#her resentment and anger consumed her until she was not only fully willing to commit violence against sam but actively enjoying it

[samfordpines]

Thinking about this one weird c!ponk neg post i clowned on a long time ago with my friends and now that the dsmp is over i think i was too harsh on it for their characterization of c!ponk. Truly they were ahead of their time on that one

[corvidiss]

For the character solidifying asks!

1 for Ambrose (you can either just talk about Victor or switch 'father' to 'fathers' and talk about both Victor and Henry)

49 for Adelaide

*rubs hands again* sweet sweet procrastination :D

1. How does your character think of their fathers? What do they hate and love about them? What influence - literal or imagined - did the fathers have?

Ambrose... does not have too high an opinion of Victor, as you can imagine. Before Henry started talking to him, Ambrose hated Victor with a passion, for abandoning him to a life of hell. I think that, while to begin with (when he learned of Victor's existence and role as Ambrose's creator) he was bitter and confused, that confusion turned to despondency, and when Felix beat him and drove him out, it became hateful anger, fuelled further by the bitterness. I don't believe he fully intended to do anything drastic and was still only looking for a way to be happy up until he killed William – an accident caused by his inhuman strength – and from then on, he sort of committed himself to that path. What else could he do? He'd dug himself into this trench and couldn't see a better way out of it than to keep digging and hope he reached the other side. At least it had got Victor's attention at last.

And even after Victor and Henry decided to fulfil Ambrose's wishes and headed to Scotland, Ambrose still burned with the anger he had come to sustain himself upon. All he genuinely wanted was someone to love him and peace to live the rest of his days unbothered by the prejudice of human kind.

Which brings me on to Henry. When Ambrose met Henry, Henry was the first person to ever show even a hint of open compassion for him. Old De Lacey had accepted him for some time, but he couldn't see the monster Ambrose believed himself to be. Henry persuaded Victor to hear out the Creature's tale, and watched him with a compassionate gaze unlike any other Ambrose had ever been subject to.

This, I think, set their relationship off to a good start. Although while Victor and Henry travelled to Scotland and began to set up, Ambrose was determined to get what he had demanded and leave thereafter, the more he spoke with Henry, the more he felt the acceptance that he had been desperate for all his life. Henry was, naturally, wary of him and a little disturbed (Ambrose was a walking corpse his boyfriend brought to life from graverobbed pieces, after all) but over time he saw the crusted mask of rage and despair crack and slip from Ambrose's features, to reveal the wounded, lonely child beneath. And with this unveiling came more compassion, more comforting, more acceptance. By the time that Victor was piecing together Adelaide, Ambrose had had his desires almost fulfilled in Henry's companionship.

In the end, this made for a close relationship. While it takes Ambrose years to understand, forgive and appreciate Victor (and the same of Victor to him), Henry is the father Ambrose should have had from the very beginning. He slips up, of course – no parent is perfect – but he's there and he's willing to help in whatever way he can. Until Adelaide comes along, he's the closest and most precious thing in Ambrose's life, and even after she comes into the picture, Henry is Ambrose's go-to person when he needs to talk about something.

Ambrose's relationship with Victor does heal over time. He sees how Henry treats and looks at Victor, and Henry talks about him like he's the most incredible person ever, and when Ambrose is ready, Henry explains for Victor why he did what he did, and how Victor is often consumed by the guilt of his actions – not just because of William and Justine, but now because of how he ruined Ambrose's life too; and eventually Ambrose comes to see the grief beneath Victor's hard countenance and the guilt in his sharp movements, and begins to pity him too. There are many arguments and conflicts before peace is finally achieved between them, but they reach it in the end.

Just realised I deviated from the question a whole bunch so:

Ambrose loves how open and kind Henry is, and loves how he sees the world in such a delighted manner; that on top of being the first human being to show him compassion, of course. I think Ambrose loves almost everything about Henry (aside from minor annoyances every child experiences) – except, before his relationship with Victor improved, he hated that Henry cared about Victor so much. It would be easier to hate someone if the person you look up to most in the world didn't love them so dearly.

Ambrose hated Victor a lot, as previously described – but over time comes to love things about him too. He begins to admire Victor's dedication, and sees how much Victor cares about the people he loves; this, perhaps, was something that made Ambrose want to gain Victor's love for himself instead of maintaining hostility. He resents how distant and cold Victor can be, but appreciates blunt honesty sometimes, and has to acknowledge how happy he seems to make Henry.

As you can imagine, both Henry and Victor had profound influences on Ambrose. I don't think I need to go into any more detail about the effects of Victor's abandonment and of Henry's acceptance and compassion, so I'll spare you any more rambling. :)

49. What about voice? Pitch? Strength? Tempo and rhythm of speech? Pronunciation? Accent?

Oooh good question. Adelaide speaks very carefully, because she's a little self-conscious of her speaking ability, but as a result she sounds very gentle and communicates well. She doesn't miss syllables or consonants and pronounces each sound properly. Her voice comes across as high-pitched on first impression, but is actually a little deeper than most women's; she just talks so sweetly it tricks the brain into thinking that she must be a small girl with a high voice.

In terms of strength, she speaks very softly; even when she raises her voice (which she doesn't often do and only a little when she does) it still has a soft sound.

She has an almost poetic rhythm to her speech too; because she makes sure to say everything correctly, her tempo is regulated and her emphasis carefully placed. Some people might assume she's an avid reader of poetry or even a poet herself, but in actual fact she just listens to Henry a lot.

For accent – she learned to speak in French, with a mostly Genevan accent, but later on when she and Ambrose begin to learn English too and interact with some people outside the family, she will develop a Scottish lilt to her tone, which sort of bleeds back into her French as well.