#codex: nicole ryder

[ry-ders]

So. Let's say the twins get into an argument with Alec at 2 different separate times.

With Zach, Alec sprinkles the word "son" in his sentences since that usually gets him to calm down (i.e. "It's just a game, son." "...I- I guess you're right."), except it only works when he's not mad at Alec.

And eventually Zach snaps. "Call me 'son' one more time!"

Alec just kind of stands there because out of everyone he expected to snap back at him, Zach was at least 4th from last.

Zach exits stage left with his anger rolling off of him in waves.

With Nicole, she'd be more willing to hear what Alec has to say instead of immediately going on the offensive, but if what she hears isn't to her satisfaction, she says so ("That is a crap excuse and you know it.").

Sometimes she doesn't even say anything. She just shales her head and leaves Alec standing there. In a way, it hurts more. At least with Zach he says something, but Nicole seems more indifferent about the entire thing and leaves him in cold silence.

[ry-ders]

Anyway it’s not even Halloween anymore but have this because it didn’t seem to post the first time I attempted to do so. If you see another post similar to this… you know what happened… t*mblr m*bile…

Halloween party in the Nexus or wherever.

Zach goes as Little Red Riding Hood solely because his last name is Ryder. He thinks he’s clever. He even had a little picnic basket filled with the candy rations he actually saved. He gave most of it away to the people whose costumes he liked, and he ate the rest because of course he would. The only bad part was when he tripped over his cape because the knot came loose. He didn’t fall, but Drack saw the entire thing and laughed. Then he shook his head because youths.

Nicole went as Indiana Jones because haha jokes about previous area of employment. She had his signature whip and a plastic snake that was a rather garish shade of green. No one knows how she got those (especially the snake). The markets of Kadara are the most likely. The snake mostly stayed around her shoulders, but she did waggle it threateningly at some guy who bumped into her and didn’t apologize. She also tipped her fedora at Vetra. No one ever makes good decisions on the Tempest Team.

[ry-ders]

I’ve 100%‘ed Andromeda but I’m not going away from my Ryders because I put too much time into them for me to just walk away lol.

Anyway, on the topic of Andromeda, both of the twins would’ve needed a bit of convincing to go.

Alec hasn’t talked to them in so long, and when he does it’s clipped and awkward. It’s not like when they were 12 when words flowed easily between the 3 of them. Now he wants them to jump to another galaxy? There’s so much they’d leave behind here, and who’s to say this Initiative would be successful? It’s so much to ask by someone who was barely in their life for the past few years. Plus, they both think Ellen is dead and buried on Earth. Leaving the Milky Way would mean leaving her behind.

Zach was easier to convince, though. He didn’t particularly like his position in the Alliance, but he did have friends. Good friends. He eventually decides they’ll be just fine without him. And it’s boring just standing around a relay while those around him go off onto adventure. He’s staring into space without ever exploring it himself. Andromeda could change that. He’s thinking ahead to all the things he can do and all the places that he could delve into. The Initiative’s brochures and videos make it all sound so alluring. He’ll always miss his home, but he takes the plunge anyway. At least he’ll have his father with him.

Nicole was harder. She took Alec not talking to them the hardest, and she found it hard to reconnect with him after that. Her job in the Alliance was one that she liked, and she met some nice people along the way (her and Isabella were already broken up by then, though). So, why would she want to leave? Well, there’s so many things she could discover over there. She’s certain there’d be alien life in Andromeda (or at least remnants [ha] of), and she’ll be damned if she doesn’t get to study their history and culture. Comparing life between the two galaxies would be the work of a lifetime. Plus, Zach’s going. She doesn’t want to be alone.

Of course, once they actually get there, they do have feelings of regret at times. But that’s another post.

[ry-ders]

When Zach makes the morning run to the galley, he's always in 1 of 3 "outfits":

A blanket wrapped around him like a cocoon. It drags on the floor but somehow never gets dirty. He has tripped on it twice.

Boxers. That's it. Just boxers. Cora tells him to read up on "acceptable wear" whenever she sees him. He says he learned from Liam. Then he walks away with a box of Cheez-its.

The AI hoodie and sweatpants because sometimes fashion must be sacrificed for comfort. He uses the sleeves of the hoodie to grab at the metal handles without freezing his hand off, thanks.

Nicole on the other hand just wears normal fucking pajamas. Or she just goes straight from the shower to the galley in her bathrobe because luxury.

[ry-ders]

When Zach gets embarrassed, he closes his eyes."[Insert planet,] swallow me up now," he mutters. Then he gets red. He's kind of self-conscious, so something that messes with his """"""image"""""" is... bad.

Nicole just laughs it off, but inside she's screaming. She might forget about it briefly, but it'll come back. It always comes back. And then she just ducks her head because why this.

[ry-ders]

Adding onto that "Hey, come to Andromeda" thing, I do think Alec would've told one twin that the other was already going for that extra push.

He knew Zach wouldn't've questioned him, and that Nicole was going to be too busy for Zach to contact her before Alec got her to join.

And with Nicole, Zach had already agreed so she just got confirmation that he was going.

He probably would've also added some sort of guilt trip like "Do you really want to leave your sister/brother alone?" Some shit like that.

It's like the Ellen thing (although on a minor scale). The intentions were good, but the execution was kind of shady.

[ry-ders]

Anyway, Zach really likes it when people play with his hair. It's also a pretty easy way to get him to fall asleep. Ellen used to do it to him when he was a kid, so it's a sense of comfort.

Nicole likes like... you know when you're holding someone's hand and you draw little circles on the back of it with your thumb? I don't know if there's a specific term for that, but she likes that. It's encouragement.

[ry-ders]

Peebee got Zach a custom made cup that says "Little Duck" on it and he bedgrudgingly drinks out of it because all of his other cups went "missing" (a.k.a they hid them all).

Then Nicole finds out about the "little duck" nickname and everything just goes downhill.

"How are you doing there... little duck?"

"Who told you?"

[ry-ders]

When Nic was younger she'd sleep everywhere so it was just like

Nicole: [points at place] Nap?? here?? yes????

Ellen: No, please don't.

Nicole: Nap.... here??? yes....

Ellen: Ni-

Nicole: Nap.

[ry-ders]

I feel like if the twins actually went out in the field together during Andromeda, they'd be sort of... hell, I think they'd actually take it seriously.

I mean, I could say they could treat every fight like a game to be won, constantly trying to one-up the other while doing some ridiculous stunts, but I think even they'd know when to stop messing around.

Plus, I think it'd be nice to have someone to talk to about all the shit they see, lol. Talk about Alec a bit, maybe.

Am I still kind of bitter about the lack of interaction with Alec when he was alive? Maybe.

[ry-ders]

Haha, woops

[ry-ders]

SPEAKING OF THAT SHADY SHADY ALEC SHIT

That's another thing the twins would kind of disagree on.

Nicole on onee hand is like "Yes, I am happy that mom's alive, but I wish dad told us. I understand he didn't want to raise false hopes, but this is mom." She would nooot be happy with not knowing. Plus she'd wonder if Ellen knew this was going to happen.

And Zach's like "But... she's alive, right? 'S all that matters." I mean, he won't excuse Alec keeping this from them and all that other stuff I don't currently have the brainpower to bring up, and he is curious as to how in the fresh hell this came to be, but he's not exactly focusing on it either.

[ry-ders]

Languages. Because I wanted this to be its own post. And because I changed them around a bit.

Both of the twins know the basics, at the very least, of the languages listed. They know how to tell people how to get to safety, how to ask where others are, etc.

They both know English, Spanish, and Tagalog fluently. They both know Mandarin Chinese (although they do have to keep a close eye on their inflections), and they've both studied some French.

Nicole knows more Russian than Zach does, but Zah knows more Portuguese.

[ry-ders]

I'm in no condition to try and recreate that long-ass post so y'all can just have the basics. One day I will find my motivation to type it out again... one day.

Zach: While I don't categorize idealism as too big of a flaw, he does set himself up for disappointment multiple times. I can do this! and I can do that! I can save everyone! No, you can't.

Sees nearly everything as black and white. There are no shades of gray. That guy is good, and that guy is bad. Fortunately, he does learn that it's not all that simple (especially with the rioters, exiles, and... Reyes, lol), but, you know... sort of hard to scrub that kind of thinking out. Bits and pieces are still there.

Jumps into situations without thinking (and in the case of the vault on Eos, literally). Incredibly impulsive. "Hey, you probably shouldn't do that thing!" "Too late, because I've already done it!" "..."

Also relies on his emotions to make decisions, which kind of builds off that inpulsive thing. Logically, he should do this thing, but morally? He should do another. Take, for example, the kett facility. The Moshae begs him to destroy it, and it seems like a pretty smart move. Sure, there are other angara in there, but what's sacrificing a few to save many?

Except... Jaal. And he thinks about how the captive angara might have families that don't even know they're alive.

So, screw his brain and gut telling him to blow it up. They're taking the others out of here.

Aaand on the topic of emotions, he's very emotional. Too emotional. Which is exactly why it's not good that he lets his emotions control his decison making. Sensitive. And predictable. I mean... it wouldn't be too hard to guess his reaction to something just because of how much he telegraphs how he's feeling. A sob story would garner sympathy from him and someone could probably take advantage of that for a hot minute.

When he's the one asking for help, though... he'd rather crash and burn before even thinking about asking someone to help carry that couch for him.

Nicole: Oh, she's blunt. Critical. A bit judgemental at times. Though there are times when she doesn't realize that what she's saying can hurt someone's feelings. And I wouldn't go so far as to call her manipulative, but she does have a way with words. 

Proud. I wouldn't say her ego is the size of the Empire State Building, but she can come off as arrogant at times. Maybe a little bit of a show-off, a bit brash.

Temper. She's not as quick to anger as her little brother, but by god does she hold a grudge. You stole her goldfish crackers back in 3rd grade? It's now 9th grade and she still has that in her mind. Petty as hell. Would wear a shirt that you said you wanted in front of you because you pissed her off a week ago. Forgive and forget? Haha, no. Resent and remember.

And impatient! Get it done quickly! Which does not go well with her being a perfectionist because she also procrastinates until she knows she can do it well. Her paperwork will forever be stuck in limbo.

Stubborn. If you want to change her mind, you better have a damn amazing argument. Things are done her way, or it's not the right way. Is... dominant a good word? Refuses to budge from her position.

Not that great at handling her own emotions. She'll show them, yes, of course, but... she doesn't know how to deal with them, if that makes sense. She does get Lexi's help with this, though, and she's starting to get a bit better at it.

Overprotective at times. When they were younger, she would not stand for any stranger getting near Zach. At all. This carries over into Andromeda, but she does grow out of it. Kind of.

TL;DR: Zach's a wide-eyed idealist who relies way too much on his emotions and doesn't understand how the world works sometimes. Nicole's blunt, a bit arrogant, and she doesn't know how to work her emotions and tends to coddle (and therefore limit) those she cares about.

If there's any typos or something doesn't make sense, forgive me. I am tiiiired.

[ry-ders]

Hey, temper?

Uh, ok. Zach is quicker and easier to anger than Nicole. It burns hot, yes, but it also burns fast. He could be screaming and then an hour later he says he's fine. Then he makes a joke about how mad he got.

Nicole on the other hand... she doesn't really show that she's angry, but if you're arguing with her or whatever and she smiles, that's how you know you fucked up. Also, she remembers. Everything.

[ry-ders]

Zach once spent all his money on corn dogs, and Nicole was going to make fun of him before she remembered she borrowed money from their parents before because she wanted 10-piece chicken nuggets and she didn't have enough.