke up to go to the bathroom and you weren't there."

"Sorry," Tessa responded. She felt Colette stir.

Liz frowned, coming closer. "Are you crying?"

"Yeah, uh, it's nothing." Just the fact that Tessa was a horrible human being.

"What time is it?" Colette asked, lifting her head but not moving away.

"Maybe three?" Liz guessed. "I didn't look. What's wrong, Tessa?"

Tessa shook her head and wiped at her cheeks. "Nothing." She didn't know what her sister had been dreaming about.

Liz and Colette shared a look, then Liz sat down on Tessa's other side and leaned into her.

"You don't have to tell us, but we're here for you."

That makes it worse, Tessa wanted to say, but how could she? How could she explain that she didn't deserve any compassion?

"We love you," Colette said quietly. "You're getting worse, Tessa, and we just want to help in any way we can. But you have to let us."

I'm in a cult! I'm a liar! I'm a monster and you need to get away from me before my family kills you!

Nothing came out but sobs that were fully hers, so her friends held her tightly through the night, whispering reassurances that made Tessa want to throw up.

----------------

"You can admit you have a heart, Merula, it's okay."

"Vega!"

Gracie rolled her eyes. "It's okay, love, we know you don't care about anyone."

"I didn't say that either!"

Alex grinned. "So you do have a heart?"

Merula angrily scooped more fruit onto her plate. "Get me the dip," she demanded, and Gracie passed it over. The seasonal October dip had always been Merula's favorite.

"Why are you so interested in me anyway?" Merula asked Alex. "Shouldn't you be fussing over Copper still?"

"I already visited him earlier."

"I swear you're in love with that loser."

"He's not a loser!"

"At least the two of you would be a good match."

"Merula!"

"Would you two just kiss already?" Gracie taunted, rolling her eyes. "We can't have one breakfast where someone isn't bickering with someone."

"Are you seriously insinuating I want to kiss Vega?" Merula asked in disgust. "You're the one dating me!"

"And I regret it more every day."

"Hey!"

"I could date Rowan. It would be much more peaceful."

Rowan winked across the table.

Merula huffed, but thankfully shut up. She knew Gracie was just joking. Besides, Rowan would never lower her standards enough to date Gracie of all people, and it was well theorized that Alex did in fact fancy Ben. Gracie didn't understand that in the slightest, but whatever made her happy.

Alex was pouting into her eggs. Why did she take Merula's insults so seriously? At this point it should be obvious she didn't mean it. Still, Gracie kicked her girlfriend under the table, jerking her head at Alex.

Merula scowled.

Gracie kicked her again.

"You're not a loser Vega," Merula said. "Copper is though, and I stand by that."

Alex smiled a little. "You can think that, but he's awesome."

"I could kick his ass easily," Merula boasted.

And: more bickering. At least this was a bit more friendly.

"Chiva."

Gracie and Tessa both turned around. Ismelda was standing behind them.

"Yeah?"

"Cursed Chiva."

Tessa turned back around, tension radiating off her. She was always nervous these days. Gracie wished she could help Tessa see that everything would be okay. The two of them could protect their friends if something went wrong, because they knew spells only family was ever capable of, and if it really came down to it, R members all knew that they would be executed if they harmed the twins. They could use their bodies as shields, like Gracie had done for Ben.

On a more morbid note, Lorraine was old. It couldn't be too much longer before she either died or had to step down, and then Gracie would be the leader and exempt from the oath keeping her quiet. Once their friends found out why the twins had been lying to them, they'd understand. Sure, they'd be upset, but they were good people and they'd forgive them. Gracie had a lot of reform she wanted to do anyway, and after that was taken care of, their friends might be more willing to join if they hadn't already by then. Even if not, Gracie would be the leader and she could mark them all as untouchable. So in a horrible way, Gracie was just waiting for her grandmother to die. It would solve a lot of problems.

Tessa just hadn't come to that same conclusion yet.

"What?" Gracie asked, remembering Ismelda had addressed her.

"You have first period free, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"We're talking. Courtyard."

"Okay?"

Ismelda reached over Merula for a bagel before leaving the Great Hall.

"What's that about?" Rowan asked, looking at the doors Ismelda had walked through, fork halfway to her mouth.

Gracie shrugged. "No clue," she lied. Shit, had Ismelda noticed Gracie in her head after all?

Tessa nudged Gracie with her leg. Gracie nudged back. It would be fine. If it came down to it, she knew her way around a memory charm.

Don't be stupid, Tessa warned.

Relax.

I can skip out on Divination if you want.

It'll be fine, dumbass. Don't risk your grade over nothing.

"Want me to come with you?" Rowan offered. Gracie focused back on her best friend.

"Nah, I'm sure she's not gonna kill me."

Rowan didn't like that answer, if the glare she gave Gracie meant anything.

----------------

Ismelda stood with her arms crossed in front of the fountain as Gracie approached. It was rather chilly out; the thin school sweater wasn't cutting it. Before Gracie could greet her, Ismelda made her claim.

"You know something we all don't."

It was a split second decision, fueled by the tingle in the back of Gracie's head, that made her agree.

"Yeah."

Taken aback slightly, Ismelda paused, having clearly been ready to argue.

"Okay, so what are you hiding?"

"I can't tell you."

"Chiva - "

"I'm under a magical oath," Gracie admitted. "I can't tell anyone."

Ismelda frowned. Her arms fell to her sides as she took in that she was being told the truth.

"I take it your sister is, too?"

"Yeah," Gracie agreed. "It's a family thing."

That threw Ismelda off even further. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Do you want to know what we know?"

Ismelda narrowed her eyes. "That felt like a threat."

Little do you know.

This could be a bad idea. Ismelda could take the news very badly and get killed. But Gracie was almost certain she wouldn't, and someone like Ismelda could be a really good ally. She had already proven herself to be rather observant, and she was the type of person who wasn't deterred by violence. And the power aspect would certainly tempt her.

Ismelda hadn't been a priority, but it was a start. Besides, if that tingle Gracie felt was to be believed...

Gracie sat, gesturing for Ismelda to join her, which she did with some hesitation.

"If you find out you'll have to take the same oath."

"I figured as much."

"Believe me when I say this is dangerous. Knowing will keep you safe, but only if you go about it correctly. If you refuse the oath, bad things could happen. And that's before you find out."

Ismelda yanked the end of her scarf out of the fountain with a muttered curse, charming it dry before responding.

"Your family sounds more fucked up than you normally let on, Chiva."

There was no arguing with that. Gracie let Ismelda sit for a moment, turning the information over in her head.

"When?"

I thought so.

"Next weekend is a Hogsmeade weekend right?"

"Second weekend of every month, isn't it?"

"Hope you don't have any plans."

Ismelda stood, and Gracie copied.

"Is this a trap?"

"No."

"You'll tell me?"

"After you take the oath."

She stepped back a bit.

"Then tell me where to be."

Gracie grinned. Lorraine would be pleased.

"Meet me behind Madam Puttifoot's at one. My family - " the oath prevented her from saying grandmother " - will take it from there."

She turned to where the persistent tingle in her brain was coming from.

"You can come too, Rowan." Two in one.

[avidrawsthings]

I lost track of how long this took me from start to finish but I’m very impressed with the final result. I can’t recall the last time I’ve drawn a line-up like this and actually finished it. That aside, Reina is meant to be very tall for her age, like at least a head taller than most kids her age, but here she looks to be of average height...XD

This is my take on the MC Through the Years Challenge (I think that’s what it’s called lol) by @leah-demarco 

My contribution to the MC Childhood Challenge is right here! The stuff above can be regarded as a continuation from that.

Ties into the Future MC Challenge here!

(If the letters on my blog are difficult to read on the PC, use CRTL + to zoom in. When I tried increasing the font size on my settings, all it did was make the letters overlap horribly)

1984-1985 (11 years old)

After bonding with Ricardo (Jacob) over the past 3 years, Reina made up her mind to attend Hogwarts just for the sake of being closer to him. Since he never told her or her family about the vaults in order to keep them safe, Reina was completely expecting him to be at Hogwarts starting off his 6th Year. It wasn’t until after she met Rowan did she learn the truth. Upset and shocked as she was, that gave way to her absolute determination to find him and bring him home.

As Ricardo never mentioned having a sibling to anyone except Dumbledore and Chester, Reina was only ever seen as the friendly foreign transfer student from the Dominican Republic. She hit it off quite well with her fellow classmates, becoming popular in her own right, second to Penny. With dreams of owning her own bakery one day, she decided she would have a mini baking business while at school that became a hit with her classmates.

Much like Penny, Reina proved herself to be skilled enough at Potions to also be on Snape’s good side. She views brewing Potions in the same manner as she does baking, knowing the importance of having the right ingredients and the proper way to mix them. Despite enjoying such a positive atmosphere, it didn’t stop her from having to deal with Merula’s shenanigans. 

Since Merula didn’t have the excuse of MC’s relation to their sibling to get away with messing with them, she often faced the consequences for her actions. The other students viewed her actions as quite malicious because as far as they knew, she was attacking the transfer student for no reason.

1985-1986 (12 years old)

With encouragement from Rowan, Reina tries out for the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team and becomes their newest Chaser. She also meets Andre around this time and the two bond over their love of Quidditch and how they were taught by their respective grandparents, Andre with his grandma and Reina with her grandpa. 

Rowan effectively took Penny’s place for all the Quidditch stuff, as her own involvement stemmed from her family’s tree farm also making wood for brooms, and she wanted to see them in action. This helped Rowan break out of her shell, especially after hitting it off very well with Murphy.

Activities aside, Reina was still determined to get involved with the vaults for the sake of bringing Ricardo home. After meeting Bill for the first time, Reina unknowingly latched onto him due to seeing him as an honorary big brother figure. Once the Ice Knight had been dealt with and the Ice Curse broken, Reina would be left in shock upon hearing what she thought was Ricardo’s voice for the first time in 2 years. He begged her to not press further for her safety, but she wasn’t having it, promising him she’d rescue him from wherever he was.

1986-1987 (13 years old)

Develops a big time crush on Talbott after meeting him in group study sessions, and goes out of her way to help him when realizing he’s going through something. Merula’s constant spying nearly destroyed the chances of Reina and Talbott becoming friends, but in the end they succeed and the two become quite close.

With the Vault of Fear causing Boggarts to run amok all over the school, Reina knew she’d run into one eventually. What often puzzled her was that she’s never encountered one before, and isn’t exactly sure what her fears are. She got her answer when walking down a hall on the way back from the courtyard. It would take the form of a woman she wasn’t familiar with, but insisted she was Reina’s mother. The sight alone caused Reina to collapse with a high fever.

While she already knew her mother was abusive, the woman died when Reina was a toddler and her memories of the woman were wiped to spare her from the trauma. As the Boggart couldn’t figure out what Reina feared at the moment, it appears to have latched onto her subconscious. While she wasn’t sure why her mother’s image would cause her to have a fever, it gave Reina and her friends all the more incentive to break the curse as soon as possible. In time, of course, they succeeded.

1987-1988 (14 years old)

Reina pays less and less attention to Merula’s nonsense, and goes as far as befriending Ismelda after helping her deal with heartbreak regarding her feelings over Barnaby. Reina then attends the Celestial Ball with both Ismelda and Rowan as a girl group.

Some time after the Celestial Ball, she starts dating Talbott and the two are head over heels for one another. They do keep it private, however, as Reina herself is still very popular second to Penny, and Talbott would rather not be the center of attention.

After meeting up with Torvus, she befriends the Centaur much faster thanks to him not knowing of her relation to Ricardo. She has some familiarity with Centaurs as a herd of predominantly female ones live a short distance outside of her hometown. Progress is made and the Sleepwalking Curse is broken.

1988-1989 (15 years old)

Her 5th year proved to be a major turning point in Reina’s life. With newfound responsibilities, she now had to balance Prefect duties, her side baking business, Quidditch, detention and figuring out how to solve the newest curse. Reina’s emotion-reading abilities allowed her to be aware of Rakepick’s wickedness, and she refused to go anywhere near the woman to the point of avoiding her classes entirely. This didn’t go unnoticed by her friends.

The group found themselves divided over Reina’s choice to avoid the woman. Some of them (including Ben, Rowan, Talbott and Tulip) sided with Reina when she shared her concerns, while the others (Bill, Charlie and Penny) had doubts. Bill felt very appreciative of not only Rakepick teaching them actual important things, but the fact that she’d secure a Curse-Breaking job for him once he graduated. Charlie, of course, sided with his brother, and Penny herself was desperate for whatever help was possible to free Beatrice from the curse.

When questioned if her current levels of stress was affecting her ability to read the emotions of others, Reina couldn’t provide an answer, but stuck by her gut instincts regardless. Things reached a breaking point near the Christmas holidays. Penny (with some manipulation by an opportunistic Merula), took Reina’s refusal to cooperate with Rakepick in the worst possible way and angrily lashed out at her friend. The ensuing argument led to a vicious falling-out between the two. Some weeks later Reina would suffer a stress-induced mental breakdown that left her bedridden for some time.

Prefect duties were given to Rowan with Sprout’s approval, she was excused from detention and couldn’t take part in Quidditch until further notice. Her condition also prevented her from having her Quinceañera, which deeply upset her for quite a while. When Merula failed to get the painting from Peeves, Reina had to do it for her despite her weakened state. She recovers enough that she’s approved to enter the vault with the rest of the group. 

After Rakepick revealed her true colors and went as far as trying to kill Reina, the group fights back and forces the woman to flee. She reunites with Ricardo and the two have a heartfelt reunion. He joins the group in heading back to school. While Reina would fall into a coma for a week (even clinically dying for 4 minutes), she would eventually recover. With Ricardo safe and sound, and the Portrait Curse being broken, Reina made it clear she would no longer be involved with the vaults. The injury she sustained from Rakepick would leave Reina in a wheelchair for most of the upcoming summer.

1989-1990 (16 years old)

After the emotional fallout from everything she went through the previous year, Reina fell into a very deep depression. It was so bad that it darkened her hair and left her in a lethargic state. She barely interacted with anyone outside of her family, Rowan and Talbott. She only took 4 classes (Potions, Transfiguration, Charms and Herbology) at the N.E.W.T. level as her future career of running her own bakery didn’t have any required classes to go with it. 

She had no energy for her extra-curricular duties, so Rowan officially replaced her as Prefect. Reina had also stepped down from Quidditch for the same reasons, and ceased her baking side business as well. In her downtime she’d often be sleeping due to her near endless exhaustion. She even found a way to switch off her Empathetic abilities and kept them off due to not caring. With Ricardo tackling the final vault, Reina stayed true to her word by not getting involved when the next curse broke out.

She would remain in her slump until one night when she had a nightmare of Rowan getting killed right in front of her by Rakepick. It scared Reina so badly that it took a Calming Draught for her to be able to relax. While it didn’t break her out of her depression right then and there, it proved to be the push she needed to eventually make a recovery and get her inner fire back. What definitely added to it was how prophetic it felt. The same night she had the nightmare was when Ben and Merula went to the Forbidden Forest by themselves and encountered Rakepick, but were saved at the last minute by Ricardo.

Reina and her friends outright believe that despite the teachers’ best efforts to tackle the current curse, they weren’t getting anything done. The group would take matters into their own hands, but Ricardo would act as their guide, using his own experiences to help them out. 

1990-1991 (17 years old)

By this point there’s no sure way of knowing how the vaults would be dealt with, but they would be dealt with. Reina by that point would feel a sense of relief that she could finally put the vault stuff behind her and go back to as normal of a life as possible. She’d graduate with the rest of her friends and together take the next step toward the new stage of their lives. 

After graduating, Reina would head back to her home country and work under her family to learn how to officially run her own bakery.

[vavuska]

FRESH OFF THE BOAT, POSTERS AND ART

Season 1, 2 and 3 are HERE:

Season 4, 2017

In 2017, the cast of Fresh Off The Boat re-created the painting "Whistler's Mother" (1871) by James McNeill Whistler for a poster to promote the forth season of the show. Constance Wu posed as Whistler's mother, Anna McNeill Whistler.

Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1, best known under its colloquial name Whistler's Mother, is a painting in oils on canvas created by the American-born painter James McNeill Whistler in 1871. The subject of the painting is Whistler's mother, Anna McNeill Whistler. The painting is 56.81 by 63.94 inches (1,443 mm × 1,624 mm), displayed in a frame of Whistler's own design. It is held by the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, having been bought by the French state in 1891. It is one of the most famous works by an American artist outside the United States. It has been variously described as an American icon and a Victorian Mona Lisa.

Anna McNeill Whistler posed for the painting while living in London with her son at Cheyne Walk, Chelsea.

Several unverifiable stories relate to the painting of the work; one is that Anna Whistler acted as a replacement for another model who could not make the appointment. It is also said that Whistler originally envisioned painting the model standing up, but that his mother was too uncomfortable to pose standing for an extended period.

The image has been used since the Victorian era as an icon for motherhood, affection for parents, and "family values" in general, especially in the United States.

For example, the painting was used in "Fight for Her", a World War I recruitment poster from Canada, urging men to enlist with the Irish Canadian Rangers and to fight for the women in their lives. It appeals to notions of motherhood and family values that were popular at the time, and often attributed to this painting.

The painting become the subject of a 1934 three cent U. S. postage stamp "in memory and in honor of the mothers of America".

In 1938 the painting was used as model for Mothers' Memorial, a statue in Ashland, Pennsylvania. The Ashland Boys’ Association (A.B.A.), an organization of men and boys born in Ashland, raised the funds for the fabrication and erection of this monument.

The A.B.A. was formed in the early 20th century in response to the widespread job loss and dispersion of coal miners as mines began to fail. It was a homecoming organization that welcomed former Ashland residents back to their hometown. Men from all parts of Pennsylvania, as well as several other states, participated in these annual celebrations. The A.B.A. was the archetype of a poignant Pennsylvania story: how successive waves of industrialization and economic development create then destroy industries and communities, leaving large groups of people longing for the associations and comforts of family, friends and home. The Mother’s Memorial stands as a symbol of this sentiment.

The seven foot high three-dimensional sculpture was designed by Emil Siebern and sculpted by Julius Loester. Both artists were sculptors from New York who specialized in public art – funerary decoration, memorials, park statuary, etc. At the base of the statue you can read the words "a mother is the holiest thing alive".

Season 5, 2018

In 2018, the cast of Fresh Off The Boat posed for a Pop-Art poster, that recall the most famous of Andy Warhol seriography.

Andy Warhol was a neurotic and fragile child. Growing up in Depression-era Pittsburgh, he developed Sydenham chorea, a neurological disorder that left him confined to the house for months at a time. During his convalescence, he stoked an obsession with movie stars: he pored over fan magazines and even convinced his older brother, Paul, to write fan letters to the celebrities on his behalf. In exchange, the studios sent him dozens of headshots—autographed glossies of stars like Veronica Lake, Mae West, Marjorie Reynolds and, his all-time favourite, Shirley Temple, who misspelled his name in her personalized message. He painstakingly pasted each one into a cardboard scrapbook, arranging them in orderly grids.

That scuffed album is the key to understanding Andy Warhol: a whimsical career devoted to the reverence and ridicule of celebrity commodification. (Even his fluffy platinum-blond wig looked like a distorted tribute to Hollywood glamour.)

Born to a poor but close-knit Byzantine Catholic family, young Andy Warhol absorbed images of both the saintly icons on the altar of his local church and the glamorous stars he saw in the movies at his neighborhood cinema. Both would influence his life and art.

Warhol was an obsessive collection continued also in adult age: in the 1970s, when Hollywood studios were emptying their vaults, Warhol attended auctions to find photographic treasures. He purchased many photographs depicting celebrities past and present from the great collector John Kobal, and received others as gifts or discovered them at antique stores and flea markets.

After graduating, Andy Warhol moved to New York to become a commercial illustrator.

He was good at it too, creating magazine ads with a particular inky style that was very popular for a time.

Getting his art into the galleries, however, wasn’t so easy. Back then there was a clear line between fine art and commercial art, and Warhol had become a well-known commercial illustrator.

But Andy Warhol decided to use that to his advantage. He began to experiment with the stuff of commercialism itself—logos, trademarks, icons—things that had no fine art qualities at all.

Calling his studio "a factory", Warhol was interested in mass production, in commerce, and in the business of making money. Using repetition of similar or identical ready-made objects as a formal structure, he referred to himself as "a machine".

The use of repetition in the work of Andy Warhol is perhaps the most interesting and challenging components of his Pop Art.

In his works Warhol simultaneously celebrated and criticized consumption choices and mass (re)production, effectively turning his work into a repetitive whirlwind and establishing the grounds for the most successful Post–World War II art movement.

In the obsessive repetitions of Warhol, repetition produces a harmony which frees the shape from the contents.

Warhol's pop art can be seen as a relation to Minimal art in the sense that it attempts to portray objects in their most simple, immediately recognizable form.

On the occasion of Marilyn Monroe’s suicide in August 1962, Warhol used this image for his screenprinting. It was a publicity shot by Gene Korman for the film Niagara, made in 1953.

"In August 62 I started doing silkscreens. I wanted something stronger that gave more of an assembly line effect. With silkscreening you pick a photograph, blow it up, transfer it in glue onto silk, and then roll ink across it so the ink goes through the silk but not through the glue. That way you get the same image, slightly different each time. It was all so simple quick and chancy. I was thrilled with it. When Marilyn Monroe happened to die that month, I got the idea to make screens of her beautiful face – the first Marilyns."

Each print is vibrantly colored to reflect her vivacious personality. In many of the prints, her iconic lips are boldly colored a deep red. Many of the prints also emphasize her platinum blonde hair by adding variants of yellow. The colors ultimately bring to life Marilyn Monroe’s iconic status and celebrity glamour. By creating repetitive imagery, Warhol evokes her ubiquitous celebrity status.

Marylin Monroe is not a person anymore, she is become a commodity good, endlessly consumed by her public. (About how Marilyn Monroe become a sex symbol: LINK)

Season 6, 2019

In 2019, the cast of Fresh Off The Boat re-created the photo "Lunch atop a Skyscraper" (1932) by Charles C. Ebbets for a poster to promote the last season of the show.

The photo appeared the first in the Sunday photo supplement of the New York Herald Tribune on October 2, 1932.

The photograph was taken on September 20, 1932, on the 69th floor of the RCA Building during the last months of construction. According to archivists, the photograph was in fact prearranged. Although the photograph shows real ironworkers, it is believed that the moment was staged by Rockefeller Center to promote its new skyscraper.

Formerly attributed to "unknown", and often misattributed to Lewis Hine, it was credited to Charles C. Ebbets in 2003. Evidence confirming his authorship held in the Ebbets' Estate archives include original work orders showing invoices to Rockefeller Center for the time period surrounding the photo, letters of recommendation from his work at Rockefeller Center when the photo was taken, a copy of the original article from the NY Herald Tribune when the photo first appeared in 1932 in his own scrapbook of his work, photos from his office in NY taken in 1932 showing the image on a bulletin board display of his work, and a negative of him at work on the site that day.

The movie Men at Lunch traces some of the men to possible Irish origin, and the director reported in 2013 that he planned to follow up other claims from Swedish relatives. The film confirms the identities of two men: Joseph Eckner, third from the left, and Joe Curtis, third from the right, by cross referencing with other pictures taken the same day, on which they were named at the time. The first man from the right has been identified as Slovak worker Gustáv (Gusti) Popovič from the village of Vyšný Slavkov in the Levoča District. Popovič was originally a lumberjack and carpenter. In 1932 he sent his wife Mária (Mariška) a postcard with this photograph on which he wrote, "Don´t you worry, my dear Mariška, as you can see I'm still with bottle. Your Gusti."

Gustáv and Mária's joint grave in the Vyšný Slavkov cemetery is decorated with the picture.

[the-toppat-king]

Chapter Seven: Recovery

Everything hurts.

That was the first thought Henry had as he started waking up. Briefly, he tried collecting his memories. He'd escaped from the Wall, they'd called the Toppats, he'd been shot and fell...

He'd died.

Henry shot upright, regretting it instantly as intense pain shot through his body. He doubled over with a groan, gritting his teeth.

"Hey, take it easy." Someone said. He took a few deep breaths, looking up. A blonde woman had her hand on his shoulder, peering at him through rose-colored glasses. "You were gone for a bit, you're lucky I could bring you back."

He raised his hands to start signing. He had so many questions for her, so many things that needed answered.

He froze, staring at his left hand.

It was gone, replaced by a new, metal limb. His right hand dropped to his lap as he slowly turned his left one.

A blue light on his palm, and at a simple thought, it suddenly shifted, smoothly changing into a narrow, sharp blade. How did I-?

"You learn so quickly!" The doctor beamed, clasping her hands together. "Oh, where are my manners? My name is Dr. Vinschpinsilstien. You fell quite a distance, which was bad enough but you had the misfortune of hitting some very sharp, jagged rocks before you rolled into the water. I caught you in my fishing net." Her smile fell, and she crossed her arms. "I was not happy to catch a Toppat in my net instead of my next meal, however."

Henry looked back up, his hand turning back into...well, a hand. "Where am I?" He finally signed.

"On my boat, of course. Russian waters." She replied simply. "Now I want to hold you a few days to make sure you adjust alright and there are no further complications."

"What about the Toppats?"

"If you want to stay off my nerves, you'll do wise not to mention them too often, Suave." Dr. Vinschpinsilstien replied a bit sternly. "But they're fine. Reginald, Right and your other two friends have already been here to see you."

"That's not my name anymore."

She blinked. "What?"

"S-U-A-V-E," He signed back, spelling it out. "That's not my name, I had it changed. It's S-T-I-C-K-M-I-N now, doctor." His brow suddenly furrowed. "How do you know my name, though?"

"I was a Toppat under your father's reign." She replied, writing something down on a clipboard. "He was incompetent and an utter ass, so I left. But you were always quite the troublemaker," There was a flash of amusement on her face. "Quite memorable, in fact, I didn't need to know you personally to be able to recognize you."

Henry cringed a bit. He didn't really remember much from his father's reign, but he knew that people were often injured, killed or even captured in his raids. If Dr. Vinschpinsilstien was a doctor then, he could hardly blame her for leaving. He could easily imagine her tired of patients coming to her and dying before she even had a chance to ease their pains. "I'm sorry. I don't remember much, but I've heard of how many people were injured and killed because of his plans. It must have been hard."

She blinked a few times at him, then dipped her head. "There is nothing you could have done, Henry. Terrence was an idiot, nothing to be done about that. Sadly, you can't fix stupidity."

Henry laughed a bit. Even though there was clearly a lot of bitterness, at least she had some humor.

"In any case." She shook her head. "You also have a few new...features." The doctor reached back, pressing somewhere on his new spine. Henry jumped as a pair of jet wings shot from his back. He twisted to look at them, eyes wide.

"Where did those come from? How did they fit in there?" He signed, barely stopping himself from signing too quickly to understand. "I can fly now?"

"Normally I wouldn't add anything too fancy for a Toppat. But with your injuries, you may not be a Toppat for much longer."

Henry blinked a few times. "What?"

"Resuming leading the Toppat Clan is unwise. Your prosthetics are very fragile." She replied, frowning. "Single shot to your exposed spine and you will be dead in less than an hour as your failing cybernetics result in your body shutting down. The moment someone decides you are unfit to lead..."

Henry stared at her, looking away. He knew she was right, but leaving again? It felt wrong now, everything was finally coming together. "There's nothing else for me, though."

"You have friends, do you not?" She tilted her head. "Charles and Ellie. And just because you are not in the Clan does not mean you must say goodbye. You think your fathers will let you go without calling at least once a month? Family never truly says goodbye."

"I suppose you're right." Henry ignored the fact that she called Right and Reginald his fathers. He supposed she wasn't wrong, they were certainly more of fathers to him than Terrence ever was.

"You don't need to retire, and if you do, you don't need to now." She looked back down to the clipboard. "But consider it."

____________________________________________

The next few days weren't easy.

There were a few issues with his new spine, mostly the issue of the skin around the implant not wanting to heal correctly, and overall being sore. At least he had visitors often, Charles and Ellie decided to stay on the boat and Right and Reginald visited at least once a day.

"Why are we doing this again?" Henry signed with a sigh. At the moment he lay on his stomach while Dr. Vinschpinsilstien tinkered with his spine. He yelped when he felt metal pinch the spin, jolting a bit.

"Stay still." She huffed. "I'm trying to smooth the edges closest to your skin so your movement won't damage the skin. I underestimated how much the spine moves. I'm also raising the spine itself so your wings don't scrape against your skin upon being unsheathed."

"Have you ever done this on a spine before?"

"Not at all, this was experimental even by my standards." She replied. "Part of the reason I charged on the lower end."

Henry looked up at her, brows furrowed. "How much was it?"

"One hundred fifty thousand."

"Holy fuck."

She laughed a bit. "That's not much for the Toppat Clan, and you should know that. Especially with both the Tunisian Diamond and Romanian Ruby in the vault."

"Excuse me the diamond is mine and remains in my room." Henry signed with a huff. "Do you know how hard stealing that thing was? I almost died."

"Oh? So the Toppats weren't the one to steal it?" She asked, seeming genuinely curious.

"No, I heard Reginald was pissed when they tried to steal it and it was already gone." Henry laughed a bit as Dr. Vinschpinsilstien worked on unscrewing something. He glanced back, seeing her remove what he assumed was the folded version of one of his wings.

The fact that those fit in his spine would never cease to surprise him.

"I think I need to make these thinner." She muttered. "They aren't very aerodynamic and there's no way to prevent overheating."

Henry tapped the table to catch her attention before signing again. "What about fans? You may need to sacrifice size, but a fan could be used to cool off the inside. You can also use up less fuel if you add a sort of membrane for gliding, like a bat's wing."

She paused, looking at him. "Elaborate a bit more, if you will."

"Well, most large bird hover by catching streams of air, right? Obviously metal feathers might not work, but if the wings were more flexible and possibly shaped like a glider. Bursts of fuel would be needed to get into the air but if they're light enough not as much would be necessary to stay in the air."

"That's...not a bad idea. While most of the wing would still need to be metal for internal mechanisms, not as much power would be needed. Not bad, Stickmin." She jotted down a few notes before resuming her work. "...you know, should you actually choose to leave the Toppat Clan, I always have use for an assistant."

Henry jolted a bit, looking up at her. "You hate the Toppat Clan."

"I hate them as a whole, I never said anything about individual members. Besides, you're bright and a fast learner." She shaved down a sharp edge, careful not to hurt Henry too much. "That is, if you want the position."

"I'll think about it." He signed before folding his arms and laying his head down. It wasn't like he would have anywhere else to go, and he did enjoy the good doctor's company. She had mentioned at one point that she specialized in military-grade augmentations, maybe she could even get him a pardon if he stayed.

Of course there was the plan to leave earth but...did he really even want that? Did he really want to leave earth altogether? It felt wrong, like even with the Clan it'd be a lonely life.

"Was it still home for me?"

"Of course! You were always welcome back here, Henry, you're a Toppat."

Am I really? It doesn't feel that way. The Toppat Clan...it didn't feel like his place anymore. It didn't feel like home, like where he was meant to be. Sven, Right, Reginald, Thomas, Geoffery, they were still his family. But what about the others? Am I just overthinking it? Is it because I was gone for so long? Or is my absence why it's not my home anymore?

It was confusing, and it hurt his head to consider for too long.

"Doctor V? Could we see Henry?" Henry opened his eyes at Charles's voice, smiling a bit.

"Конечно, I don't need to much focus for this." She looked up. "I think Henry's a bit tired of signing, but he could use the company."

Charles nodded, practically skipping over and taking a seat next to Henry, Ellie following a bit slower. "I've been talking to General Galeforce."

"Mhm?"

"He said he's willing to pardon Ellie and leave you guys alone a few days if you help us take down the Wall." He said cheerfully. Henry lifted his head in interest. That was perfect! In the days they were left alone, the Toppats could finish preparations and leave!

"Kinda risky to take your eyes off them, isn't it?" Dr. Vinschpinsilstien asked suspiciously.

"At this rate our concern over the Wall and what they do is more important, especially with the fact that the Toppat Clan has been laying low, and, well, we can't actually pin them on any crimes yet. Not enough evidence." He rubbed the back of his neck. "You see, most of the people there aren't actually guilty of a crime bad enough to warrant being stuck there. I mean, there's a baguette burglar, a...toilet wizard, even someone who isn't even a criminal, just in the wrong place at the wrong time. At even the slightest hint of sickness, you're put in a small, filled quarantine cell with people a lot sicker than you are. Bodies are just-"

"Thrown into the ocean with the rest of their trash, I know." Dr. Vinschpinsilstien sighed. "You think that's the first time I caught a body in my net?"

"Problem is, no one can get in long enough to gather evidence. I was supposed to steal some of their files to prove their wrongdoings, but I got caught." He deflated a bit, then looked at Henry. "I...I'm sorry. If it wasn't for me, you'd be alright. You wouldn't have a metal spine."

Henry shook his head, pulling out his hands to sign. "I don't blame you. I probably would have been caught anyway, besides. Dmitri shot me, you couldn't have done anything to prevent it."

"But I-"

"Dmitri will not get away with that, Charles." Ellie spoke up, putting a hand on Charles's shoulder. "And you can make it up to Henry by helping make sure he never sees the light of day again."

Charles nodded, suddenly looking very determined.

"I say..." Ellie straightened up. "When Henry heals, we lay a trap. I can be bait, he'll want to recapture any of us. I can lead him to a cliff and we can corner him there. Then he has one of two choices: Jump, or let himself be arrested for his cruelty."

"Not a bad plan." The doctor shrugged. "Alright, Henry, try turning. See if it feels any better."

Henry sat up, stretching before twisting a bit. Unlike the last time, the metal didn't dig into his skin uncomfortably or draw any new blood. "That feels a lot better, doctor!" He signed excitedly.

"I'll take a few more days to fix your wings and watch you heal, then you can go back to the Toppat Clan and figure out a plan." Dr. Vinschpinsilstien sat back. "But in case we don't have a chance to talk like this again: I wish you three the best of luck. And...be careful." ____________________ Translation Конечно - Sure

[vaguely-concerned]

Some more mass effect andromeda thinky thoughts as I run around heleus getting some achievements! 

- the murderous angaran ai is genuinely so fucking funny. “How are you feeling here on Aya?” “I hope you die” “Is there anything we could do to make you more comfortable?” “BURY THIS PLANET UNDER FIRE AND ASH” “o.oookay. Goodbye then.” “I HATE you.”

- I hope I never become irresistibly moved to write mass effect andromeda fic b/c there really is no other description for a good 70% of the expressions reyes makes than :> and how could one capture that in words

- as mentioned I’ve been doing a bit of achievement hunting and in the process I’ve been switching up a lot of gameplay stuff from how I handled it the first few times around and let me tell you it’s baller as fuuuuuuuuuck -- it just looks so awesome and is so satisfying between the maneuverability of the jetpack and biotic charge and the effects. special shoutout to what happens if you biotic charge a frozen victim enemy and the biotic pull/push combination. (throwing people around like ragdolls is actually so much fun I’ve kept doing it even after I unlocked the achievement lol)

- lol lol when you get meridian online there’s the montage of every planet coming back to life, right? well the one on kadara is from inside kralla’s song, with umi looking out at everything that’s happening. and all I can imagine is her jaded-ass voice going ‘what the fUCK did that asshole kid do now I only just cleaned up after the bar brawl he started with his krogan grandpa and now he’s rearranging the entire fucking planet right from under us goddess I need a drink’ 

- the implication that reyes ‘cards so close to my chest you won’t even know I’m playing’ vidal just does not shut up about how amazing ryder is to anyone who’ll listen gives me so much life. when you try to be mysterious and laidback but the human pathfinder is so fucking cute tho Y____Y (also go watch his scenes if you’re being standoffish with him the entire time -- he clearly wants ryder to like him so much right from the beginning, he’s doing so much work to no avail and I feel sort of bad for how funny I find it haha. interesting that it really does seem to be an emotional thing as well as y’know the practical/tactical benefits of having the pathfinder on his side. methinks the charlatan might be a bit lonely there behind all his masks lol) 

I think this is why I’m willing to give him some benefit of the doubt too, despite all the cloak and dagger stuff -- he’s so immediately drawn to ryder, who you can never make a bad person, really. something in him must respond to that, if potentially only in the ‘attracted to traits I do not possess myself’ way hahaha

- I love sam. so so much. some of the open world implementation is still grating (yes sam. yes I know I can mine this area for resources through my mining interface. we’ve been doing this for a hundred hours sam. you’ve been right here with me the entire time sam. please sam), but he’s SUCH a good and I’d argue underutilized concept (emotionally at least) and the best boy. the fact that he can get SARCASTIC on you fsdhfjsadh he’s growing and learning! he’s doing so from inside your brain which is kind of unsettling but also SO COOL! there’s something about that level of intimacy, of always knowing there will be someone there with you in your head that is super interesting and deserves to be examined more fully -- both how it could be comforting and how it’s  r e a l l y  not how people or ai are generally designed to work lol. 

he also gives us a unique link with our dad and I wonder if the writers would have explored that in more depth if there’d been more development time -- it practically SCREAMS out an invitation to get to play/see things from alec’s POV in short bursts, like the memories you unlock except you could go through playing it as him since sam is common to both of us. (see my ‘our dad comes back through either kett or remnant nonsense in the sequel and we need to find some way to connect with him’ idea. it would be. amazing. listen alec already looked at the ethical guidelines involved in creating ai and went ‘huh interesting ideas but not for me thanks!’, don’t tell me he wouldn’t have left some loophole in so this could happen)  

- reyes literally says ‘the cavalry’s here’ when we get to meridian and I for one love him more than words can express (he also asks us if we’re okay in sort of a sweet/worried way right before we get to the control room. aw buddy) 

- like we don’t think of them like that because we’re in control of them and see all the stumbles and awkwardness and how young they are all the time, but damn the ryder twins must look like something else to everyone in andromeda haha. they literally stride around like demigods restoring entire planets. on voeld spring non-metaphorically follows in their footsteps. shit dude if we’re talking realpolitik here the angara must feel  p r e t t y nervous about this -- there’s no one saying they can’t turn off the vaults as easily as they turned them on. I hope we get them somehow teaching the angara how to do it too, on a smaller scale at least, as a show of good faith or something in a sequel, because that power imbalance is disconcerting  

- I’m glad sam and I have such similar priorities whenever we’re on kadara. ‘maybe mr vidal would know. perhaps we should ask mr vidal about this. mr vidal said something relating to this pathfinder maybe we should speak to him’ . yeah sam i know the feeling, same (it does undeniably read as sam having a bit of a crush which is. hilarious?) 

- the fact that alec ryder thought ellen responded to his bad boy act in any way when what really charmed her was that he was a great big nerd <3 it’s kind of nice to see a fictional marriage that seems to have just been. nice and stable and chill? just two intellectual equals who like and respect each other very much and not a lot of drama until alec went full alec and started developing rogue ai instead of watching his wife die lol. again I would love for the sequel to involve ellen finally waking up and being like ‘death? trying to claim MY husband? I do not think so, I can die he can’t he’s not leaving me behind’ and helping out and you realize that the reason they were soulmates was that under the relatively rational and unemotional surface they’re both, at heart, batshit crazy mad scientists who are insanely devoted to each other. imagine it tho! the people of andromeda realize alec ryder is back from the dead somehow and doing some Shit out there, they put a ton of resources into curing ellen’s disease because their best shot is something to do with the implants she made, hey presto we’ve got all ryders on the board and in play. 

- just want to make it clear that I’m still sad about avitus rix and hope he’s having a good day

- do you think ryder ever asks sam to read something to him ‘aloud’ in his head if he’s anxious and can’t sleep. or just to talk at him about something boring until he nods off. again the possibilities inherent in the concept!!! he has someone who’s closer to him than any other person could be, what’s that like? 

- *me sticking to my sidewinder pistol the whole playthrough even though it’s laughably inefficient* I just wanna feel like a cowboy bioware please work with me here

- the male ryder voice actor has such amazing comedic timing, there’s a lot of reaction stuff out in the field he absolutely nails. I enjoy the female voice too and I like how much emotion she manages to convey towards the end of the game especially, but there’s a casual comedy in male ryder’s voice that can’t be beat. (well, it’s not hawke levels, but then nothing ever is, that’s too much to ask)

- I love vorn and kesh so much. nerd krogans unite & make out

- I still want to sit peebee down and have a long serious talk with her about emotional abuse, maybe give her a hug :( fuck kalinda 

- this game does not get enough credit for how stunningly beautiful it is, it all got buried under criticism about the animations and it’s a fucking shame. the last few vaults you go through are just mindboggling in scale and visual uh striking-ness. it makes me so sad to think there won’t be any more of it D: 

- I really like this mainly casual + logical dialogue options ryder I’ve found; it makes him sound like a younger and more irreverent version of his father, but also softer and less closed off and much more willing to show affection for his family especially. 

- i wonder if different people’s individual SAMs will take on a certain tone/unique pattern when they’ve coexisted long enough. have I mentioned. how much I want a sequel to this game 

- one last reyes note because don’t look at me okay -- I wonder how much we’re meant to read into ‘being honorable never got me anywhere’. on the one hand I’m fully prepared to believe he’s never even tried doing anything the honorable way in his entire life lol but on the other there’s also some interesting potential in the interplay of that sentence and ‘to be someone’. (there seems to be a deep fear in him both of powerlessness and of being truly seen/recognized -- he equates secrecy with safety pretty explicitly -- which seems... telling? of what I don’t know but telling all the same hahaha) like he might be saying he’s tried doing things the ‘right’ way and it didn’t work and the price was too high, so he just went for this instead with the ends low-key justifying the means. hmmm. :Ia (this is what happens when I get Attached to a character with like an hour of screentime my friends, and I’m already primed to give my entire heart away at the sound of nicholas boulton’s voice)

[victorluvsalice]

AU Thursday: Fallout of Darkness -- Another Meme

I unfortunately don’t recall where I got this one, though I do remember picking it up in the #fallout 4 tag -- I think a number of people were using it for their Sole Survivors. Which is what I did! With the added twist of “let me do this universe’s Alice as well!” So you get double the information for the same price! :P

Note: This is vaguely set I’d say about halfway through the plot of Fallout 4 -- Victor and Alice have had the run-in with Ug-Qualtoth and gotten Alice sunlight immunity (see this post for more details), and they’ve met at least most of the other companions. Also yes, pets -- Victor does indeed adopt the “wounded dog” encounter in my verse! (And if anyone knows of a mod that lets you send her to a settlement for real. . .) Please remember I haven’t actually played much of the main plot myself, so things may be a little vague/prone to changing once I get further in!

name ➔

V: Victor Fitzwilliam Van Dort – my mother wanted me to have an "aristocratic" middle name, for some reason.

A: Alice Pleasance Liddell – yes, just like the historical Alice. I guess after Lizzie decided I should be "Alice," my parents decided to go whole hog with the reference.

are you single ➔

V: [with a warm look at Alice] No, I'm not.

A: [with a warm look back] Not anymore.

are you happy ➔

V: [still with that warm look at Alice] Very much so.

A: [smiling] A lot happier than I was in the past, that's for sure. Which is kind of sad, given it's post the nuclear apocalypse now. . .

are you angry ➔

V: [thoughtful] I – I was for a while. Not so much anymore – the worst of it has cooled. But – there's some things I think I'll always be angry about.

A: I think my answer's about the same. Given some of the nonsense we've been through, some low-level anger is just to be expected, honestly.

are your parents still married ➔

V: . . .they were when the bombs dropped.

A: Mine were when that bastard Bumby set our house on fire to cover up what he'd done to my sister.

NINE FACTS

birthplace ➔

V: Burtonsville – it's a tiny village in England. I don't actually remember it, though – my parents moved to Boston when I was only about a year and a half old. I grew up here in Boston and the surrounding area.

A: Oxford, England – my father was the Dean of Christ Church at the college when he was alive. I have fond memories, but I haven't been back since the fire.

hair color ➔

V: Black. Mother occasionally insisted it was dark brown, but – black.

A: Black, though weirdly I actually was almost a redhead as a child. It darkened straight through brown to this as I grew up. I've never been sure why it got so dark, though I suspect all that time lying in Rutledge, getting probably-inadequate nutrition and light for a growing girl, didn't help matters.

eye color ➔

V: Dark brown.

A: Green, though Victor likes being poetic with descriptions like "emerald fire" sometimes.

mood ➔

V: . . .er – generally anxious? Trying to be helpful regardless?

A: Sarcastic? To hide that I'm more worried than I let on?

gender ➔

V: Male, he/him.

A: Female, she/her.

summer or winter ➔

V: Summer – I'm not a fan of the cold. Though spring's my actual favorite season – I love seeing everything come back to life.

A: I feel like I should like winter more, because of the longer nights, but now that we've actually fixed the sunlight issue. . .yes, summer. I'm not really a fan of the cold either.

morning or afternoon ➔

V: Afternoon – I've never been that much of a morning person, and mornings tend to be – stressful in the Commonwealth.

A: To be fair, so are the afternoons, but – yes, generally you're not dealing with threats still wiping the sleep from your eyes in said afternoons. And in my case, they're closer to night, which is still the time when I feel most myself, so. . .

EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE

are you in love ➔

V: [exchanging a very warm look with Alice] Yes.

A: [giving it right back] Very much so.

do you believe in love at first sight ➔

V: Maybe not true love, but attraction? A sense of connection, kinship? Certainly – that's how I felt when I first met Victoria, and later Emily.

A: I can get behind that – my mother said she felt a pull toward my father when they first met. . .but I don't think love at first sight exists. You need to get to know someone – form a solid bond first.

who ended your last relationship ➔

V: [darkly cheerful] The American and Chinese governments, throwing nuclear missiles at each other! [sighing] No, that’s not quite fair – yes, they drove us into Vault 111, but the ones who actually murdered my wife and girlfriend were Kellogg and the Institute. The former more obviously than the latter, but. . . [voice cracks] Damn it, what was wrong with putting everyone's life support back on. . .

A: [puts a comforting hand on his arm] In my case, I never really had a romantic relationship before – even friendships were kind of fleeting, or long-distance. I've gone along with flirtations in the past to get meals, sure, but none of those ever turned into relationships. The closest I had was – well, Heather getting blood-bonded to me, which I didn't even mean to do. I was just trying to help her, and I didn't realize at the time. . . [bites her lip] I ended that – sent her away before she could get hurt by my enemies, explaining that what would make me happiest would be for her to be with her grandmother and stay in college. I wanted to go back and maybe try to help her some more once I was done with LaCroix's bullshit, but then. . .I hope she had a good life, in the end.

have you ever broken someone’s heart ➔

V: Not knowingly – goodness, what started off my, Victoria, and Emily's threesome relationship was an attempt not to break anyone's heart! It worked out very well, until. . . [shakes his head]

A: [squeezes his arm gently] I probably broke Heather's heart by sending her away – she looked so sad as she walked out the door. But it was for the best – I dread to think what would have happened to her if the Sabbat had realized I had a ghoul! Other than that – depends on if anyone I've drunk from was hoping for more than just a "quickie." I doubt that, though.

are you afraid of commitments ➔

V: I'm afraid of them being forced on me because of people randomly promoting me every time I even get close to an organization. [sighing, reaching up to fiddle with a chain around his neck] But – maybe a little. Seeing – seeing your wife get shot in front of you. . .then your girlfriend's half-rotted corpse beside her. . .it sticks with you.

A: [nods] Being the only survivor of the house fire that killed your family sticks with you too. As does two of the most prominent men in your life being the bastard who killed them and was trying to wipe your mind, and the bastard who killed you and turned you into a bloodsucker. Add in my own rather unromantic nature, and – yes, I did pretty much avoid commitments for a while. [smiles at Victor] I think I'm a little better about it now, though.

have you hugged someone in the last week ➔

V: Oh, yes – Preston and Piper just the other day, in fact!

A: I'm not usually much of one for being touched, so I don't hug much. . . [thinks for a moment, then hugs Victor] But I'll happily make the answer a "yes" in this case.

have you ever had a secret admirer ➔

V: Does the brief period of time where Emily was crushing on me before Victoria noticed and decided to let her and me know it was okay if we wanted to date too count? Otherwise, I really don't think so. I wasn't popular with girls before meeting Victoria.

A: Bumby never made it clear whether he wanted to just turn me into a prostitute or fuck me himself as well, but I wouldn't count him anyway, because he was a horrible waste of flesh. So I have no idea – don't think so. Heather was – very open about her admiration.

have you ever broken your own heart ➔

V: Again, what happened between me, Victoria, and Emily was an attempt to avoid that. . .I can't say I have. It seems like others always break it for me.

A: Sending Heather away did hurt me a bit – not in the same way it hurt her, but it was nice to have someone else around the haven. . . [looks up at Victor] And I did resist romance initially here. Fortunately tall, dark, and handsome here didn't let me break my own heart.

SIX CHOICES

love or lust ➔

V: Love, definitely. [going pink] I mean, lust can be nice, but. . .

A: Love – even alive, I wasn't particularly interested in sex. And as a vampire, any urges that way now go toward sucking on people's necks. Which I guess is sex-adjacent, but still. . . Maybe "love" for serious relationships, "lust" for getting a meal.

lemonade or iced tea ➔

V: Oh, I haven't had either in ages. . .and I recall needing a lot of sugar for both to enjoy them. . .I guess lemonade. I think I had that more often.

A: Literally can't drink either these days, for multiple reasons. . .but I'm going with lemonade because I have fonder memories of that. And – hmmm. I wonder if it’s possible to make a variation with that “plasma fruit” Ted came up with at Wildwood Cemetery. . .

cats or dogs ➔

V: Dogs! I had a dog growing up, Scraps, who was my best friend! And Victoria, Emily, and I were going to get a dog shortly after. . . [pause, shakes head] And now I have Dogmeat and Mutt! They’re a good pair.

A: Cats! My best friends growing up were the family cat, Dinah, and her two kittens, Snowdrop and Kitty. Being a vampire does tend to make animals rather mistrustful of me, sadly, but I had some luck feeding ferals pre-War. And we managed to trap a cat recently who didn’t immediately try to claw me and run away – I’ve named her Kit-Kat.

a few best friends or many regular friends ➔

V: A few best friends – I'm n-not good with lots of people, and I just. . .I'm always so awkward, s-socially. I'd rather have a couple of people I know I can trust.

A: The same – I don't trust easily, after all the bullshit I've been through. Give me a small circle of people I know have my back over a larger group of more casual friends any day.

wild night out or romantic night in ➔

V: Romantic night in. I'm not much for parties. I like staying home with the people I love and just – being together.

A: Sort of like "love or lust" above, this kind of depends. I like a romantic night in for any actual relationships, but I did my fair share of clubbing to find someone to drink from back in the day.

day or night ➔

V: Well, I do like a good sunny day, but. . . [looking at Alice] I've really come to appreciate the nights in the Commonwealth. And not just because of the stars.

A: [smirking at him] Flatterer. . .but yes, night. For the longest time, it was the only time of day I could be out in. . .and even though it's wonderful now to be able to go out during the day and enjoy that, night is still when I feel most myself.

FIVE HAVE YOU EVERS

been caught sneaking out ➔

Victor: No, but that's because I never did. I grew up in the middle of a plague – I didn't have much incentive to sneak out! It took until I was fourteen for cases to drop enough in our part of Boston for my parents to be comfortable sending me to a school with other children, and by then I was so used to staying at home, sneaking out never occurred to me.

Alice: Oh god, yes, the New Plague, that was horrific. . .on my end, yes, I was. I tried to sneak out a couple of times as a small child to have adventures in the garden late at night or in the middle of storms. . .if my parents didn't catch me, though, my older sister did. I think I only actually got outside once, and even then it was only for a couple of minutes before Lizzie caught up with me. Mostly because she was trying to sneak out too, and didn't want her little sister tagging along.

fallen down/up the stairs ➔

Victor: . . .yes. To both. I – I can be pretty clumsy if I'm n-not paying attention to where I'm going.

Alice: [giving him an odd look] I've fallen down stairs – rushing around as a child on imaginary adventures – but never up. I'm – not entirely sure how you manage that.

wanted something/someone so badly it hurt ➔

V: [tugging at the chain around his neck again, which is revealed to have a blue butterfly pendant and a gold wedding ring strung on it] Yes. Something I can't have, I'm sad to say.

A: [playing with her own necklace, which is an old iron key shaped like the symbol for Venus] Same here. I'd like to think your Victoria and Emily and my parents and Lizzie are in the same place, at least.

wanted to disappear ➔

V: Oh, plenty of times. I have an unfortunate knack for saying the wrong thing and then wishing I could melt into the floor. And – well, I suppose every time I've been hiding from enemies and wanted to just turn invisible counts. . .

A: I wanted to disappear in the asylum a couple of times, in the sense of 'just stop existing.' Survivor's guilt does a number on your brain, let me tell you. . .though I can actually disappear these days, thanks to Obfuscate! Though, annoyingly, I genuinely can't do it if someone's looking.

smile or eyes ➔

V: Oh, back to these? [thoughtful] I – honestly, I think eyes. Victoria and Emily's eyes are one of the things I remember best about them. . . [smiles at Alice] And my current paramour has some of the most beautiful eyes in the Commonwealth.

A: You're going to make me blush despite being dead if you keep on like that. Though, what's good for the goose is good for the gander – while I like your eyes, it's your smile that really warms my undead heart.

shorter or taller ➔

V: Um – shorter out of necessity. I haven't met many women who are six-foot-three.

A: Similarly, I'm five-foot-five, so I kind of have to go taller.

intelligence or attraction ➔

V: . . .I assume this means intelligence or looks, and – I can't deny I like a pretty face, but the main reason I got together with the women I did is because I could hold a good conversation with them. Intelligence.

A: My attraction seems to be based on actually getting to know a person, and I don't suffer fools gladly. Intelligence all the way.

hook-up or relationship ➔

V: Oh, relationship. I never had a hook-up. I can't – I can't just do the "one night stand" thing. I need something a little more.

A: Another one where my actual feelings versus how I'd act to get a meal clash – though admittedly, I never had a "proper" hook-up. I'd just get someone in a quiet spot, suck a bit of blood, and let them get on with their lives. But now that things are better, I'm only too happy to commit myself to a real relationship.

FAMILY

do you and your family get along ➔

V: Well, it’s something of a moot point now, but. . . [he waggles a hand, making a face] I have to admit, I never liked my parents much. They weren’t very “hands-on” in raising me, and I often felt like they considered me a burden. Or a bargaining chip for social status. I did my best not to rock the boat just because upsetting my mother never ended well, but. . . [sigh] It wasn’t good.

A: By contrast, I had a perfectly lovely family life – my parents were kind and encouraged my sister and I in our various pursuits, and Lizzie. . .she was the best older sister a girl could have. I felt like I could tell her anything, and even if the age difference made playing together difficult, she did try whenever she had a spare moment. The reason I have such an “enthusiastic” imagination is because Mama, Papa, and Lizzie never tried to stifle it. I was – I felt so loved and happy the first eight years of my life. . .and then Bumby took it all away. [she looks away] I – it’s not fair.

would you say you have a “messed up life” ➔

V: [completely deadpan] I was frozen at the age of 27 in a vault designed to store people long-term for unknown reasons, and was finally thawed 210 years later, to find my wife and girlfriend dead, my son kidnapped, and the world above having been turned into a wasteland of vicious wildlife, super mutants, and raiders. With parts of it still irradiated because people are STILL launching small nuclear missiles at each other. Also the people who kidnapped my son can apparently make synthetic humans and use them as spies. And in the middle of all this, I’ve somehow ended up the leader of a bunch of little farms and such that composes a ragtag peacekeeping force that is still better than the actual assholes in power armor who have moved in. You tell me.

A: I can top that – turned into a vampire at age 20 after moving to Los Angeles to make sure I was far away from a murder I’d committed, then ended up roaming the world after a literally-explosive end to my time there as everyone’s errand boy. Was in Boston when the bombs dropped and got staked when my hidey-hole collapsed in on me, meaning I too got essentially “frozen” for 210 years, until a raider attacking this fellow here yanked the stake out and I responded by sucking him dry. Leaving me in a post-nuclear apocalypse trying to survive in a world where anyone’s blood might be at least slightly radioactive. Also we discovered that vampires are in fact the result of a little bit of some Lovecraftian horror worshiped by the people over at Dunwich Borers leaking into our world and infecting our souls. So that’s fun.

have you ever run away from home ➔

V: No – again, grew up in a plague, never really wanted to leave the house because of it.

A: I threatened to, once or twice, when upset, but I never followed through. Though I guess my moving to California could be construed as a kind of running away after I killed Bumby. . .but I never thought of Houndsditch as home. Same with Los Angeles, after I left there in the wake of that mess with LaCroix.

have you ever gotten kicked out ➔

V: No, though – sometimes I thought my mother was thinking about it. Whenever my social awkwardness reared its ugly head at one of her parties.

A: My parents were never the sort to do that, and Bumby of course wanted me close at Houndsditch. And I left polite vampire society on my own terms after LaCroix.

FRIENDS

do you secretly hate one of your friends ➔

V: . . .I’m not entirely sure how to classify my relationship with Strong. But I know he thinks more highly of me than I do of him. I – I try to be understanding, but it gets very tiring to listen to him go on about how one day Super Mutants will kill everything.

A: I had to be a lot friendlier to a lot people back in Los Angeles than I would have liked. . .but I don’t think any of them were laboring under the delusion we were actual friends. So no – if I don’t like you, I don’t hide it.

who is your best friend ➔

V: Alice, Preston, and Piper, definitely – they’re the ones I’ve traveled the most with, shared the most with, and just – feel the most comfortable around. [smiles] Oh, and Dogmeat of course.

A: Victor’s definitely my best friend – and frankly, I feel pretty close to Piper and Preston myself. They’re good people. [she smirks] Though Hancock and Nick are definitely the best people to snark with.

who knows everything about you ➔

V: Probably most of the people in the Commonwealth, I’ve had to explain about being frozen and what happened to my son a lot. . .more seriously, I’d say the above three. They’re the people I’m closest to, and the ones I’m most comfortable sharing information with.

A: I don’t know about everything, but – yes, Victor. And probably Piper knows the most after him, given she wanted to interview me for her paper.

[itsclydebitches]

RWBY: The Horcrux Theory

Yesterday when I answered the lovely @leonhaxor‘s ask, I was surprised by the number of people who said they hadn’t heard about this theory before; people like me who are invested in the characterization of Volume Six and presumably would have come across it. I figure then that I either saw this theory on another blog and it didn’t spread in the way I assumed it would, or I thought of it myself, forgot it, and upon remembering it assumed I’d seen it elsewhere. Considering both of these things have happened to me in the past more than once (woo shit memory!), your guess is as good as mine. The important thing is the theory is here now and I’d like to take the time to lay it out in a more organized---and hopefully more persuasive*---manner.

(*As a bit of a disclaimer, I’m really just working with what I perceive as a valid interpretation of the text, not a theory in the sense that I expect Rooster Teeth to implement it in Volume Seven. If that were the case, I’d have expected our finale to paint Ruby and the rest as less heroic/justified in their actions, instead emphasizing how OOC they are, thereby setting up a situation wherein they would eventually question why their outlook and behavior has changed so drastically. But we didn’t get that. So this is less, “Sincere expectations for Volume Seven!” and more “Based on what Volume Six gives us, this is a plot twist that could work for these reasons...”)

Let’s start with the title. For anyone who may not know, a horcrux is a magical object within the Harry Potter universe that houses a piece of someone’s soul, a way of ensuring that they live on even if their body is killed. Within the plot, Voldemort (our primary antagonist) creates multiple horcruxes, one of which is carried by our heroes over a long journey. The object’s dark nature as well as its limited ability to think for itself results in a dramatic change in the group over time. They become moodier, more prone to fighting, and one character in particular, Ron, succumbs to a number of doubts and fears he’s been carrying since we met him at the start of the series. Thanks to the horcrux’s influence, he ends up acting in ways he otherwise never would have, including saying things he does not mean (“Your parents are dead. You have no family!”) and settling on courses of actions he later regrets (abandoning the group).

We can see some similarities then between the two situations, both in the Relic’s potential influence on those who carry it---to the point where, the longer they hold onto it, the more likely they are to act in ways contrary to their nature---and in the concept of a magical object being able to think for itself. Obviously Jinn is far more of a person than a sliver of a soul is, but the point is each has a certain amount of agency. As leonhaxor points out in response to my original post, there are also numerous similarities between this potential setup and the ring from Lord of the Rings. There we have another powerful, semi-sentient magical object carried by our heroes over a long journey, slowly corrupting them overtime. I think the variety of source material here is worth noting. Meaning, it doesn’t matter which comparison between stories is “best,” but rather that such comparisons are common. The Corruptible Object is an established motif in fantasy storytelling and RWBY is a web series that is highly invested in re-creating standard setups (such as fairy tales) and then attempting to subvert/complicate them. It makes a great deal of sense then that they would use a trope seen in two of the most popular fantasy series ever created, and then work to update it: the Relic is not a simplistic, pure evil thing like the ring or a horcrux is. It functions in similar ways, but---like most else in RWBY post-Volume Three---has a more complex morality attached to it. Jinn seems kindly at times, the Relic was created by the God of Light, etc. Form then, our expectations for how Rooster Teeth pulls from popular storytelling and incorporates those elements into their narrative, can be used as a potential bit of evidence.

But onto the juicier stuff.

The first thing that’s worth establishing is that all of Ozpin’s plans and choices function on multiple levels. For example, take letting Ruby into Beacon. He seems to have done this because she’s a prodigy, and because she has an excellent moral compass, and because a Silver Eyed Warrior is useful in the fight against Salem, and because Beacon is the safest place for someone belonging to a group that Salem has actively hunted in the past, and because she’s now drawn attention to herself by fighting Roman and Cinder. Phew. There’s a lot at play here. This sort of thinking is important because even if we introduce the possibility of the Relic encouraging negative emotions, it means we needn’t undermine any of the already established reasons for Ozpin’s choices in regards to its safety. Why does he put the Relic in a massive, underground vault that looks like it exists in its own pocket of reality?

Obviously to make it difficult to get at, but also, perhaps, to make sure that the Relic is as far away from humanity as possible, unable to influence them. (As a side note: creating what essentially looks like a mini-dimension removed from the real world would definitely drain someone of their remaining magic.) When Yang first enters the vault we see bits of dirt and sand floating upwards, defying gravity, much like how the snow stops when Jinn appears. The Relic appears to have an impact on its environment, perhaps one that grows stronger the longer it stays in one place. Ozpin hides it deep below the earth, in its own little pocket of reality, because otherwise having the Relic sit in one place for too long is going to cause real problems.

Why put it under a school? Both so that there’s extra protection and because these are the people most equipped to deal with the Relic’s influence. If it does still manage to produce negativity---and as a result draws more Grimm---do you want a bunch of untrained civilians dealing with that, or the people used to both managing stress and fighting monsters? Why take the Relic immediately to Atlas? Because, as said, safety works in a multitude of ways. You’ve put the Atlesian army between both Salem and any Grimm the Relic may call; you’ve put the Relic in the city that’s most prepared to deal with the consequences attached to it. All of Ozpin’s choices remain logical even if we introduce the possibility that the Relic is capable of more than just answering questions. 

But I’m actually getting ahead of myself. We’re still working under the assumption that the Relic produces negativity at all, so let’s take a moment to lay out some evidence for that.

In short, it comes down to the fact that the Relic attracts Grimm. Ozpin says straight out that he's not “entirely sure” why this is the case, but he clearly has theories, one of which has to do with the Grimm’s “origins.” AKA, the God of Darkness who we know after this episode created beings that are both physical representations of, and are attracted to, negativity. That’s their origin. 

The simplest explanation here is that the Relic is somehow producing the thing we already know the Grimm are attracted to: negativity of any sort. Rather than introducing another, convoluted bit of lore---Grimm are attracted to negativity AND now any objects explicitly created by the gods---it would make sense to streamline things. The Grimm are still attracted to the same things they’ve always been attracted to, it’s just now we have an object that actively produces that. It would explain why Ozpin describes the attraction as “faint, but undeniable.” After all, there’s plenty of negativity in the world. Nearby Grimm might get distracted by something bigger and nastier, but you’re more likely to become a target if you’re in the presence of something that eats away at your ability to remain optimistic and generate kindness. This explanation would also function well thematically, both for the trope reasons discussed above, and due to the nature of djinns and genies. I’ve laid out elsewhere how Jinn herself is rather manipulative, subtly encouraging cruelty towards Ozpin as well as reckless behavior in Ruby. Jinn is the lamp, so if that’s her characterization, why not extend that a little further? As an entity she actively does what the lamp passively does: encourage fear, mistrust, and anger towards others. 

What’s immediately notable to me then is how negative moods seem to follow the Relic around, literally coming and going as the Relic does. One of the happiest moments in Volume Six is when everyone gets on the train and the girls are settling into their room. It’s just like old times with arguments about video games, Qrow coming in to tease his nieces, Weiss getting playfully annoyed at Ruby, etc. Sure, we also deal with some of Blake’s lingering doubts in regards to Yang, but it’s an incredibly optimistic conversation. Everyone is supporting one another here, everyone is smiling... and notably Ozpin, carrying the Relic, is absent. It doesn’t register as odd to us because Oscar and Ozpin have been removed from most group gatherings that don’t relate immediately to the war, most obviously when Oscar doesn’t join the re-united groups for their celebratory dinner in Haven. His absence makes sense, but it also happens to coincide with one of the last truly happy scenes we get this Volume (the other being the reunion with Jaune’s sister). If we buy into this idea that the Relic can impact people over time, Ozpin’s absence might also help explain why things don’t start going south until the train. As established, he keeps his distance within the Haven house. Except for explaining the Relic’s function---which lasts for only a minute or so, wherein the conversation presumably ends and Ozpin leaves the group to their chit-chat, taking the Relic with him---and other logistical details in regards to their journey, Ozpin and Oscar might have kept to themselves, thereby limiting the rest of the group’s exposure to the Relic.

From then on though the group is forced to keep close quarters with Ozpin and the morale very quickly takes a nosedive. Whoever is holding the Relic and whoever else is in its immediate vicinity demonstrates an incredibly short fuse, starting with Oscar getting into a fight with Dudley and Dudley getting mad enough to shove him in the middle of a fight.

We then see the group’s knee-jerk fury over Ozpin’s new bit of information while back on the train, Yang antagonizing him in the snow, all the way through to the group drawing their weapons on Qrow, an ally and uncle, for merely saying, “Hey.” As myself and others immediately pointed out when the episode aired, that is not a normal response for these girls, especially when Qrow isn’t even the one they’re mad at. What’s difficult in analyzing a theory like this is that we have to acknowledge that all of these emotions are still real. The Relic is just taking them to an extreme that results in unexpected and inappropriate behavior. The Relic isn’t producing these feelings of anger and hurt and confusion---fans are right to establish that it’s natural for the girls to be upset here---but it does seem to be escalating things at an unnatural rate. Which is why I chose the horcrux as a comparison. Just like Ron under normal circumstances, outside of the necklace’s influence, would never say or do these things, neither would the group outside of the Relic’s influence. They’d all feel the same things, they’d just a) be experiencing the normal amount of those emotions and b) be better able to manage their response to them.Things like drawing their weapons, punching Oscar, slamming him up against walls, abject pessimism, rejecting adults, deciding to steal an airship, insisting on fighting Cordovin, or letting out a furious, “He was watching us?” when you learn Ozpin just saved your teammates’ lives are all pretty unexpected explosions among a group that’s normally more diverse, more level-headed, and more compassionate. Volume Six is absolutely stuffed with examples of extreme behavior, actions and knee-jerk reactions that don’t fit the crime and don’t fit established characterization. We can chalk it up to terrible writing, or we can theorize that maybe, just maybe, something is encouraging them to act in this manner.

With these explanations in mind, consider how Ozpin reacts to Ruby merely touching the Relic. It’s quick, but when he finds out she has it his response is wide-eyed fear and an immediate, “Please hand it over.”

Based on what we already know, this makes no sense to me. Why would Ozpin be fearful? Ruby quite literally can’t do anything with the lamp until she has Jinn’s name---his secrets are safe. Even if they weren’t, or even if his trauma is convincing him here that Ruby might somehow divine that there are questions left and find a way to use one of them against him, I can’t believe that Ozpin would deal with that situation in this particular way. Meaning, the guy has a pretty level head and he’s good at putting people at ease. How do you get your Relic back without drawing attention to the fact that it’s still usable? By expressing relief that Ruby found it. Oh good. It’s safe. Wonderful, I’ll just casually take it back now. Yet Ozpin is incapable of doing any of that here. He sees Ruby holding it and is blurting out an instinctual request: “Please give it back.” It implies that his only concern is to get it out of her hands as quickly as possible, which in turn suggests that merely holding it has some sort of consequence attached. This isn’t a problem (questions) that he can take the time to carefully coax a solution to, this is a problem (her holding it) that needs to be solved now. Right this instant. Please drop the magical object that encourages depression and fury in people nearby. That’s my burden to (literally) carry.

He even reminds them then that it’s a “powerful item” (again, what power is at play if Ruby can’t summon Jinn?) and that it’s “[his] burden to bear.” Blake picks up on that implication and asks for us, “Why does it matter who carries it?” but Ozpin isn’t inclined to answer. He simply begs them to listen to him and then Oscar takes control, revealing Jinn’s name. But the question still stands. Why does it matter who carries it, provided that no one else has the word needed to access the Relic’s one, established power? Ozpin’s behavior here suggests that there’s more he’s worried about than just his (well founded) fear that they’ll somehow ask a question.

In my recap of “Uncovered” I theorized that there was a consequence to using the Relic given Ozpin’s non-violent desperation to get it out of Ruby’s hands. If you’re concerned only with keeping your own secrets... just take the damn thing. Ozpin might be in Oscar’s body now, but he’s still incredibly powerful. He could snatch the Relic out of Ruby’s hands easy-peasy, but only if he’s unconcerned with her mental and physical health. If, on the other hand, you’re likewise concerned with keeping her from using it because it would harm her in some way, you’re not going to exacerbate that problem by putting her in even more, potential danger. Instead you beg. You plead. You try to reason. You charge with an open palm, looking like you want only to knock the Relic out of her hands.

That assumed consequence could be a sort of double-dose of whatever negativity the Relic is already producing; an emotional whammy thanks to the increased interaction: someone near the relic won’t be as impacted as someone holding the relic, who in turn won’t be as impacted as someone who actually uses it. While re-watching some scenes for this meta, it struck me that twice now we’ve seen characters collapse immediately after that close interaction:

Granted yes, both Yang and Ozma are reacting to already terrible news: Yang that Raven has officially abandoned her and Ozma that he presumably can’t beat Salem. Visually though it’s an intriguing detail. Those who touch/use the relic tend to buckle under its weight. It literally and figuratively generates the sort of emotion that causes people to collapse in despair. So why don’t we see any more of this? Why isn’t Ozpin falling over in Haven and Ruby on the rest of their journey? Potentially because of either their Silver Eyes or what Silver Eyes represent. We know that Ozpin’s magic is what created children with Silver Eyes in the first place, so it could be that his original magic---Light’s magic---helps to act as a buffer against the Relic’s influence. Ozpin and Ruby are both able to interact with it more easily than others because of that buffer. That is, up until Ruby has been carrying/sleeping with it for days on end and is now mistrustful of Ozpin and throwing herself into canons; up until Ozpin has been carrying/sleeping with it for days on end and is now much more snappish towards his students than normal. Or, a related theory, it’s just their innate natures that do the trick, no literal magic involved. Ruby is the “simple soul” of our story and Ozpin the one who believes simple souls hold the key to success. They’re both already optimists at their core and therefore it takes longer to eat away at those beliefs. Unlike someone like Yang or Qrow who is already grappling with anger and pessimism. They fall right under the Relic’s influence.

All of this would, put plainly, explain a whole slew of issues in Volume Six. Why are our characters so OOC? Because magic is seriously putting them off their game and turning them into people they wouldn’t normally be inclined to become. Why wasn’t there an overt downside to using Jinn like many fans expected (given the mythology attached to her)? There was, we just haven’t  acknowledged it yet. Why did everyone have a near identical reaction to the Relic’s information, despite being different people with different experiences and worldviews? Because magic created a blanket uniformity of anger, despair, and eventual superiority. What was up with that side quest to the farm that didn’t lead anywhere plot-wise? It’s thematic work, even more-so than the already established “Oh, our characters have doubts about their mission and here are Grimm that literally make them apathetic!” Those moments may also function as a pseudo red herring. No one is theorizing about “things that magically change your mood” because we already got that this volume. Whole episodes worth. It was those Grimm and then the group set them on fire, freeing themselves... except what if there was more than one magical thing influencing them right from the start? It’s the sort of thematic detail you might include to help establish a plot twist. 

As said at the start though, I don’t actually believe very strongly that we’ll see this revelation in Volume Seven. There’s too much else that, if I were setting up such a reveal, I would have changed with this information in mind. But I think it’s still a possibility given what we’ve seen and it’s absolutely something I would accept moving forward. I would much rather be able to say, “Ah. Everyone went OOC because of this conflict with the Relic you were setting up. Far from perfect execution, but you still pulled it off.” Rather than what we currently have, which is, “Team RWBY is turning into a bunch of violent, arrogant, and cruel people entirely of their own volition. This is what ‘heroism’ now looks like in the RWBY-verse.” Magical influences, to my mind, are the preferred explanation here.

[alamhigyoooo]

3, 11, 41, 42 for Hallura and Aymeric and/or Hallura and Poseidon o:

why not all of them! :D spoiler warning!!! these answers cover content up to patch 5.2!

3. how did their relationship start?

hallura/aymeric - they actually started out sleeping together as a “no strings attached” gig and spiraled into real feelings from there! after the events of the vault, they were both extremely emotionally vulnerable and needed someone who was safe to physically cope with. both of them had lost a good friend in haurchefant; aymeric was more isolated than ever because he’d been imprisoned, and hallura didn’t have her support network in the scions or her family. it was supposed to be no strings attached - but soon they were relying on each other for actual support and not just sexytimes, and both of them caught feelings real bad. they danced around the idea of an actual relationship until hallura was badly wounded after the battle with nidhogg, and aymeric let his feelings slip out when he went to visit her as she recovered!

hallura/poseidon - poseidon retained her memories of hallura’s amaurotine self, tyche, and when she discovered that hallura was tyche’s most recent incarnation she couldn’t help but hang around to watch what hallura would do. hallura was pretty mistrustful of poseidon at first, but she’s also Exceptionally Weak for powerful women with white hair and developed a crush embarrassingly fast; that crush turned into something more when poseidon seemed to start to let her guard down around hallura to reveal her genuine nature. hallura asked poseidon if she would stay and poseidon said yes - but neither of them really know what “stay” means, and to this day they still aren’t sure exactly what they are.

11. sleeping habits? 

hallura/aymeric - hallura is a heavy sleeper who sometimes sleep talks, and aymeric is a light sleeper who sometimes gets to catch the conversations she has! if she wakes him up he’ll often end up laughing at the things she says; if she’s having a nightmare (which is unfortunately common), he’ll pull her in for a hug, stroke her hair, and whisper her name until she’s sleeping peacefully again.

hallura/poseidon - poseidon doesn’t sleep well at night; she’s plagued by nightmares and gets more rest taking naps during the day. in comparison, hallura sleeps like a rock, but for some reason she never seems to have bad dreams when sleeping by poseidon’s side. seidon will usually watch hallura as she sleeps until she finds herself getting sleepy, and will press a kiss to hallura’s forehead before drifting off. thanks to the echo, hallura sometimes walks in poseidon’s dreams, but can never remember them upon waking. fun fact: hallura doesn’t get nightmares because deep down within her, tyche’s soul is so happy to be reunited with poseidon that it chases all the bad dreams away

41. what would they do if the other one was hurt?

hallura/aymeric -  hallura would glue herself to aymeric’s side and refuse to leave until he was well again (this was difficult for her to deal with before their relationship became public knowledge, since the warrior of light disappearing every time ishgard’s lord commander was hurt would have been suspicious). aymeric is a workaholic worrier - since he’d most likely not have the luxury of spending every waking moment at her side, he’d pull insane work hours to block out his anxieties until he was free to support her. hallura isn’t vengeful, but she’s not above intimidating the living hell out of anyone who would hurt aymeric (and possibly roughing them up a little depending on the severity); ascians or garleans are the sole exception. aymeric, on the other hand, develops an icy cold attitude towards those who threaten hallura; he never forgets an offense when it comes to her.

hallura/poseidon - both women are incredibly capable of fending for themselves - and at one point they were trying to kill each other anyways - but poseidon takes hallura getting hurt MUCH more seriously than hallura does. poseidon’s immortal, after all, and hallura is not. if hallura was hurt, poseidon would personally nurse her back to health, and would most definitely seek revenge if hallura didn’t stop her (a la ff7 remake “cloud, requesting permission to kill” “no”). hallura’s a lot less worried about poseidon coming to harm; she’s more concerned with poseidon’s emotional hurts, which is unfortunate because poseidon keeps her lips sealed tight about her feelings.

42. what are little gestures they do for each other?

hallura/aymeric - hallura brings sweets that she doesn’t care to eat to aymeric when they have downtime; aymeric buys her bath salts and oils to spoil her with when she stays with him in ishgard; hallura carries a scent-pouch of juniper and cardamom everywhere with her, and at his request, every time she returns to aymeric she leaves him a fresh matching sachet for him to place under his pillow; ever since hallura was injured in the fight with nidhogg her left leg and hip have developed a chronic ache, and aymeric delights in massaging her leg for her

hallura/poseidon - poseidon has spent millennia honing her writing talents and writes mysterious poems in the most beautiful handwriting for hallura to read; hallura takes poseidon flying, even though poseidon can technically fly on her own, because it reminds poseidon of what it feels like to be mortal and small; poseidon will take hallura stargazing at places hallura’s never been to and could never reach alone; hallura will cook food and hand-feed it to poseidon (at first this disgusts poseidon because food is pointless to her - later it becomes something poseidon treasures more than anything else in the world)

this got so long OMG thank you so much for the ask! i love talking about hallura’s ships alfldsgkjsdf;lgj

[triggeringthehealing]

The Adventures Of Teen Werewolves In A Town Sitting On Top Of An Evil Tree Stump

Derek/Stiles | PG | 1811w | AO3

Summary: It’s been on Stiles’s mind for a while now, the fact that their experiences aren’t recorded anywhere for posteriority. It’s when they’re looking at the mementoes in the Hale vault that he decides to bring it up to Derek. 

A/N: Written for the @fullmoonficlet challenge: prompt #339 - record

"You know, I didn't realize that we never managed to put down all the shit we've been through into some sort of journal or diary, in all the years," Stiles says, shaking his head.

He's standing in the Hale vault that's still safely locked underneath the high school, still full of items from the family's history. The history that is now his too, in a tangential way. There are rows of shelves with all sorts of things on them, from mementos specific to some family members—he's pretty sure he saw a tiny basketball jersey at some point—to general items that were obviously important enough to be kept locked away. The same way that the tea that saved Malia, Scott, and Kira a while back was.

"Would you want to relive those things at some point?" Derek asks from across the vault, his tone incredulous.

"First of all, not all of it was bad," Stiles points out. "Second of all, we've encountered things that I feel would be worth having a record of, especially the parts about how to get rid of them.'

"Shitload of luck and a healthy dose of chance," Derek tells him with a snort. "With a few exceptions when we actually knew what we were doing. Most of those latter ones were also just humans fueled by anger-inducing irrational fear."

"Oh come on, Gerard would warrant an entire chapter all for himself," Stiles says.

He puts down the vial he's been staring at, right next to the tomes that he thinks are important documents, though maybe not quite as valuable as the bonds that were in a separate little safe and had been used to fund Peter's unintentional—or well, not deliberately conscious—deadpool scheme. Derek's already only a few steps away before Stiles starts moving toward him.

"But seriously, with the amount of crap that was thrown our way," he says, walking closer, "we really should put it all down on paper or something, for future generations."

"Are you expecting all those things to return?" Derek asks. "Because I honestly really hope none of them will, ever again."

"You know some of them will."

"Monroe is not that stupid, she won't set foot in California, let alone this town, again."

"Fair. But she does have minions who don't have such self-preservation. And I didn't mean the hunters either, I'm sure there's enough said about them in all the world's packs' records," Stiles tells Derek, reaching out to link their fingers. "I meant more things that go bump in the night. And not the fun kind of bump."

"So, what are we talking about? The Dread Doctors? Because we're several decades away from those being around again, provided someone who's currently human will decide to go down that route for immortality."

"No, I meant things like the Kanima," Stiles replies, his lips tugging into a smile. "We could absolutely get Jackson to help with that one, past and present."

"There's already all that information in the old Hale Bestiary," Derek points out. "Remember where we got it from when he was evolving? Into the creepy thing that I hope never to see again."

"But he didn't and I bet there's nothing in there about a Kanima becoming part werewolf. Or about the way its tail continues to be usable after that transformation," Stiles says with a grin.

"That face you're making is telling me that there are things I do not want to know about Jackson's tail. Ever. Not even if it would help in the future."

Stiles chuckles and tugs on Derek's hand, pulling him closer. He can feel the metal of the ring on Derek's finger against his hand and it makes his heart flutter, still. They've been married for over a year now and the thrill of it hasn't worn off yet. Stiles isn't sure it ever will.

"All I'm saying is, maybe it would be worth it to write it all down. There's stuff that's unbelievable enough that we could maybe disguise it as fiction, publish it as a book."

"The adventures of teen werewolves in a town sitting on top of an evil tree stump?" Derek suggests, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

"That's a bit of a mouthful, but for all I know, it might just work."

"You might be on to something," Derek says then, his eyebrows scrunching.

"Really?"

Stiles can't help it, he's surprised that Derek seems to even remotely consider the idea. It isn't one that Stiles thought through, just something he said in the moment, his brain wandering off on a tangent. But it feels like it might be a way to preserve their experiences along with information that might potentially help not only Beacon Hills in the future but also packs around the world. It would definitely be easier to distribute a book that is presented as fiction than it has been trying to get hands on Bestiaries and other similar records of all things supernatural.

"No."

Derek shakes his head and Stiles's growing enthusiasm deflates like a flat tyre.

"There's no way you could put in all the information that you want to put in," Derek says, then holds up a finger when Stiles opens his mouth to protest, indicating that he's not done. "You'd need to have too much info dump and that doesn't make for good fiction. But I'll admit that no matter how much I don't want to go back through the memories of those years, we probably should at least add to the information that Peter already has in his laptop."

Stiles shakes off the disappointment about having his idea—one that he thought was kind of genius—shut down, because Derek agreeing to collect and record what they know is still a win.

"You still have Peter's laptop, right?'

Derek nods.

"Then we'll need to start looking through it."

"Right now?' Derek asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Not right this second, unless you have the laptop with you.."

"I don't. And we were down here for a reason," Derek points out.

"Right. Yeah. Reason."

Stiles steps closer and leans in to press his lips against Derek's.

"Would you like to go back to looking for my birth certificate? Or should we just forget about it?" Derek asks when he pulls away from the kiss a moment later.

"I would like to keep looking, yes," Stiles says. "We can't file for the adoption otherwise."

Because that's why they're here, in the vault, digging through piles of paperwork and—in Stiles's case—poking at all the treasures that generations of Hales left behind. They need Derek's birth certificate to apply for the adoption of Leah, a werewolf cub who found her way to them a few months ago, her pack decimated by hunters adjacent to Monroe's dwindling army. They've been taking care of her since, Stiles's father officially registered as a foster parent and in charge of her. But with multiple strings pulled and with Leah already attached to them both and to the pack, they want to make things official.

Derek is back across the room and looking for the necessary paperwork when Stiles gets an idea.

"Hey, Derek?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think I could try and take some of the stuff that we survived and make it into a story book anyway?"

"You're not reading stories about the Alpha pack or the Nogitsune to a three year old werewolf cub," Derek says firmly.

"I would not—“

"You would. But you won't."

Stiles wants to argue, but the urge only lasts a few seconds. After that, his mind comes up with all the possible results of retelling the Nogitsune events to Leah and he balks at the thought of not only traumatizing her with some of the parts but also inspiring her with some others. Her curiosity is off the charts as it is, she really doesn't need encouragement. Which is probably why Derek's putting an end to the idea before Stiles can even try to make it happen.

"I won't," Stiles says in a defeated tone.

"We'll have our hands full anyway, there's no reason to make it worse," Derek tells him, confirming that Stiles was right about his motivation. "But maybe you're right."

"Wait, what?" Stiles asks, surprised at that last addition.

"About recording things. Putting all the information together. Maybe even doing it the way you said we could," Derek tells him, looking almost like it hurts to admit that Stiles is right.

It's a tone and expression that Stiles has seen many times before, Derek grudgingly admitting that Stiles has a good point. It never fails to be satisfying.

"I get to write a book?" Stiles asks instead of openly gloating.

"We get to write a book. All of us," Derek says. "There are things that some of us know that others don't, so we'll need to work on it together. With everyone."

"Not Peter."

"Yes Peter. Seeing as there are things he’s been part of that no one else was. Also your dad."

Stiles cringes but nods. There's no one person who has all the information that he wants to write down, no single member of the pack who would know everything exactly the way it happened.

"You're right."

"I am," Derek says with a grin and he turns to a folder with what looks like paperwork that's on a shelf right next to them. "I also found what we were looking for," he adds as he reaches for the folder and flips it open.

"Yeah?"

Derek turns a few pages, then triumphantly pulls out one of the sheets in there.

"Derek S--"

"No."

"Come on, you know my first name."

"And I don't know your middle name. So you're not reading mine," Derek says, holding the printed side of the certificate out of Stiles's line of sight.

"Genim," Stiles says easily. "That's the easy one. Now can I see?'

"No."

"Derek."

"Stiles."

"Is that your middle name? Because that would be weird," Stiles says, grinning when Derek levels him with a glare.

"I'll tell you when Leah's adoption is complete, how's that?" Derek offers.

Stiles nods because he can wait that long. Maybe if he's lucky he'll even get to see the documents before that, so it's a win either way. He's already won one thing today, the fact that they'll write down all the things that happened in their lives up to this point. He hasn't said it, but part of why he wanted to was so the future generations would have a record that would be easy to find, notes on all the possible dangers they could face.

So that when Leah will grow up, she'll be better prepared for the world than he was. When Derek reaches for his hand and links their fingers, Stiles figures that maybe he gets it too.

[danceworshipper]

Tessa Chiva HPHM - Profile [Redone]

(information is as of sixth year - same universe as Gracie and River)

Identity

Name: Tessa Gracie Chiva

Gender: Female

Age: 16

Birthday: August 17th, 1973 at 3:37 am (leo)

Species: Human/Witch

Blood Status: Pureblood

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Alignment: Lawful Good

Ethnicity: White - German, English

Nationality: British

Residence: Chiva Manor, a heavily warded house in the wizarding part of the English countryside

Personality Type: ISFP-T (the adventurer - that's ironic)

The Mage

Wand: 13 1/4 inches of cherry wood encasing a dragon heartstring, flexible. The wand is dark red and slightly thicker than the average wand, with a smooth handle molded precisely to her hand

Animagus: Sparrow Hawk

Misc. Magical Abilities: Legilimens, moderate strength, with weak Occlumency

Boggart Form: Gracie, angry and coldly saying that she'll never love Tessa because Tessa is weak and beneath her

Riddikulus Form: Gracie deaged to a toddler, saying the same words but meaning them less

Amortentia (how she smells): Tessa would smell like sugar, strong deodorant, and salt water

Amortentia (what she smells): Tessa smells metal, strawberry kiwi drinks, and nail polish (River)

Patronus: Lioness

Patronus Memory: the first time she and Gracie were ever allowed to go wandering in the woods on their own. They found a creek and spent the afternoon barefoot, eating berries and splashing each other

Mirror of Erised: Her family together and happy as if nothing ever happened

Specialized/Favorite Spells:

- Aguamenti

- Vermillious

- Orchideous

- Visus Aqua (a spell for Quidditch to see in the rain)

- Revelio

Appearance

(picture made using the zepeto app)

Height: 5'6"

Weight: 124 lbs

Physique: Skinny, slightly wider hips than Gracie. More physically muscular than her sister as well

Eye Color: Army green

Hair Color: Dark brown

Skin Tone: Pale but human looking. Has spattered freckles around her nose

Body Modifications: Two piercings in each earlobe and a cartilage piercing in her left ear

Scarring: Various small scars on knees from childhood, nothing major (yet), will end up with faint scars all over from the final fight with R

Inventory:

- Her wand

- Her father's old watch, not worn but kept in her purse

- Around twenty Galleons

- A poem about her from River folded in her pocket

Fashion: Tessa is willing to sacrifice comfort for fashion. When not in her uniform, Tessa is usually in a skirt of some kind with a cute fitted top and possibly a stylish jacket. She wears either flats or wedged shoes. Her hair is kept in two braids or low pigtails. When she's being athletic, she wears black fitted tracksuit pants and either a loose tank top or a Slytherin sweatshirt, with her hair in a tight messy bun. She wears small gold hoop earrings and a gold cartilage stud, and in later school years a peridot ring that was a gift from River. For makeup, she only wears lip gloss and mascara.

Allegiances

Hogwarts House: Slytherin

Affiliations/Organizations:

- Chiva Family

- Black Family

Professions:

- Current student and Slytherin Quidditch Captain

- Future Quidditch Player for the Montrose Magpies

- Future advocate for creature rights

Hogwarts Information

Class Grades:

- Astronomy: O

- Care of Magical Creatures: O

- Charms: O

- Defense Against the Dark Arts: E

- Divination: E

- Flying: O

- Herbology: E

- History of Magic: O

- Potions: O

- Transfiguration: O

Quidditch: Chaser, team captain from fifth year on

Extra Curriculars:

- Dueling Club

- Assistant for Kettleburn

- Weekly Legilimency lessons from Snape

Favorite Professors:

- Professor Kettleburn: Tessa adores his wacko personality and enthusiasm for creatures. He's encouraged her whenever she feels hopeless and is a surprisingly good listener

- Professor Flitwick: The number of times Tessa has nearly cried in his class is insane. She used to be worried about being too unskilled at magic and her nerves made her fail a spell at first, but Flitwick was gentle and talked her through it until she was one of the best in the class. Her bad nerves left in third year, but he's still more gentle with her

Least Favorite Professors:

- Professor Trelawney: Tessa is good at Divination. She enjoys Divination. What she does not enjoy is Trelawney acting like a freak and driving people out of the class. Tessa learns much more from her textbook than from the professor

- Professor Snape: Yes, he's her head of house, but he's an asshole. He's insulting to her and many others and makes her feel more worthless than she already does. If she didn't have Gracie and Penny to help her learn outside of class, she would have failed his O.W.L. Her Legilimency lessons are the worst part of her week

Relationships

Twin Sister: Gracie Tessa Chiva

- Gracie is only eight and a half minutes older than her, but Tessa sometimes feels like Gracie is years older

- She regrets quitting the vaults because she feels like she and Gracie are different people now

- Tessa still blames herself for Gracie's curse. She can't remember the incident, but her wand was two inches from her hand when she woke up and she had no injuries besides the concussion that she thinks is just from falling, so she believes she failed her sister

- Tessa desperately wants her sister's approval and doesn't realize just how much her sister loves her

- She wishes she could do something to protect Gracie for a change

- They were super close as kids and grew apart in the later school years

- All Tessa wants to do most of the time is latch onto Gracie and never let her go into danger again

Older Brother: Vance Riley Chiva

- This bastard

- Vance always favored Gracie

- Tessa still loved him, but she would sometimes feel excluded

- Vance did in fact leave her a few memories, but they were locked in the same box with Gracie's and when Tessa saw how many more Gracie got, she refused to watch hers

- When Vance is freed in fifth year but leaves again without seeing her first, Tessa shatters the picture of him, her and Gracie. It's repaired the next morning, and stays fixed until the end of sixth year when Gracie shatters it too

- Tessa hates Vance

- When he dies in place of her, she realizes she never hated him. She loved him and just wanted him to love her

Younger Cousin: Aiden Carter Darkling

- Aiden is the son of Rachel Chiva, Jason's sister. Rachel and Aiden's father divorced while he was still young, but it was relatively amicable and he comes around for holidays

- Tessa never payed the kid much attention when they were younger, but after he started Hogwarts she took him under her wing a lot

- Aiden comes to her for advice when he has his first crush, when he's nervous about a test, or simply needs a hug. Tessa gets to be a big sister and she loves it

- She's way closer to Aiden than Gracie is, and Aiden isn't hesitant to tell Tessa that he likes her far better. It makes her feel good

Mother: Clarissa Vanessa Black

- Tessa loves her mother, but she doesn't agree with her on a lot of things

- She tries her hardest to make her mother proud, because she knows she's the only "decent" child Clarissa has left

- She actually suggested a contract marriage in hopes of making her mother happy. She was really confused when Clarissa forcefully shut the idea down, not realizing all that her mother went through in her own past

- When Tessa is in her coma in seventh year, she hears her mother go insane (it's what wakes her up) and realizes just how much Clarissa loves her

- Tessa takes much longer to figure out Clarissa and Margaret than Gracie does

- She keeps better in contact with her mother throughout her adulthood than Gracie

- Family dinners are awkward but hey, they're still family

Father: Jason Harvey Chiva

- Tessa, like Gracie, admired Jason a lot as a child

- She only visited his Auror office a few times, because while she thought it was cool she wasn't interested in it as a career

- Tessa didn't see him murder their family friend and didn't believe it when Jason's partner Thomas came to tell her and Clarissa

- She still can't quite believe it, and she misses him a lot, which is why she carries his watch with her *cough cough daddy issues cough*

- The day Gracie has to kill Jason, Tessa destroys the watch

- He tries to kill Margaret in front of Tessa's young daughter Octavia, and that's when Tessa fully believes that Jason lost his mind

Ex Boyfriend: Barnaby Lee

- They met in first year (obviously, they're in the same house), but Tessa never paid him any attention

- It was only in second year when she and Liz were allowed to start getting early lessons from Kettleburn that she started noticing him

- Barnaby was a character during these early lessons

- He hadn't actually signed up for them, but he heard Liz talk about them and just assumed they were open to anyone

- Kettleburn didn't care obviously, he's a bit unstable anyway

- Barnaby would always carry the heavy stuff and Tessa's raging puberty hormones took one look at the muscles and said "heyyyyyyyyy"

- Then of course she actually started talking to him, and dear fucking god was he dumb. But then she talked to him more and he actually wasn't? He was kinda smart in a weird way? And really really nice?

- She never told him she liked him, and by the end of the year he was starting to slip under Merula's control

- Tessa was the one to try and get him to think for himself in year three. She's also the one who dueled him, and she lost miserably, but she stood back up whenever he knocked her down and he admired that. A few weeks later, he asked her out to Hogsmeade

- Gracie was pissed but Tessa didn't care that much

- They were a super cute couple and all of Slytherin (besides her dorm mates) shipped them so hard

- They ended up growing apart in fourth year and deciding they're better off as friends

Love Interest: River Mund

- As of sixth year, they are not together, though it's pretty obvious they both fancy each other

- River is an exchange student from Ilvermorny who arrives the same day as Alanza. Tessa is made to be their tour guide, and while showing them around she can't help but notice that this (very handsome) new boy seems really stressed out. She assumes it's from being so far from home and tries to be encouraging, but he doesn't say a single word the entire time

- River ends up staying in the Slytherin dorms, and Tessa watches him all the time (just out of curiosity of course). He almost never talks to anyone, and is very jumpy when someone gets too close

- After about a month of this, Tessa decides to sit down at the same table as him while doing homework. He seems almost scared of her, but after a week it becomes normal, and she hears his voice for the first time when he asks her for help on his CoMC essay. Another week, and when River packs up his things to go to the dorms, he leaves her a folded up piece of parchment containing a poem he wrote about her

- Tessa starts noticing how often River sneaks into the Forbidden Forest, and gets curious enough to follow him. This is how she discovers he's a vampire - a rarer subspecies theorized to be stemmed from partial vampire breeding together

- River is horrified and thinks she'll hate him since he hates himself. He wasn't born a vampire. His family illegally paid a vampire to break into the hospital and change him to save him from cancer without any input from him. It's why he wanted to come to Hogwarts, to get away from them

- Tessa is scared, obviously, but she tries her best not to show it because he had just started to open up and she didn't want to lose the progress they had been making. When she tells him she's not scared of him River doesn't look like he believes her, but he's so relieved she's trying that he hugs her

- They very quickly become much closer after that, and Tessa realizes that she might be in too deep when she shoves her wrist in his face for him to drink from when he weakly confesses he hasn't had any blood in two weeks without a second thought

- He buys her the ring during January. He claims it's for being such a good friend, but Tessa hopes it's because he likes her (they're both so oblivious)

- They'll get together in seventh year over Christmas break. They both stay behind at the school, and end up confessing while sitting in front of the fire in the Slytheirn common room

Best Friend: Liz Tuttle

- Tessa and Liz met in first year, the first night in the dorms

- Liz, being her awkward self, asked slightly too loudly if anyone wanted to discuss the Fwooper

- Tessa did indeed want to discuss the Fwooper

- Boom, best friends

- Tessa tries being vegan like Liz but can't take it, and reverts to being vegetarian. She's not exactly good at that either, but she never eats meat in front of Liz (at home is fair game)

- She and Liz spend a lot of their free time outside, sneaking into the forest even

- On an assignment from Kettleburn, they accidentally discover the Room of Requirement and now spend free time during bad weather in there

- Liz constantly reassures her that she's not a bad sister for stepping back from the vaults

Rival: Skye Parkin

- They may have been teammates, but Tessa and Skye HATED each other. It really threw off the team dynamics for a while

- Tessa almost quit because Skye made practices miserable for her, and this is when she and Erika ended up friends. Erika convinced her to stay on the team and make Quidditch miserable for Skye instead, and even helped train her

- Orion picking Tessa as his successor and not Skye (who was a year older and more experienced) made Skye so mad she broke her broom and quit. Tessa couldn't help being happy about that. Skye brings out her inner pettiness

Enemy: Vance Riley Chiva

- Tessa is just so sure he's lost all humanity

- She's mad at him for getting them into this mess in the first place

- She swears the next time she sees him, she's going to smack him

- She doesn't get the chance, nor does she get to say anything at all

Dormmates:

- Gracie Chiva

- Liz Tuttle

- Rowan Khanna: they're friends, but very casually, as Rowan is Gracie's best friend

- Merula Snyde: they're not friends, nor will they ever be, but they try very hard not to argue for Gracie's sake

- Ismelda Murk: they too are not friends, but they study History of Magic together because they have similar studying styles and both find the subject interesting

- Colette Belrose: see below

Pets:

- Ruby, the family Crup

- Clara, Vance's toad (she's more Gracie's pet)

- Elaura, a shared owl

- Lemmy, a moke

- various creatures in the reserve that Tessa and Liz coparent

Closest Canon Friends

- Chiara Lobosca: the werewolf quest? Tessa did that. She adores Chiara's kindness and resilience, and frequently uses her Animagus to accompany her on full moons

- Diego Caplan: he helps train Tessa's magical strength. He was totally into her at first, but he calmed down and now they hang out a lot in and out of the Dueling Club

- Erika Rath: Training buddies with a healthy Quidditch rivalry. Tessa has even gotten Erika to come over to her house so they could hang out over the summer

Closest Noncanon Friends

- Gracie Chiva (Jacob's sibling canonically has no other siblings)

- Rosalie Sonnenschein: A German model one year older than her who attends Durmstrang. A first generation part Veela with a very strong natural allure that has men (and women) swooning

- Kyle Orchan: the Squib son of one of the shopkeepers at the clothing store Tessa frequents. He's the best listener Tessa has ever met and loves hearing about her magical adventures. He does sometimes get very sad hearing about this world he'll never be a part of, but he's too nice to ever mention it

- Colette Belrose (@gcldensnitch): Tessa met Colette their first night in the Slytherin dorms. Granted, Tessa spent most of that night talking to Liz, but she went to bed relatively early so Tessa struck up a conversation with Colette. They're super similar and plan to go on a tour of Europe one day. Colette helps Tessa step back and remember to breathe, and she loves her for it

(Storyline has to be in a different post because of tumblr's dumb text limit)

Future

Marriage and Children: Tessa and River get married at the age of twenty one, and almost immediately Tessa gets pregnant with her oldest daughter, Octavia. Her body reacts very negatively and she almost dies while giving birth, so she and River agree to not have any more children. Six years later, Tessa accidentally gets pregnant with twins, Meredith and Alexander. It's a terrifying experience, but all three of them live and the twins are healthy

Career: At the age of twenty two, Tessa is recruited for the Montrose Magpies after one of their scouts watches her casual group's practice. She takes a short break years later to have the twins, and they welcome her back when she joins back up. Her replacement was shit. Tessa gets better at International Apparation so that she and River can spend time in America, England, and Germany without interrupting their work schedules. After she eventually resigns from the team, she uses her "fame" to bring more attention to the petitions for creature rights

The Second Wizarding War:

- Tessa isn't in the country for the most part when the war starts up, though she stops bringing the kids when visiting her mother after it starts getting bad

- After Bill's attack she and River temporarily stay in England for their friends, having her kids stay with Merula and her and Gracie's kids

- She doesn't fight in the Battle of Hogwarts. She's too scared for both herself and Gracie, as if Tessa went to fight Gracie would follow

- Tessa finally discovers all of what happened when Gracie joined R, and how much she truly was one of them for a little while when Olivia Green suddenly enters the picture. That takes her a while to get over, but she's able to

Old Age and Death: Tessa dies at the age of 120 of natural causes, after Gracie, River, Liz, and basically all of her friends. When she gets too lonely, her soul gives up

Personality

- ambivert

- horribly insecure, not so much about her looks but her strength, both magical and physical

- a wee bit of a masochist, constantly pushes herself too hard

- has a good memory

- is good at strategy

- very very kind, even sometimes when someone doesn't deserve it

Misc Information

- Tessa is bilingual, fluent in both English and German

- From all her practicing, Tessa is an amazing cook/baker - River's drinking buddies absolutely love her for it

- She can sing beautifully, and can play simple songs on the piano

- Tessa's depression never quite goes away, but it never gets very bad

- She has pretty bad misophonia, which developed around age nine and got worse with the anxiety and depression

- She ends up with a doll collection that River is terrified of, so much so that she has to put charms around each one so he can't see them unless he focuses

- Tessa is a massive pasta hound

- She hates any drink that fizzes. It's very inconvenient considering she frequently attends parties with things like sparkling water and champagne

- Tessa likes pineapple pizza

- Her favorite color is green

- She's left handed like her siblings and her mother

- She loves thunderstorms

- Her favorite season is winter

- She loves going stargazing

- She has a weird obsession with water. If she's upset, the best thing to do is draw her a bath, and sometimes she'll fill a bowl and stick her hand in it while studying or reading

- She sweats a lot, both from being active and from unlucky genetics (hence why she smells like strong deodorant)

- Tessa doesn't exactly believe in aliens, but she's pretty sure we're not alone in the universe