#idk how this plot thread will end. idk if his daughter is still a kid or she's 90 years old or she's long dead

[iguessyouregonnamissthepantyraid]

in a turn of events that surprises absolutely no one, i watched the gruff but oddly charming killing machine tear through an apocalyptic wasteland for 200+ years, finally confront one of the guys who helped turn the world into an apocalyptic wasteland in the first place, ignore all that, and instead cock a gun at him and say where's my fucking family, and my heart immediately latched onto him like a koala

FALLOUT SHOW MADE BRAIN GO BRRRRRRR

[bigskydreaming]

The resurgence of Marvel writers making Adam-X relevant again is on the one hand like, okay, weird and random but whatever, and on the other hand its like, well as far as 2020 plot twists go, that actually feels about right.

But apparently him popping up in X-Factor wasn’t just a one time thing, and in the March solicits there’s stuff about a story with him and the Summers brothers and “the truth about Adam-X finally revealed” so I would not be surprised at this point if they’re resurrecting the old plot-bunny that Adam’s the son of D’Ken and Katherine Summers. And finally resolving whether Sinister was talking about Gabe or someone else when he first hinted to Scott that he had another brother besides just Alex. 

(Because as a lot of people have pointed out over the years, Deadly Genesis doesn’t quite line up with that particular plot thread, even if it was what inspired that story in the first place, because there’s never been any indication that Sinister knew that Gabe was still alive on Krakoa while it was floating around up in space.....since if he did know, its weird that he wouldn’t have acted on it and tried to retrieve Gabe on his own).

But anyway, if they do officially make Adam the fourth Summers brother, I’m gonna LOL so hard just picturing the family gatherings at that point then. Like, just imagine Gabe and Adam meeting:

Adam: So what’s your power anyway?

Gabe: Oh I’m an omega level mutant and I control energy. All energy. Anything to do with energy, any kind of energy, I can do it. Including just turning to energy when I die and coming back on my own. Which I’ve done like, three times now. What do you do?

Adam: Oh. Um. I set my blood on fire.

Gabe: Huh. That’s.....cool, I guess?

Adam: Eh. 

Gabe: Hey, sorry about murdering your dad when I usurped his throne and took over the Shi’ar Empire. I went a little power-mad there for a bit. I mean, I’d been dead but not dead and floating around in space as an energy ghost for like ten years and then I found out Xavier had basically mind-wiped me out of existence and even made our brothers forget about me and the whole thing kinda just messed with my head a bit. I’m better now though.

Adam: Oh its fine. I hated that dude anyway. Mega asshole. I’ve got another dad anyway. Its no sweat.

Gabe: Oh good, cuz I was totally lying about being sorry. I’m not actually. Fuck that dude.

Adam: Yeah. I mean, I probably woulda done it myself if I could, its just. Y’know. He had lots of guards and setting my blood on fire is kinda a limited sorta gimmick.

Scott: Should I be concerned that our brothers are bonding over Gabe killing our half-brother’s biological father and taking over his empire?

Alex: I mean. Its not the weirdest thing this family’s ever bonded over. Remember that time I was blown up and ended up in another reality where I married your ex-wife and raised a son who was named after the dead you from that reality, and how you and I were way closer after I made it home? And your kids bond by swapping tales of growing up in their particular dystopian hell futures, and if Ruby, that daughter you had in another dystopian hell future ever pops up in our timeline, odds are she’d be joining Nate and Rachel in story-time there, so.....idk, maybe the best thing here is just to nod and smile and be happy we now have one brother that none of us have actually tried to kill ever, and who’s never actually tried to kill all of us.

Scott: Yet.

Alex: Well. I mean yeah, there is that.

[gcldveins]

HELLOOOOOO everyone !!!!!!!! i just wanna say .. thank you SO MUCH for joining misty hollow with jin and i , you have no idea how happy it made us to see so many people interested and join and like .. just clearly so in love w their own muses so like i just wanna say i love u all with my whole freaking heart !!!! ok enough w the sappy stuff let me introduce to u all literally the worst muse i have ever created .. malcolm o’sullivan. but he goes by sully bc he was ur og e-boy who goes “ oh ? my favourite band ? you wouldn’t have heard of it .. they’re called the rolling stones uwu ” and i rlly do hate him for that... it’s okay tho i punish him accordingly :~)

overview

✎⌠paul rudd. cismale. he/him⌡❝ — well, look who’s just arrived ! if it isn’t the one and only malcolm o'sullivan. though, around here they’re known as the harlequin. don’t tell ‘em i said this but the forty-seven year old owner of o'sullivan’s books kinda has a reputation of being stubborn and irresponsible. but y’know, they can be creative and analytical too. typical aquarius. anyways, welcome home and stay safe sully ! ❞

statistics

full name: malcolm eamon o’sullivan

nickname(s): sully, anything else and he twitches ..

date of birth: february 2nd, 1973

hometown: misty hollow, connecticut.

gender identity: cis gender 

preferred pronouns: he/him

sexual orientation: bisexual

hogwarts house: ravenclaw

aesthetic: an old leather jacket thrown over a wrinkled t-shirt, dog-eared pages, the smell of alcohol and cigarettes, untied laces, the soft rumbling of a motorcycle engine, messy handwriting, calloused fingertips

distinguishable characteristics: is looking homeless a distinguishable characteristic..

pinterest board: here.

their song from the sigh no more album bc i love this album and it makes me Sad™ : little lion man 

background ( murder tw )

— born in the town of dingle, a small port town in ireland, malcolm and his family immigrated to america when he was ten years old. they moved into misty hollow after his father opened up his own bookshop and the o’sullivan’s have been there ever since. 

— always having been a rebellious child, malcolm ( slowly gaining the nickname sully in school ) seemed to have a knack for doing anything that pissed his father off. his greatest act ? moving out as soon as he graduated without so much as a goodbye.

— malcolm was only a wee lad when the misty hollow murders were happening. his older brother, his only brother, was unfortunately one of the victims, being eight at the time. he’s not too torn up about it, he was only two years old. but his father reminded him everyday growing up, how much smarter and accomplished and just overall better his brother was than him.

— the only thing that sully was grateful for about his father was the love for books he had ingrained into him. growing up, he developed a knack for writing and he ended up going to the university of pennsylvania for journalism. after that, sully moved out to new york where he worked as a journalist for the new york times and wrote articles on political updates and reports. 

— he met his wife in new york and they had three children together, two girls and one boy. sully was living the classic american dream. until, of course, it was all ruined in a single camping trip. 

— it was just sully and the three kids, except the trip was cut short and he had to come home with two kids instead of three. sully’s youngest, nancy, was taken at the campgrounds and evidence of her murder was found in a nearby cabin.

— this tore sully’s family apart. the tragedy forced him towards a downwards spiral, an endless cycle of destructive habits. it got to the point where his wife decided to divorce him and to take the kids with her. 

— sully eventually, reluctantly, made the decision to return to misty hollow. there, he stayed with his parents for a bit until he got a job at o’sullivan’s books and was able to take a couple months to get back on his feet. 

— his parents initially pushed him towards trying to work at the mystic herald but sully hasn’t written a single sentence since his daughter died. now, his father has essentially left him to run the bookshop for him, which sully doesn’t mind. it’s quiet work that doesn’t require too much effort.

personality

— to sum it up in one sentence .. sully has essentially has regressed into a man-child in the more recent years of his life, but the inferiority complex is a tried and true constant. 

— he hasn’t really properly dealt with his daughter’s death ( even though it’s been over a decade.. ), just lives in a constant cycle of whenever he does try to think about it, he feels like shit and just thinks about all the things he could’ve done differently so he stops immediately. 

— sully always wanted to be a dad, to prove that he could be a better one than his own father. so he feels like he really failed in that retrospect. he’s like a human pity party. though he does that classic thing where he glosses over his sad feelings with destructive behaviour and inappropriate humour.

— very self-indulgent, does whatever he wants, whenever he wants. as long as it makes him feel better, even just for a moment, he’ll do it. doesn’t take anything very seriously, just kinda jokes around all the time. is one of those people that just give off.. kinda pathetic vibes you know? like you look at him and you’re like ?? what are you doing with your life dude ?? and he’s like idk

— but, on the bright side, this makes him pretty easy-going and down-to-earth. definitely a roll-with-the-punches and no bullshit type of guy, isn’t discouraged by much and doesn’t care a whole lot about what others think of him. it’s easy for him to engage in conversation and be all charismatic when he feels like it. 

— despite all .. of that, sully actually comes across as a relatively okay guy. he can be friendly and crack a few jokes while he’s at it, he’s one of those people that, as long as thinks you’re chill, treats you like you guys have been friends forever. but he can be pretty crude / vulgar at times, sooo how others react to that is kind of a gamble !

wanted connections

his one true bro <3 just someone that’ll be a complete idiot with him and they are definitely a bad influence on each other. this person probably hangs around the bookshop alot and they just spend all day with each other doing and saying stupid shit. like you know that gif set of seth rogen and joseph gordon-levitt where one’s like “ i’d fuck you ” and the other goes “ thanks :3 ” that’s it.. those are the vibes..

drinking buddies ! these two just get really drunk off their ass together and probably don’t even know each other that well despite of like.. several years of sort of friendship. one night they’re probably five drinks in and sully goes “ when i was married — ” and they’re just like “ wayment .. what the fuck . ” and ! maybe if your muse has something to get emo about ! maybe they can get drunk AND emo together <3

casual relationships ? he could have one or two of these ! sully.. does not date. tried being in a serious relationship once after his divorce and it ended... terribly. like imagine asking your adult boyfriend if he wants to move in together and his response is essentially just “ ... yeah i’m ok thanks tho. ” and you never hear from him again ndijgnk

that being said... if anyone wants that plot alluded to above .... let me know......

for the younger muses out there ! anyone that he’s kind of ? taken under his wing. pseudo-children essentially. i can’t promise that he’ll be a good influence.. he’s probably not even aware that he’s done this lmao but deep down, sully’s still a dad. he’ll probably be protective over the youngins but shows it in the form of tough love, y’know ? probably tells your muse to stop being a shithead all the time, cute stuff like that.

and some more casual connection ideas that we can further flesh out through some plotting / brainstorming:

old friends from misty hollow

regular customers

co-workers

an unrequited crush ( either on sully’s end or your muse’s )

a good influence on him .. please... i’m begging you

someone that can nerd out over books with him !

friends !!! everyone needs friends and lucky for sully, he’s pretty good at making them !! in a pushy and annoying way..

enemies / frenemies pls ... these are always so much fun

anything and everything else !! if we can’t figure out a plot between sully and your muse, we can always just do it old school and throw them at each other in a random thread and see what happens !!

[shadowyavuz]

Odd numbers!

(1, 3, 15, and 19 were already answered)

5) Is there any significance behind their hair color?

No--I knew CU (in his undercover police/mafia man role) had the militaristic look I was going for, and that AestheticTM was more important than individual aspects of his appearance.

7) Is there any significance behind their height?

No, I just always use the same height as the FC!  Alp’s 6′2″, but PLEASE LOOK HOW GIANT HE LOOKS NEXT TO SARP (who at 6′ is Not Tiny!!!)  I think the ScowlTM and PostureTM make him appear bigger than he actually is.  He is secretly the Giant Dog Who Thinks He’s A Lap Dog though, Pls Cuddle :’D

9) Are they based off of you, in some way?

Car culture is huge in my hometown, so Alp and Dede’s love of classic cars came from that.  (I’m not a mechanic, though, UNFORTUNATELY.)  I didn’t consciously base anything else on myself, but all my muses are Extremely Loyal (that’s one of the traits I value most in myself and others, which is also true of Alp), and I’m really close to my mom--we currently live across the country from each other, so I Understand Missing Her. :’(

11) Did you know what the OC’s sexuality would be at the time of their creation?

I thought he was 100% straight, but then he ended up in love with @lipstick-and-shotguns’ Fae and both he and I were Very Confused By That.  However, that was not only after a super strong emotional connection--they’d been best friends and worked together for years--but also a really specific set of circumstances.  I need to do a separate post on Alp + Love + Attraction, because he’s more complicated than any of my other muses, but in every other verse he sees himself as completely straight, and I don’t think that’s likely to change.

13) How far past the canon events that take place in their world have you extended their story, if at all?

It depends on the storyline!  With some people, we’ve plotted out multiple kids while still writing their first meeting (@thexwayward), but with others it’s very much see-what-happens-as-we-go.  I do want to do more with Dawn Rassmussen, a NPC who gave him directions and a shoulder to cry on (literally) while he was AWOL--for such a short interaction, she had a HUGE impact.  It’ll probably be in self paras, but I’d also be up for some kind of thread related to it.  At some point, he’s going to need to contact her again, and go out to visit, and finally grieve his mom, and possibly fix her dead son’s car and marry her daughter IDK :p

17) Is there some element you regret adding to your OC or their story?

When I changed Alp from the Weapon to the Shadow, I had to kill off his mom and Dede, and that was The Saddest Thing. :’(((((

[marmolita]

bringing an era to a close (avengers endgame spoilers)

Avengers (2012) was the movie that got me out of a decade-long fandom hiatus and back into fandom and fanfic, and today I went to see Avengers: Endgame, so I feel like I need to make some kind of comment on the Avengers era coming to a close, though clearly the MCU era isn’t done.  My thoughts on the movie (WITH SPOILERS) behind the cut.  But, in spoiler-free summary, I laughed some, cried a lot, and enjoyed the action.  The best movies of the MCU thus far though? Thor: Ragnarok, Spiderman: Homecoming, Iron Man (1), and Captain America: The Winter Soldier.  Shout out to Ant Man too, and I haven’t seen Ant Man and Wasp yet.  Also I will preface this with: I have not read any other fandom discourse on this movie at all yet.

Okay so first off.  The actual plot?  Made NO FUCKING SENSE WHATSOEVER GODDAMN IT WHOSE IDEA WAS THIS GARBAGE??!?!

Like okay time travel is always terrible, always, no matter what, because the cases where someone manages to make a time travel closed loop are so rare that they barely exist (shout-out to Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure for that though).  My problem really is when shows and movies that SHOULD have logical rules DON’T.  I can suspend disbelief for fantasy universes that don’t even attempt to make a scientific explanation, but when they TRY to make it scientific and then they make it garbage, it just really pisses me off.

NAMELY: they didn’t develop the theory of parallel bifurcating timelines enough to actually explain anything, they said they had to return the infinity stones to the moment they were taken from to avoid changing the past because they wanted to preserve the past five years....AND THEN THANOS CAME FROM THE PAST TO THE FUTURE AND NEVER WENT BACK AGAIN, THEREFORE ERASING THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF THIS TIMELINE.  Like this is the same level of complete nonsense as why freaking Eobard Thawne looks like Harrison Wells and is also still alive in the Flashpoint future on CW’s Flash.

What about Gamora??  She didn’t go back to the past.  She didn’t get dusted (I presume).  What the actual fuck happened to her?

The infinity stones can CREATE ENTIRE UNIVERSES FULL OF LIFE but they can’t bring back Natasha and Vision?  Why the fuck not?  Why are the people who came back after five years via the gauntlet not five years older?  Unless all of Peter’s friends were also dusted, why the hell are they still in high school five years later?

If STEVE went back and STAYED in the past then HOW DID HE END UP IN THE SAME FUTURE.  He disappeared and then oops there’s an old dude who must have walked there and been wandering around this whole time attending this goddamn funeral and nobody fucking noticed.  What the actual fuck.

Like if they hadn’t tried to explain it at all, maybe I could suspend disbelief and be like “okay superhero magic whatever,” but they tried and that makes it worse.

ANYWAY

Let me try to think of what I liked about this.  Valkyrie, of course, who was badass as hell and I LOVE that Thor was like “nah I’m not gonna be king, you’re already the king,” and did you notice nobody said the word “queen” in there?  She’s fucking awesome and I love her.

I liked Tony’s kid, who was adorable, and also my kids have literally said to me “I love you three thousand” so like, that’s very believable.  I liked that Tony didn’t want to erase the past five years because that would erase his own daughter out of existence.

I liked the joking about Steve’s ass, because yes, I appreciate a healthy objectification of men to match the objectification of women, and he does have an amazing ass.

I liked that Steve got to have his happy ending and dance with Peggy on one level, but I also didn’t like the way it happened at all, because the time travel made no fucking sense and also: WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO SHARON CARTER.  I get that I guess it wasn’t playing well with audiences, and I can only imagine they did the same thing with Bruce/Natasha because hello that romance storyline got NO kind of closure whatsoever in this entire series, but the fact that they just left the thread hanging is really what drives me nuts.

Oh, but I did love the “on your left” callback, so good job there guys.

I liked the story with Nebula a lot, though it also didn’t make much sense at all.  I liked Thor’s buddies, though I didn’t like the kind of fat-shaming “Thor’s let himself go” thing?  And not just because I was disappointed at not having a shot of Chris Hemsworth looking sexy, but like, I don’t like that Thor was kind of reduced to comic relief.

idk there are so many characters in this and there was so much stuff that I can’t even remember what I liked anymore.

As for Natasha, man, I don’t even know.  I liked that Clint went on a murder spree after his family got killed.  I like that Natasha wanted him to get back with his family.  I didn’t like that she had to die for it to happen, or that she didn’t get any real action at all, or that we never fucking found out ANY OF HER BACKSTORY.  Remember how great she was in Avengers 1?  What happened to that?

Who fucking knows what happened with Loki, nobody ever explained any of that.  Did Steve ever find out that it was Red Skull guarding the Soul Stone?

...........was Thanos right to remove half of the universe’s population?  Like, there’s that line about the pod of whales, and I definitely had times in the first infinity war movie where I thought about it, but like . . . yeah there are other solutions besides random killing half of life but randomly bringing them back also doesn’t solve the problem.

Anyway Captain Marvel was awesome and badass and I appreciated the scene with all the ladies teaming up, even though it felt kind of like it was forced in and Extra, just like the huge clash of the armies scene which was basically like “HERE IS A MOVIE POSTER ISN’T THIS DRAMATIC.”

Honestly also though: why didn’t they let Thor wear the gauntlet?  He’s Asgardian, he’s not human.  If he could handle that ~power of an entire sun~ thing in Ragnarok he can probably handle some infinity stones.

Okay, maybe I will have more to say later but that’s what I’ve got for now.  Mostly I think I’m just disappointed that for a movie that made me cry so much, it was largely unsatisfying because of the gaping plot holes?

[virtuissimo]

Pride by Ibi Zoboi (Review)

This book is a modern retelling of the Jane Austen’s seminal classic Pride & Prejudice. Zuri Luz Benitez is a black Haitian-Dominican teenager in her senior year of high school whose identity is constructed around her life in Bushwick, a neighborhood with a tight community that is going through aggressive gentrification. Across the street, in one of the new gentrified houses, the Darcy family moves in, including twins Ainsley and Darius, two rich private-school boys sticking out like a fish out of water.

Zoboi’s adaptation creates amazing parallels when compared one-to-one with P&P, but it can’t hold its own very well. The writing is a simplistic and the characterization for most of the named characters is extremely one-dimensional. I was taken a bit by surprise when I found it in the youth section, and the simple writing makes me confused about the age of the intended audience. In any case, I didn’t have a bad time reading this, but I was expecting a lot more than I got.

To expand a little on the intended audience, I think my confusion is mostly because of the conflicting styles. On one hand, Zoboi’s prose is very simple and almost hamfisted in how she handles her characters and story. Other than some nice and age-appropriate poetry from Zuri herself, the rest of the book isn’t very elegant in writing quality. So I said to myself, ok I found it in the youth section. It’s intended for a younger audience. However, all the central characters are in their senior year of high school, and there are numerous allusions to sex and cusses that I’m not sure would fly in middle fiction. I think those who are in this reading level will find the characters too old and teenagery, while those who are the main character’s ages will find the prose to be lacking. Zuri in specific is a voracious reader, and she herself would not have the patience to enjoy reading this book which is far below her reading level.

It’s easier to read this book for what it’s supposed to be saying rather than what it is saying, if that makes any sense. For instance, Darius when he first shows up is quiet and doesn’t offer much information about himself, but he also wasn’t very rude or belligerent upon first impression. I know “prejudice” is half the thing, but Zuri really jumps the gun and kind of started the whole feud in the first place. It just wasn’t that believable that he was some jerk who deserved her hatred like it was with Elizabeth Bennet, and similarly it wasn’t very believable when she later learns that she just misinterpreted his social awkwardness.

Also, I thought it was interesting that the title removed the “prejudice” when to me that seemed like a much bigger aspect of this version than in Austen’s work. For instance, Darius makes a number of disparaging remarks about Bushwick and its “ghetto” people, but even before he makes these remarks Zuri already “hates” him based on stuff she made up about him in her head. And then later, when they begin to get closer, she actually never confronts him about his prejudice and just. Forgives and forgets.

She also forgives and forgets when it comes to Ainsley and Janae. This bothered me a lot more than some of my other nitpicking because it actually changes one of the important themes of P&P. Not that Zoboi doesn’t have the right to alter thematic elements—she absolutely does! But the theme of family and the fact that Zuri would do ANYTHING for her sisters is told to the reader through a lot of exposition, but we don’t actually see it. The moment in the car when she finds out that Darius split up Ainsley and Janae is really representative of that for me. She got angry in the moment, but she never actually investigates to find out WHY he did it like Elizabeth in P&P. On that note, later on when she forgives him, she never asks him to account for it again.

In fact, character motivation and appropriate emotional buildup was a recurring issue in this book. Nothing hit quite like I think Zoboi intended them to.

The talk on gentrification and class difference is good tho. Perhaps incomplete, but there’s only so much space. They really show how class plays a role in a variety of different circumstances and scenarios, and I think Zoboi succeeds here where others have failed.

Some of the parallels that I liked:

-          Warren and Colin took me OUT when they first appeared. You can really see what Zoboi thinks about Mr. Wickham and Mr. Collins from the original lol.

-          The tour of Howard instead of touring the Darcy home was very interesting to me. I think it was a great introduction to how she wasn’t expecting her world to expand so much, and that there’s a lot of different experiences in the world that she’s missing, and she gets introduced to this idea by people who AREN’T Darius and Ainsley. I really liked that.

-          The leopard print and “inappropriate dress” that the Benitez family wore to the Darcy cocktail party. It seems like a good way to show how respectability politics still play into the modern day, and it added a bit of character to the Benitez family as a prototypical Latinx family that I really enjoyed.

-          The Warren and Georgia situation was also a good way to translate this into the modern day.

-          P&P: In order to avoid scandal, Darcy pays for a marriage between a 16 year old and a 20-something known scumbag, and this is seen as a good thing because it saved the Bennet family. Zoboi’s Pride: Darius beats the shit out of Warren. I REALLY CRIED, THIS IS WHAT I WANT OUT OF AN ADAPTATION.

Things I didn’t like so much:

-          Ainsley x Janae is treated like a veeery minor side story instead of being a secondary plot. One of the big things in P&P is that Jane and Bingley are the prototypical pure love story and they think they are the main characters. Ainsley and Janae are not given much space to breathe in the narrative, and their relationship comes across as an afterthought instead of as one of the principal plot threads.

-          The diversion with Darius’ grandmother was also thrown in there like an afterthought. It didn’t add much to the story other than showing that Darius will side with Zuri when push comes to shove. It still felt like it took up a lot more time than it needed to if the grandmother wasn’t going to appear again at the end of the book like in the original. If it’s role to the plot was going to be minimized like that, I don’t really understand why it was included at all.

-          Charlise and Colin as a pair also felt out of place. In the original, Mr. Collins and Charlotte weren’t a major part of the story, but they contributed to the narrative that Austen wanted to tell about marriage and the different types of marriages that exist in English society at the time. Charlise and Colin don’t really have that effect on the story at all. Both characters are completely irrelevant to the plot (except Colin in the last possible moment), and they’re only really there to BE an adaptation.

-          Some of the plot beats were rearranged. I didn’t mind this so much since any number of directorial decisions are valid so long as the have a positive impact on the adaptation’s goal, but I didn’t really see how they added much.

One thing I REALLY liked was the addition of Madrina. I’m not sure if she’s a reference to something I don’t remember from the text or a completely original addition, but I thought she made for some really interesting moments. I especially loved how much connection Zuri felt with her Orisha worship and that they called her “daughter of Ochun.” I would change NOTHING about this, it was pure and really sweet.

One adaptation I WISH Zoboi had made was to have Zuri call out Darius’ hypocrisy. In P&P, the Bennetts are certainly in a different social class from Darcy and the Bingleys, but they’re ultimately still property owners in Britain. The stakes are different here. Darius keeps talking about how things in his life aren’t perfect just because he’s rich (which is absolutely true, especially when Zoboi starts getting into his experience as a black teenager surrounded by white classmates), but he is STILL not really understanding the difference in experience between himself and Zuri. The thing is, although she’s not right to judge Darius’ whole personality, she absolutely IS right about a lot of his privilege at the very beginning, but she kind of lets that go after a while. Zuri confronts Darius about his wealth many times, but to me at least it doesn’t really seem like she was able to convince him that his whole outlook on life is fundamentally different because of his wealth. Idk maybe I’m grasping at straws here. I just wish that Darius had actually talked about like . trying to persuade his parents to donate more to charity, or doing community service, or idk DISTRIBUTING THE WEALTH. Darius doesn’t change much in the story. At the beginning, he’s like “sorry im rich but lmfao you’re being mean to me!” and then at the end he is like “I am simply a rich boy, I cannot change this” which is barely a difference at all.

Anyways. I really didn’t hate this book. I wanted to like it a lot more than I did, which is why I have all these criticisms about it.

I recommend this to anyone who wants to read a thoughtprovoking discussion on class through the lens of one of history’s most overrated love stories (speaking as someone who loves P&P: yea it’s overrated). Read it for Zuri and Darius, who are totally different people from Elizabeth and Darcy. Read it for nostalgia, because even though I don’t know what it feels like to be one of 5 Afrolatine kids in Bushwick, I Felt that family affection.

3/5 for having great ideas but not such great execution.

[wolfwhiteflowers]

ep 6-ish filming spoilers/spec. *twd comic spoilers

I rambled a lot. I also mentioned. SDCC news, Kang articles, Skybound(s9 promo pic) 

It’s a messy post. I wrote it like journal. vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

There’s filming spoilers of Eugene up on the water tower and his foot got stuck..and I guess got outta there. Also maybe a lady there..the casted lady there. Alpha? ..a crew member? idk. He’s up in the water tower similar to comic-Gabe’s uh death. 

Well in the comics, Gabe went up there to look out for any signs of a herd during/ later-ish in the Whisperer war. He’s very new to being a solider and cowardly-like...like Eugene is but not tv-Gabe (oh, also tv-Gabe is partially blind too). So, comic-Gabe saw the huge ass heard coming, freaked out and went down the ladder, his foot got caught in bottom of the ladder. And then a whisperer killed him before Gabe could warn others about the herd and whisperers that are coming to ASZ. 

I’m gonna think it’s not a remixed of that scene. What about the radio (comic Eugene)? Idk anymore.

Ep 6 sounds like a big Eugene episode or he got a lot of outside action stuff in this ep.

-thoughts-I’m thinking of the moment they introduced Georgie in s8 which the lady is similar to Pamela from the Commonwealth. I’m starting to think that TWD writers shouldn’t introduced Georgie or someone that’s similar to this Commonwealth arc in s8. So Idk in s9 the spoilers sound like stuff all from after the time jump and Whisperer War arc. Everything seems rushed. Maybe they’re remixing these plots. Some plots in other seasons were there earlier than the comic storyline. Who knows. But if Eugene has a radio and contacting Stephanie. It’s like different from the comics. The radio plot from Eguene and going to Ohio to find Stephanie -Commonwealth -Michonne’s daughter, Elodie. It was all a mystery. So meeting Georgie ruins the mystery.

-JDM’s haircut! Dang idk anymore! Seems like a lot cast members got groomed lol So, another time-jump? 

-So I guess another Lintz kid will be in TWD or Matt will be teen-Henry! Maybe Henry won’t die(braces). I’m glad.. cos I think that’s important part of Carol’s story, imo.  But Idk for sure who he play as.

-ok so recently TSDF are saying that there will be a time jump based on what i just mentioned. 5 years or so jump based on Matt Lintz possible playing at teen-Henry. Matt is like 5 years older than his bro.

This timejump, I’m like NO. Blah I don’t like it. Is it in ep 6?

 Also ... based on the Skybound tweet, I don’t feel sure about TSDF, it seems like they’re rushing to announce a spoiler, again. I don’t think they got enough info yet..but yeah a lot of cast members are groomed..so I guess time jump is happening. I was like ok with it at first but ...later in the week, I noticed there’s no spoilers on characters grieving on Rick (leaving or dead) and no heads on pikes scene. Idk what’s going on storywise.

-(repeating the same thing) Skybound/TWD tweet. lol “don’t believe what u hear.” Idk what it is about but if it’s about the spoiler on the spoilery script pic, then ???? lol First, TSDF were saying WTF. They’re pretty sure Rick Dies in ep Five.

my comment on the thread.

I'm curious. Did you guys got more info or sources that Rick died in ep 5? Or you guys speculated over on the spoilery script pic?

What if Rick gone missing (like tv-Heath)? It's something that I kind of hope for in the show with AL wanting to leave. I was hoping Rick would go missing and then Michonne and Judith go on a boat to idk Commonwealth after s9.

We don't know much on why AL is leaving and why AMC is keeping a secret and all that. We just have to wait and see.

I hope you guys will get more info soon.

I mainly just want to know how Rick leaves the show. Does he die or go missing? And what about the Grimes fam.? And when?

I guess I was right? TSDF are saying some kind of craziness happening with Rick’s departure like a dumpster-gate. BUT, AL supposedly? got one episode left to film and the news is that he will exit TWD. So ...Rick is still leaving, right? :( I hope he doesn’t die. Back on rollercoaster ride..on hoping for the TWD AU to be good.

-I’m guessing Rick won’t even see this new windmill built. I don’t understand this windmill being built way later. Rick isn’t like “old man Rick” no cane, no windmill, blah.

-The time jump=

...well TSDF may be wrong about all this. Maybe Oceanside is dead or not focused anymore. Young Henry is missing like comic - Elodie or dead. New Lintz teen boy may be playing as a different character. Negan is groomed because from the comics he got groomed..so yeah. 

----if TSDF is right, ...

I get it now(Beth). I guess. Reason why s8 finale didn’t tease or set up for the timejump in s9 because it’s not the big time jump they wanna mention or tease about. Finale still sucked and didn’t excite me for next season. If ep 6 - time jump will happen (5 years) then I guess first 5 ish episodes are about Rick with a hair cut and yeah he’s gone. Maybe Gimple’s plan of s9 is in these 5 episodes and ep 6 is all Angela Kang’s ideas.

I’m so lost on the play of time. Maybe s9A is like FTWD’s recent half season. Idk. 9A goes half of the story is one year later and the other half is 5 years later. Or 1-5 episodes are one year later. 6-8 and on are five years later? Idk 

It’s really bad for Caryl. Idk much on storywise and filming spoilers, but I don’t think whisperers/Alpha does their thing before ep 6. So after the ep 6./5 years time jump, that means Carol ...I guess is in a romantic relationship with Zeke  in Kingdom for 5 or so years. Daryl still single cos wtf idk.. writers don’t say he’s asexual, gay, or whatever from the start. 

Like we already know but yeah really bad for Grimes family. They don’t show characters grieving over him? Michonne ofc is gonna be sad and wtf alone(?) for 5 years. Depressing. ehhh s9 is such crap for Michonne’s story. If Rick doesn’t die but gone missing or taken into the helicopter, then it reminds me of the soapy show Jane the Virgin (spoilers!!!........) where Michael “dies” and a year later he came back fine but had lost his memories and that’s why he didn’t come back earlier. Anyways, with that theory, it still wouldn’t work well with that 5 year time jump (and more). Like if maybe Michonne and Judith went a boat and found Rick after 6 years. That’s nice...? Depressing tho...uh? Then the end for TWD? lol

-5 years is a lot. TWD s1-8 was like 2 years. So...everyone and everything is so different.

---

omg those articles from Kang. sorry but she’s just being like any other showrunner trying to sell her show yada yada. Daryl will have romance? she’s like sure. But remember skybound said nope on s9.  Girl power?She’s like yas.  Skybound said nothing much new with Michonne and Carol. Ofc, it’s not gonna be good plots for the ladies./ It’s all depressing and idk the show doesn’t show them interact anyways.

WTF 

-... when AL finished his filming, I was like uh what to look forward to in the spoilers? sigh. yeah. It’s what it is. S9 is just awful. :\

-I don’t know what Carol is gonna do. MMB is a ninja, people can’t spot her during filming. It’s sad..I don’t know (s9)Carol anymore actually. I wish Carol was single and just idk. I want to know what Carol is like after the war and living in Kingdom (and why live there or show Carol telling TF that’s she’s living there and they still bond with her.) I don’t what Carol is like after 5 years either. I don’t know anything about Carol rn. ...I don’t think there’s much on Carol with Rick/TF. :(

---

SDCC.

ok but first, omg i just wanna see the cast interactions only. I love this lil group. (they’re like my ‘twd players’ and also it’s shippy like. Caryl, Richonne...and used to be-Gleggie)They’re main cast members and they’re like originals of the show plus JDM. But questions and answers..oh boy it’s gonna be awkward and crazy. 

eta. I heard that LC won’t be at the TWD panel. Maybe she will be at the con somewhere else? I’m not sure and it’s probably from her contract with ABC. Anyways, that’s sad...TWD fans won’t see LC at the panel for the last time.

 I realized that we’re gonna learn a lot about s9. Like confirmation on what’s gonna happen in the story. It’s gonna be crazy. They may be like Caryl is always just friends.duuuuh.durrrr.  TWD is not Rick’s story. durrr. Maybe, Rick (and Maggie) isn’t gonna diiiiiee ;) ep 5, he dies. SIGH.

I heard AL is gonna announce that’s he’s leaving the show. That’s nice, imo. I like to know if the actor will leave or not that kind of stuff. I don’t want this big surprise death or whatever.  Idk. whatever AL  want to or will do. I just want writers/AMC to treat their fans with respect. 

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

So um ..I just feel that s9 is actually crappy. It’s all AU to me in the first place, and that even as AU-onscreen, it still sucks. :\ So yeah give me fanarts and fic pls.

 I hope the actors and others have fun at SDCC. I hope s9 isn’t that bad but well I don’t think so. (not planning to watch it either so.) 

I’m still waiting what s9A will be like and does Rick dies or not. 

[winniethepoohx]

plots !

a sucky list of sucky plots, pls ignore me if u so wish <333

DRACO EREBUS

he’s into photography and flowers so there’s that??

idk what could be done w that bc he acts like he hates everything but

also someone call him out on his self-destructiveness ffs

“draco, you’re fucking depressed”

aside from that, tho, he just needs happy things tbh

bc he goin thru a lot and he still got a lot comin ( not soon but eventually ) so u kNO

TAYTUM POSSIBLE

superhero things !!

cheerleader buddies !!

she designs clothes so?? design buddies?? someone mODEL for her??

she just needs friends tbh pretty pls

WESLEY FENTON

he likes art so that’s a thing

i forever want bullies for him bc i haven’t rly had that dynamic yet and it is Still A Want ngl

“west, you’re gay”  “west, you’re gay for one of your best friends”

listen i need that lowkey angsty threads where the drugs otulissa is giving him actually take Full Affect and he turns into a ghost and just can’t turn back and cue panicking (f u otulissa)

or better yet - he starts turning to ectoplasm (??) like how dani does when she’s a ghost and tHEN cue panicking and cue him realising (finally) that something’s wrong (f u otulissa pt2)

either way gimme angsty threads bc when will this boy catch a break

HADLEY LONG

cheerleader buddies !!

i need more dragon hattie so there’s tHAT

she just needs friends pretty pls pt2

CERIDWEN BLACKWELL

her magic is rly harmful to her so there’s that idk??

rly she just deserves the world and all thigns good tho sO

AIKO HAMADA

listen i need a robot fight thread ok

i always forget she’s a superhero too so there’s that too??

“aiko, you’re gay”

PRIMROSE LEE

someone give me an excuse to show off her powers pls

lowkey i want her to get her heart broken bc it would kill her self-confidence and idk that might be a fun time (not for her tho lmao)

LONDON LUNAR

i also need to show off her powers tbh

lowkey want her to get bullied bc ............... Angst

give me someone who makes a wish on a star/balloon and london hears it via her powers and tries to help them pls (bonus points if it ends horribly woot)

EIRA WYNTERS

she needs friends pls

dance team buddies ??

BEAP MEAP

someone tell him that he’s in love w/ jj bc he knows but he hasn’t Admitted It yet

cheerleading buddies and just more friends in general pls

i also wanna do something w/ the fact that meap is a secret agent i just don’t know what yet tbh sO UH

BERNADETTE BERNARD

i wanna do more w/ her helping isle kids so there’s that

i feel like she gets a lot of bad publicity as a royal bc older people in the media are still kinda “wtf is she doing” so there’s that too idk

she just gets a lot of publicity in general so there’s tHAT TOO

she’s gonna burn herself out real soon ok it’s gonna happen someone make her take a damn bREAK

LAVINA MORTE

she needs more friends first of all pls

someone let her try to bake for them !!

i always forget she’s in into the woods so hmu

she’s also weak af bc she’s a vampire but she doesn’t drink blood so that’s a tHING

lowkey want someone to accuse her of being a bloodsucker/murderer bc she would get so upset whoops

OTULISSA SHOWENHOWER

listen. if u got charas that u need to fuck up, she’s ur gal tbh

charas w insecurities?? magical or not?? yep

also she’s not allowed to have friends and i want someone to kill her bye

BONNIE UTONIUM

superhero things pls

she just needs friends tbh

ARTIS MUIR

someone call her out on still being in love w/ kohl ok

i need more magical artis pls

idk what we could do w that but

magical friends pls??

she lives in a cottage in the forest so tHAT’S A THING

if you come across it, she’ll ask to use you as a guinea pig for her magic/for opinions on a potion or spell or smth or she’ll just tell you abt her teddy bears sO THAT’S A THING TOO

NO-FACE TOO

listen i want her to (or at least try to) eat someone’s feelings ok

also someone pls tell her that she has/can have feelings bc she’s so convince that she cAN’T

also if she realises that she has feelings, she’ll try to ensure that she Doesn’t, so ............... gimme a Bad Influence for tootoo lowkey :eyes:

AMERYKAH ROGERS

she has such low self-esteem (esp when it comes to being an avenger) so gimme smth w tHAT

or you could try and convince her that she would be a great avenger u kno either work

on that note - gimme superhero tings omg

tbh she just needs friends pls

or enemies that would be fun too

frenemies ayyy

what if someone brought up the fact that she was adopted tho she woudl get so sAD but pretend to be mad but rly be sAD

AIRLEA TESIA

tbh i need her to do more aphrodite-esque things sO

kinda-sorta-not rly matchmaker airlea??

she won’t be any good at matchmaking bc she’s too absorbed w herself but u kno

someone try to matchmake hER ome call her out on how gay she is bc she lowkey gay for euphie lbr

she’d be so in denial lmao

MINNIE MALLOW

she deserves happiness she just needs friends bye

her almost melting tho pls

MEREDITH PURCELLE

she wants to be everybody’s fairy godfriend sO

like pls someone be her cinderella

on that note tho - someone should take hardcore advantage of her?? use her for her magic, trick her into doing immoral things for them yikes

i kind of want her to get her heart broken too whoops

also she is?? wearing herself out so fast, she feels like she helps everybody but she can’t go to anybody for help bc she’s supposed to be the fairy godfriend and not the other way around so tHAT’S A THING

AMBER MCLAIN

she is literally Auradon’s Official Kpop Idol ok

so like?? she’s highkey famous so fANS COULD BE A THING MAYBE??

she would defs mentor someone in music tho omg

she can cast spells w her guitar so. u need a love spell?? heckie yeah. u need hypnosis?? hECKIE YEAH.

VENICE ARCHER

"venice, you’re gay”

she lowkey wants revenge on corona so that’s :eyes: a thing

science pals!! inventor pals!!

SERAPHINA MOREAU

ballet/dance team pals!!

give me rival ballerinas pls like. always competing to be the best?? yes!!

lowkey she gets injured rly easily so i feel like she always has some sort of injury even if it’s small af so like. someone call her out on this pls

her identity is literally ballet so someone get her to do smth else pretty pls

KENNETH GUCCI

listen. gimme someone who comes to his hotdog cart on occasion and he has a lil lowkey crush on them bc i need pureness in my life

doesn’t even have to be requited ok it’d just be cute

also he lowkey feels inadequate compared to all of the royals bc he is?? no one special rly, he’s not too important, he’s just wealthy and just kinda There sO that insecurity is a thing

LUCINDA TASI

someone pls gimme the child of max who dreamt her up pls

someone help her control her powers pls she’s so afraid of them

or what if she hurt someone w/ her powers bc aNGST

also she’s gay but she doesn’t know it yet sO there’s that

ORALEE FITZHERBERT

she just needs friends pls

she wants to adventure so adventure pals omg

she love to art so art pals tOO

she’s also the sundrop flower now - i.e. her hair acts as rapunzel’s did before it was cut, so!! gimme someone pulling a lowkey mother gothel and taking advantage of her hair pls

GALATIA MARMOREAL

she is smol and needs love (friends)

she is smol and could easily be bullied or taken advantage of (angst)

she loves tea parties so pls someone have tea parties w/ her

DESERAE TREMAINE

she wants wealth so catch her trynna kiss up to a prince tbh??

but also she acts like she’s Classy(tm) lmao

curl up and dye was a thing on the isle so!!

she can do people’s hair?? overprice them for a haircut?? hairdye??

someone sneak into fancy events w/ her pls n thnx she does it All The Time

or catch her sneaking into a fancy event and threaten to get her in trouble or smth woot

MOLLY CORVILLE

gimme a bad influence tho get her into trouble

cheerleader friends!!

she just needs friends pretty pls pt3435793823489294

LETHE HADDOCK

someone insult ryuu i dare u

she’s good w/ dragons so?? if that fits w/ any of ur charas, we can go wild fam

dragon racing?? yes

she’s also a viking and very much astrid’s daughter so, uh, enemies?? frenemies?? heckie yeah!!

DOVE PINES

mystery child wants to solve supernatural mysteries

wants to be friends w/ all the supernatural creatures pls

gimme adventures heckie yeah

also she keep sjournals so?? that’s a thing - if someone found them they would have hecka info on supernatural creatures sO there’s that idk

pls stop her from getting herself killed @ the kill swamp

let her make a sweater for u bc she does that too ok

MINGXIA ZHANG

gimme meditation pals!!

dueling buddies!!

DELTA BABCOCK

someone help her help ghosts pls she gets so overwhelmed

someone could accuse her of being crazy lowkey she’d get so sad

also she needs friends so that’s a thing too woot

CHAO CIPHER

she’s a cipher we coudl lit do anything tbh

you want ur chara fucked up?? chao is ur gal for lit anything tbh

like. make a deal w/ her, fam. she’ll fulfill it but absolutely fuck u up in some way once she’s done

i lowkey want her to posess someone but idk who or how that would work out but it’s a tHING so yE IDK

POCKY VON SCHWEETZ

she’s rly famous on youtube so she might have fANS??

someone accuse her of being a bad racer bc she’s a girl or a beauty guru or smth and a street race ensues bc pls

[dishonoredrpg]

Congratulations, ROGUE! You’ve been accepted for the role of THE WORLD with the faceclaim of NATASHA LIU BORDIZZO. From the minute I thought of her skeleton I knew that The World would need to be written in a way that showed an understanding for the atrocities and horrors that come with being royal and the power that comes with change, and Rogue, you were a perfect fit. Aurelia -- aptly named, that lovely daughter of Septimus’ -- fits into the world. She makes it right itself when crooked merely by existing. From her voice, to the whopping amount of plots you provided, to the clear delight that bled through with every sentence I read, I think that Aurelia is meant to be here, and I am so glad you brought her to me for me to love and cherish as long as I can. 

Please review the CHECKLIST and send your blog in within 24 hours.

OOC

NAME: Rogue! PRONOUNS: She/Her. AGE: 23. TIMEZONE, ACTIVITY LEVEL: PST, uhhhh idk how to pick numbers. I have been known to keep track of like 100 threads god I wish I was kidding, but I also am in other rps... so like. 7? 8? Somewhereish around that. ANYTHING ELSE?: 

IN CHARACTER

SKELETON: The World. Future, Upright — You are the relief that comes at the end of a long and winding project, the comfort taken from the knowledge that it’s done well, and the sense of completeness that brings. You are a circle that has no beginning, a closed circuit of a girl with her hopes settled and dreams nothing more than a memory, for what you want is now in hand. You are someone defined by your goals, yet comforted by reaching them, on a larger scale or even day to day. The journey has been hard, but you have been rewarded with the celebration of your achievements, and you understand that your responsibilities exist, but do not inhibit your joy. You carry with you a sense that every step of the journey has made you smarter, stronger, or wiser, and even when your path was lonely, there has always been a light at the end of your tunnel. The light is you, and all that you encompass. Self-reflection is key to who you are, and your awareness of your faults and strengths is what keeps you going. In the completion you seek, you will find new beginnings, too, for yourself and those around you. Whether you enjoy change or not, you must tug it ashore and present it to the world, neatly wrapped and tied off with a bow. Present, Reversed — You are the sensation of standing at a crossroads, turned in the opposite direction of the path you know you must follow. You fear that first step more than anything, but finding closure is essential to your happiness. It is only your tether to the past that inhibits you, and you worry endlessly over the journey, though your feet will make it there whether you want them to or not. In order to find balance, you need to embrace where you are now and let go of what came before, for the conflict within you is only an illusion. Your journey will be personal and quiet, filled with turmoil and self-recrimination, but you will emerge from this, for there are no other options left to you. You have a necessary task to complete, but it strains you nearly to breaking, and it will cost you more than it already has before it’s completed. No trial or turn in your path can be overlooked in order to complete the cycle started with your birth. You define the sensation of never being finished, of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel stretch further away with every step you take. You are still a project with an essential piece missing, and until you find it, you will always feel hollow. NAME: Aurelia Josephine Liviana Valmont. Names are chosen for all sorts of reasons, on any normal day, for any normal babe. The problem, of course, is that this is not a normal babe. This is the only daughter of Septimus Valmont, and as the priests gather to bless the name of the princess, King Septimus is tired. Still, her face is as beautiful as her mother’s, even in infancy, and it inspires her father to emerge from boredom into a modicum of enthusiasm. He names her for her beauty, Aurelia, for he’s always wished his own name had some grand meaning, rather than being the equivalent of numbering your children so you won’t forget which came first. Why bow to such wretched tradition? After all, Septimus could have been named Primus for all the good it did the first heir of his generation. On a whim, he named her something gilded or maybe gold, and hoped for her to turn out as pretty and vapid as he’d been, before the burdens of the world were placed upon his shoulders. Any daughter of his should be gilded, no? Even if the gold may only be a film to cover rot and decay, she would always have her filigree, and would always be permitted to harness it. After that, he meandered. Josephine, for his favorite aunt as a child, for she’d died young and the former king had not spared the resources to bring her back to life. He spared no thought for his bride, who had carried the babe to term but was given no option to name her themself. They were as powerless as the daughter they’d provided him, and he cared not for their wishes, not enough to notice them, at any rate. He might have stopped there, but as he looked down into her now-peaceful face, at last stopping crying after being separated from her mother, he smiled a little melancholy smile. He remembered all too well what it was to grow up in the lap of luxury and know the crown would never fall onto his head, despite what he became. He remembered with fondness and chagrin how his second-born sibling had trailed after the heir, always wanting to inherit, never understanding what a burden it would be. The second-born’s life is defined by the heir’s, he murmured gravely, bending down to pretend she could understand him as his thumb brushed her ruddy cheek, if I recall correctly. He cooed at her a moment, and her lashes fluttered as though she was dreaming, maybe even of him. Ah, yes, I know exactly what to expect from you. And so he named her Liviana, because it was for the envious, and he expected her to know its taste on her tongue before she knew how to say the word. He could not know, of course, that she would grow to know nothing of the kind, never coveting anyone’s life but her own, for she knew instinctively that one did not need to be heir apparent to know their own worth. King Septimus could have continued, as each priest and noble in the room waited on him to do so, but he grew tired of the game. Even life and death had become such to him these days. Her life was nothing more than an opportunity for him to reflect, in the end, on his siblings and their demise. Absently, he pressed a whiskery kiss to her forehead and declared her a Valmont, and it was recorded with the rest for the purpose of their royal history. FACECLAIM: I apologize for this, first of all, but it seems like the most efficient thing to do is just list all the ones I would be cool with based on their racial heritage. Not all are on the approved list bc I didn’t want to bug you THAT much but there it is. I am literally down for any of these. White/White: Kristine Froseth White/Black: Marina Nery Chinese/White: Natasha Liu Bordizzo Black/Black: Kiki Layne White/Japanese: Reina Hardesty Vietnamese/Vietnamese: Jolie Nguyen White/Latinx: Seychelle Gabriel Korean/Korean: Hyuna Turkish/Turkish: Simay Barlas Indian/White: Anya Chalotra AGE: 21, born the equivalent of May 17th, in the fantasy world version of Taurus season. Stable, resilient, and capable, she will always have her feet planted firmly on the ground. She knows well her own likes and dislikes, and gravitates toward material pleasures and wealth in spite of herself. Aurelia is most comforted by stability, and disliked fast-paced change, which makes her the perfect person to so easily wave away the concerns of the prophecy to the watching eyes and ears of the nobility. Who, after all, would suspect that a girl too afraid to cut her hair would be the one to change the foundations of the world? She has no issue, however, with change at a slow and steady pace, heralded and planned out by herself and her own sharp mind. She is most interested in being her own master. Responsible and capable, she has a strong work ethic, but that does not mean she forgoes luxury altogether. Aurelia is a perfectionist, which she sees as both a flaw and a decent trait to have, considering her goals in life. She is extremely set in her ways and focused on the big picture, which means that while she empathizes with the small slights inflicted on others, she may allow them to occur while working to fundamentally alter society for the greater good. Aurelia won’t stop until she has what she came for, and she won’t compromise her values (love, empathy, fairness) to obtain it, either.

DETAILS: What drew me to Aurelia was all of her, really. I know this is where we highlight the things that we liked most, but I can’t pick her apart without explaining why I like the whole, irrefutable package. She’s soft for others to a large degree, but that doesn’t entirely define her; it runs parallel to her other traits, yet it doesn’t work against them. She’s strong, even with her soft heart, strong enough to see that what she’s been told her whole life is right is very, very wrong. She has a will of her own, and you can’t get that by being weak and easily influenced. I love that she refuses to fight outright, preferring to maneuver in such a way that no one has to get hurt, and I love that she has the ability and the confidence to see it through. She knows that she would be a good ruler because she cares, and she cares fiercely enough to protect her family, even when they mostly don’t deserve it. She knows she’ll win because she absolutely cannot lose, all her cards are on the table but they’re also face cards, maybe even an ace. Her power comes from the desire to protect, and her pragmatism is married to her sense of love and duty in an indelible way. She cannot have empathy without having responsibility, and she refuses to lead a violent revolution against those who have cared for her all her life. She’s not one dimensional, not naive, not hopeless. I love her for all those things combined, and to pick them apart wouldn’t yield the same results. BACKGROUND: — Growing up in a fortress can feel isolated at times, but Aurelia found ways to play with those around her, even as a rambunctious child. She was the girl who would sneak cookies for the stable-boy’s dogs and giggle playing peek-a-boo with a guard when he was supposed to be on duty. Curious about others and rarely allowed around other children, she devoured the attention of adults, and from an early age cultivated a strangely adult manner of speaking. The other nobles thought it was charming, that a princess would know to speak so regally throughout her years, and Aurelia never disabused them of the notion, preferring instead to delight them with fun new vocabulary. This got her into trouble, of course, when she learned about swearing, but she was too sweet-faced to be stern with long, and too sweet-natured to take advantage the way a brat or a bully might. For this, she was doted upon by her nannies and tutors, as well as those in the barracks. It was easy, later on, to begin cultivating those people as a network, sneaking her information with worried glances and trust in their eyes. What a sweet girl, they would murmur, pressing their lips to her knuckles, to worry so about such simple complaints. — When she was six years old, they began placing books atop her head and forcing her to walk without them falling. She always thought it was to improve her posture, with the way her nanny was constantly straightening her spine, but she knew it was more than that when she first put her crown on. By Undeath, that thing was heavy, and it took all she had to walk with her head held straight, to eat five courses of a meal, to talk and dance and not throw her head back and let the thing slide right off it. No one would listen if she did complain, and she never told anyone, save for THE LOVERS, who she eventually grew to trust so much that she could let them in on the secret. When she takes the crown for herself, her first non-essential decree will be to melt them all down and make them smaller, sleeker, and more easily wearable. — Aurelia is fond of pestering THE SUN, though she wouldn’t call it annoying them so much as caring for them. Necromancers have always seemed so lonely to her (other than THE HIGH PRIESTESS, who unnerves her), and that’s especially true for the old ones. How terrible it would be, to grow older and older and lose all those you’d once loved. Would you ever try to love again? She’s not sure, but she wants them to know that she’s okay with it if they never love her back. They’re a strange, morbid part of her family, but they’ve been family since the day she was born. What else can she call someone who might one day be asked to kill for her, or on her behalf? She would inherit them as well, after all, and Aurelia is cognizant of the responsibility that would be. They have one of the hardest jobs, she thinks to herself sometimes, and therefore must be treated with the most care. Do they ask for it? Perhaps not, but they’ll have it regardless. — It would be easy for her to hate her family, but she doesn’t, she can’t. She’s loved them as long as she can remember and she will love them after she is dead. She knows the touch of her father’s kiss at her temple as well as she knows the cruelty with which he sends men to the noose. She knows her cousin’s laugh as she knows the whistle of his blade through the air, the way she remembers how to breathe, the way she counts the steps down to the barracks every time she goes. Her brother, best of all, she knows to be as useless as they are lovely, cruel as they are decadent, and all these things don’t make it any easier to choose between them and her people. She will not. She cannot be asked to. As much as she understands that her first priority must be the citizenry, because someone on earth should care more for them than themselves, she also won’t part with her loyalty. Not to them, and not to her family, either. She will find a humane way to settle this, by Undeath, and if she can’t, then it will be on their heads, not hers. Still, she feels confident in her own victory, bolstered by her knowledge of the people who love her, and who she loves in return. She will not be vicious to them just because that’s what people clamor for, or because it’s asked of her with wolfish smiles. Aurelia wants justice, not bloodshed, and she will have it. — It always surprised her tutors, how much she longed to attend lessons with her brother. She was hungry for knowledge from a young age, eagerly snatching up everything and anything she could. Aurelia was curious not just about the castle but about the world beyond it; she would ask that her rooms be decorated with maps, until she knew the lay of the land by heart. Any time there was a visitor, she would attempt to ask that they correct her maps, to ensure they were kept in date. Her fascination with geography was not the only thing she took interest in, however. She wanted to know the ins and outs of trade, wanted to learn as many languages as she could and know the difference between an emerald and a diamond with her eyes closed, hands clasped tight around the stones. She wanted to know the seal of every nation or rebellion that had ever tested their borders, and she asked so many questions that they were forced to send for answers, again and again and again. It should’ve annoyed her tutors, but her enthusiasm was so genuine, they wanted to please her. Over time she grew to recognize that fact and treat it as a responsibility; she could wield the care of others as a weapon, but she chose not to, and that was the difference. — There is not a guileless quality to her, no matter how often she might be called naive by some of the cruel portions of her family. In quiet moments, when it’s only her and her ladies-in-waiting, the age of her thoughts reveals itself in her eyes, in the grim set of her mouth, or even in the delicate curve of her shoulders. She doesn’t pretend not to know about the farce of her existence, because that would never inspire confidence in her as a leader, and it would only hurt those who have come to depend on her. Instead, she makes her rebellion known in small ways, refusing participation in games she doesn’t approve of, humiliating nobles she finds foolish and cruel, or small-minded and weak. The one thing she doesn’t shy away from is executions: Aurelia attends each one, refusing to let anyone die for her father’s whim without someone who respects them bearing witness. They can’t know how she feels, but she makes a promise to each as they die before her eyes: I will never let this be for nothing. Sometimes she comes across as over-aware, too sensitive, too passionate to understand the cool logic of the world, but she understands it all too well. She does not believe that you can exist as a good person without marrying logic and emotion, as disparate as they are, and she will never abandon that part of her that cries for each life lost, each hurt inflicted, each blade in the hands of someone far too young for it. She cultivates it like her own personal garden, honeysuckle growing wild in her rib cage. — The first time she truly understood what she could do, she was only fifteen. TEMPERANCE had said something particularly upsetting, though they never truly understood why she stormed away. With tears in her eyes, she’d run, not knowing where she was going until she almost slammed into the body of a castle guard. They weren’t assigned to her rotation nor her quarters, but they knew her from when she would drop in at their meal times and ask after their days, or peel oranges to slide under their helmets as they stood outside in the hot summer sun, armor burning, skin sweltering. He caught her by the shoulders and held her steady as her guards and attendants rushed to catch up with her, and wiped away an errant tear with one gauntlet-covered thumb. What’s happened, Princess? They asked and she answered, for she was a teenage girl whose heart had been wounded, and as they listened, as all of them did, their faces fell in sympathy, too. When she looked up at them, this guard who barely knew her, it was the first time she understood what it looked like, to watch someone decide they would kill for you. Their offer was couched in softer words, but it was no less lethal, and when she shook her head she could’ve sworn she saw disappointment in more than one face. It was the last time she ever took her relationships, or her feelings, for granted. — She cried for months as a child, wailing unhappily no matter how often her wet nurses tried to shush her. They ended up going through six of them before one realized the problem; the child did not want a wet nurse, she wanted her mother, and she knew the difference quite clearly. Perhaps it is this sense of abandonment, fostered in her early youth, that makes her reach out to others so often. She wants more than anything to hold them close, but the one person who was meant to never has. Oh, she’s heard of the prophecy, but it doesn’t excuse her mother’s cowardice. In truth, Aurelia loves her father and even her brother more, because they at least have shown her who they are. They have shared with her something THE EMPRESS always denies. By eight years old she was calling them by their proper name, much to the shock and confusion of the court, but even that would not prompt them to explain things to her. They looked almost through her, as though she were an alien being, a parasite in their womb who had now been made into flesh, and Aurelia regards it with more bitterness than anything else in her life. Is it not enough, one of her ladies asked her once, to be loved by every person but one? Of course it wasn’t. She didn’t covet adoration from everyone, she simply wanted acknowledgement from the only person who would never give it, and it has curdled her sweetness into poison. They, more than anyone in the world, inspire pettiness and anger with no compassion in it. Aurelia has no empathy for the person who seeks to throw her away, and even if they can make peace, she knows they would never be on her side, anyway. Not when they’ve picked anyone over her at every opportunity, over and over until it left a scar on the inside of her heart. — She was a coward, the first time her father declared her ready to attend an execution. The man’s crime was a bawdy poem about THE HIGH PRIESTESS, but it was entirely her father’s decision to make it punishable by death. He said it was defaming the crown, by extension, and he had no advisor powerful enough to say no, or with the will to do so. No, you can’t! she cried, and bored, he’d said quite simply that he could. Again, he asked if she would attend, and tasting bile on her tongue, Aurelia declined. She dreams, still, about what she might have seen, and about whether he died with everyone jeering around him. Did a single person look him in the eye and remind him of his humanity? She’ll never know, because she was too weak to bear it. No one can say she doesn’t learn from her mistakes, though. The next time she was right in the front row, lip trembling, tears running down her cheeks. Her ladies hate it, always trying to persuade her not to go, but without enough power to save their lives, this is all she can do. She can’t shy away from the ugly bits. Each time, it reminds her of what she needs to fight for, and of what she could be capable of, if she does not continuously tend to the flowers blooming in her chest. She still flinches when the blow comes, or when the boards drop beneath their feet. It still feels like weakness. — She keeps a list, in a pocket-sized journal in the false bottom of her vanity drawer, of all those she must make reparations to. Sometimes it’s just a family name, people whose child was taken from them too soon, or who died in a battle against those who wanted better for the world than her father. Other times, it’s nobles wronged merely for standing up to him, or peasantry she sees abused by the guards who seem to think along the same lines as him. Aurelia is running out of room, even in her smallest hand, and she’s terrified to start a new journal, because that would be crossing some invisible line. If she fills it, how broken does that make her family? How unforgivable? — Every child looks up to their elder siblings, and there were periods of time in Aurelia’s life where she tried to imitate both THE EMPEROR and THE CHARIOT. She tried to be tough, like her cousin has always been, but her skin bruised too easily and her feelings even easier. She tried her hand at the casual cruelty her brother always displayed, but the first time she said a mean thing to a servant, she burst into tears and threw herself into her arms, where the woman patted her back consolingly, likely terrified and confused by her mercurial behavior. The cruelty she inhabits is accidental, and if she’s made aware of it, she rectifies it as best she can. Simple things, like a lack of understanding for what a simple existence might be, or a careless comment from someone dripping in privilege and stained with gold. She can’t understand them, as hard as she tries, and sometimes she forgets them without thinking, though she always feels genuinely chastised later on. She is as close to good as anyone in power can be, but she can never be wholly so, for she has never known true despair or suffering. — Aurelia plays the piano forte, but it’s singing where she really shines. Considering all the useless lessons royal non-heirs are put through, it surprised her to discover she enjoyed music, but she often plays near the window, now, and feels a little like she’s singing a duet with the birds on the ramparts. She likes best when the guards are training outside, because sometimes they hear her, and some of them sing along. She likes that music connects otherwise disparate people, that it can bring passion into lifeless eyes and coax a smile out of misery. More than that, though, she likes to create. So much of the Valmont legacy is destruction, now, and she may never cleanse their name, but she can make things. New, bright things, untainted by the poison of her blood, coming straight from her spirit. Every tune she carries, every new combination of keys, she’s bringing something beautiful to life, not razing anything to the ground. She is endlessly fond of THE STAR for this reason, who looks like magic to her, even if he uses not a lick of it. — While she loves the look and feel of plants, and she tends to the garden within her soul rather well, Aurelia is what you would call the opposite of a green thumb. A red thumb, maybe, for she consistently pricks herself on any bush she can, and plants wither under her care within moments. It’s lucky she has so many servants, who can attend to her desire to have plants hanging in her quarters without a second thought, or she would forever rue her bad luck. Nonetheless, while she doesn’t touch her plant babies and lets others care for them, she does chat with them about things in her day, usually making up fantastic stories about the events just so that she feels like she’s caring for them. She knows they can’t hear, knows it doesn’t do anything, but she hates the idea of having something so lovely around and not at least trying to offer it what she can, however meager fruit that is. — The oncoming conflict with Koldam was the first time Aurelia ever directly asked THE EMPEROR for anything. Mercy, brother, she whispered, I entreat you to try a little mercy. She knew that it’s never been in their nature, but what was she if not someone who tried, even when she failed? She had already petitioned their father to simply reprimand or offer a treaty to Koldam, but that was a failure. This was her first time trying her brother’s version, and look how that turned out? She hasn’t been able to look them in the eye since, in spite of generally seeing the best in them, even when they’re cruel to her. Being cruel at home is one thing; senseless violence is another. She can’t condone it when Father sends people pointlessly to execution, and she can’t condone it for THE EMPEROR either, because he was given enough authority to act. Koldam has taught her one thing: the only royal she can rely on is herself, and perhaps THE CHARIOT, though she hasn’t approached them directly. — Unlike her father, Aurelia has always been fascinated by magic. The wonder and horror of it enthrall her, and at the same time, the pain they are forced to endure to use it wounds her heart. She would not employ magicians unless it was dire and necessary, but for opposite reasons to King Septimus: she will not condemn anyone to torture lightly. That said, she visits the practitioners within the castle often enough, always wanting to be sure that someone in her family treats them with the respect they deserve. At night, lying awake and counting stars out her window rather than sleeping, she sometimes imagines what it would be like to have magic. The power to heal, the power to kill, the power to bring others back to life… all of them would make her a stronger and more capable presence in court, even if they would inspire fear and awe in her father’s eyes and perhaps change her position. Still, she must make due with what the Undeath has chosen for her, and must cultivate the only power that remains to her: that sharp mind and that brave heart. — Her inner circle is how she refers to her ladies-in-waiting, while her guards retain the name of Coterie. This is because while they must be distinguished, she doesn’t think of them as only guards or only ladies-in-waiting. They are friends, confidantes, and trusted sources of information, without which the bare bones of her slowly growing claim to the throne would not be possible. They aren’t disposable tools, and they certainly aren’t only soldiers. This distinguishes them and allows them to stand a little taller, and walk with a little more pride. Naming groups both allows a feeling of exclusivity and reminds them of the privilege they have to be within those circles, and to be cast out hurts all the more for it. PLOT IDEAS: — TO LOVE ANYTHING GOOD, AT ANY COST, IS A BURDEN | Considering THE LOVERS is such an important connection to who she is at her core, I think it’s important to explore that relationship and grow or burn it down. Either works for me. Sometimes, a good ruler must give her heart first to her people, and it leaves no room for anyone else. Sometimes, a good ruler must have a good partner at her side, to share her dreams and prospects for the future, to advise her when she is down, to take care of that heavy, heavy head. The problem is that Aurelia must take care of all of Tyrholm, and that will never leave room to focus on any one individual. So what can they do? They love each other, and what is lovable about Aurelia might also be what undoes them for good. She has already decided to pick family over vengeance, but can she choose love over duty? So far, the answer is unclear, but it crawls from the fog of indecision, closer by the day. — GIVE ME THE BLADE. SOME THINGS ARE WORTH SPILLING BLOOD FOR | There cannot be a bloodless coup, not when the King himself is so bloodthirsty a man, and his heir is worse. She believes she can end this peacefully, but it’s a foolish dream, born from love rather than from logic. Usually, the two pair well in her, but in this she has become blind to the path forward. It will take a lot to open her eyes, but when they begin to see what she must do, I want her to balk. I need her to cower, because it’s what makes her human. She will rage against it, she will fear it, and most essentially, she will be forced to confront it. There will come a time where Aurelia can’t move forward without bloodshed, without ousting someone from her path permanently, and I want her to face that with all the courage she can muster. By the time the knife is in her hand, I want her to have come to the point where she can use it, even if it hurts, even if it twists a blade in her own gut. — WE MUST RESIST. WE MUST REFUSE TO DISAPPEAR | Connecting members of the revolt will be essential to its doing, and I want her to be one of the lynch pins that holds them together. She is the most likely to get along with the most people, to see the way THE FOOL suffers or THE HIGH PRIESTESS grows tired of these games. She can coax revolters together to some degree, with the help of a couple others spread across the city, and if she can win a majority of them to her side, she’ll have won the game. The trick, of course, is uniting their common goals, and in convincing them to pick her over THE CHARIOT, who is the person she most needs to win. Still, consolidating power will become necessary as the revolt kicks up steam, and she will not be left out or left waiting on someone else’s whim. She will pluck the best of the best from those she can coax into aiding her, and together, they will make her dreams a reality. — IT INFURIATED ME THAT THEY KNEW ME BY HEART | With how often she’s been thrown together with TEMPERANCE, she should know that there’s more for her here than animosity, but she doesn’t. I want her to recognize that she cares for them, because in turn, it will help her recognize that they call to the petty jealousy in her, to the frustration she bottles up day in and day out. They call to the spirit of a fight in the pit of her stomach, and there’s no one else who sees that part of her, the not-so-pretty parts. That they care for her anyway, that they float marriage no matter how many years go by, fills her with warmth when it shouldn’t, and for that, she despises them. Love should be soft, she thinks as she looks at THE LOVERS. It should care for her heart and cradle it in careful fingers. Yet they don’t quite challenge her the way TEMPERANCE does, and that fills her with dread so profound she can’t examine it yet. I want her to look into it and make a choice, once and for all, about what she wants, because it will define not only her life moving forward, but potentially the one sharing her throne at the end of it all. — AND EVERYTHING’S HOLY— EVERYTHING, EVEN ME | She acts the pious one because she must, but truth be told, she is afraid of death in a way that she has to confront in order to gain the Undying’s blessing. She wants it, because it’s of her people and she loves her people, but she doesn’t really have a firm grasp of death, not in the way necessary to commune with Undeath themself. She’s too young and too sheltered, and while her heart hurts for those who die too soon, it’s in the abstract, without real context to define her grief. She has not had to accept death before, to look it in the face and make peace with it, and that will be her gauntlet when she moves for the throne. Religion in name only isn’t going to cut it, and she knows that, but she puts it off, afraid of what she’ll face in the Sanctum or, even more dangerous, within the Temple of the Undying God itself. It’s the cross she will grow to bear, and developing her relationship with religion is key, not only for her own development but to grow her connections within the worshippers themselves. Their support would be essential to her coup, after all, as their declaration of the Undeath’s favor and her confirmation of it would bolster her support. — I DON’T NEED TO BE LOVED EXCEPT WHEN I DO | Ultimately, Aurelia will need to confront THE EMPRESS, and I would like to take her development in that direction. For good or for ill, this is her mother, and there can be no moving forward without hashing out their lives. Ultimately she would come to a point where she might even ask her mother to join her, desperate to prove that she can be creation, rather than the destruction they’ve always seen her as. Her need to be cared for by them is constant and frustrates her, but she can’t rid herself of it, either, damned for something she’s not even done yet. Can she understand, Aurelia wonders, that this coldness has led her closer to revolution than love ever would have? That if they had held her closer, perhaps they could have stayed her hand? Without that foundation, she will never listen to them, but she might attempt to take advantage of their political acumen for her own gain. — YOU COULD NOT SPEAK / SOMETHING WAS DYING IN YOUR CHEST | The Necromancers have been used as mindless tools for too long, but Aurelia grew up with them around her, and she knows that they aren’t hollow vessels for magic, they’re people. Sure, maybe the magic takes some of it away, but it can’t take everything, and Aurelia doesn’t want to let it. They deserve more than what they’re given, and so do the Inferni; the Vitalus aren’t the only practitioners worthy of magic, but they’ve been treated like it for their noble birth and their easy to swallow techniques. Aurelia wants to change that. If the Necromancers interact more with the world, perhaps they will consider the lives they take more preciously; if the commoners are forced to interact with them, perhaps they will recognize those sparks of humanity within and foster them. The Inferni can learn that life is precious, that their power can raze the earth and leave it clean for rebirth if they’ll allow it. There’s no one way to handle magic, no perfect system, but then, there’s no perfect system at all with people involved in it. All she knows is that Aurelia would treat them all with respect, if not always kindness; a ruler cannot always be kind, but they must endeavor to always be just. — I DOUBT EVERYTHING, EVEN MY DOUBT | There will come a time where she will be asked to betray her family and she will say no. I would love for that to break someone’s trust in her, as a ruler and as a leader of the revolution. I would love for it to shake her faith in herself. Can she be a good person when she loves them, these awful people she has decided belong to her? It would be a stumbling block, and I want her to need to prove that she’s in this, preferably by deliberately and methodically betraying her family at a later date, after her resolve solidifies. It won’t kill them, she tells herself as she wakes up crying for the fifth time that week. It will only hurt. — LOVE HAS TEETH WHICH BITE, AND THE WOUNDS NEVER CLOSE | This will involve a layer of integration, but someone close to her dying would really galvanize her. If that happens, it would invigorate those parts she’s always bottled up: things like rage and decisiveness would become paramount to her. She would be a little more ruthless, a little more sensible about the reality of the world, if she had to lose something precious. Any loss of something she loves is a loss of a bit of herself, she gives her loyalty so fiercely and without any sort of restraint. She hadn’t known loss, hasn’t known a bit of it, and thus doesn’t know when to hold back and when to pour herself into another person. Her disillusionment would grow, and her view of leadership and its duties would change, which I would love to explore if the plot of the overarching group allowed it. — WHICH SHOULD I REGRET: WHAT I BECAME, OR WHAT I DIDN’T? | It would be essential to her to find the person who originally gave the prophecy about her birth. If they’re no longer alive, then she would find their closest relative or any witnesses to it. She wants to know the exact words, and more than that, she needs to gauge whether this person is bullshit or not. Her hunt would culminate in finding out more about who she’s supposed to be and what she’s supposed to do, with a healthy dose of angst to go alongside it. After all, it’s one thing to hear rumors about a prophecy; it’s another entirely to realize it’s real this entire time. It would depend on what happened, how she reacts, but I know it would change how she views herself and her mother both, at the bare minimum, let alone its effect on her responsibilities to the revolt. — I NEED A VOICE TO ECHO / I NEED A LIGHT TO TAKE ME HOME | This is probably the most fun plot idea I have, but it’s subject to a lot of other people helping, so bear with me. I would love for Aurelia to start masquerading in Lowtown and other places far from the castle as a bard. Not a well-practiced one, but a revolutionary one that always wears a mask. She would have to spend hours practicing, and would involve all her ladies-in-waiting, among others, to help her sneak in and out and ensure her safety. Still, poems and songs are often used to foment the seeds of revolution in all cultures, and royals are so often educated in music, it just seems like a natural fit. It would also tie with her fondness for THE STAR, not wanting to ask his help in fear of endangering him or herself, but will he find her out anyway? He just might, or someone else who frequents these areas of Tyrholm might. In any case, I would like to build a slow-burning revolutionary plot where the princess masquerades as one of the people, both to learn more about them and to show them it’s okay to raise their voices. Maybe it leads to the tavern she performed at once getting razed by the guard, and she realizes she gravely misjudged her father. Maybe she gets unmasked and punished, or even killed. It just offers so many opportunities, and seems like the sort of thing a romantic revolutionary might cook up. — THE FAULT LINES, SEEDING, LYING IN WAIT | Despite knowing herself as the best person for the throne, Aurelia is not, in fact, opposed to THE CHARIOT taking it for themself. With a little more spine, she sees the making of a great ruler in them just as easily as she sees it in herself, and she has a goal to foster that. I would love as an alternative plot, as her first option, to see if she can maneuver herself into aiding their bid for the throne, and then either deciding that she must take it or helping them to grow would be my next objective. Aurelia wants the best ruler for Tyrholm, full stop, and THE CHARIOT is in front of her. They are therefore far easier to get into a sitting position upon it, and together, the two of them might have enough power to do it without killing anyone, especially if they enlist THE EMPRESS. This plot is too dependent on others’ vision to expand on, but I wanted to include it, because I don’t want Aurelia’s only option to be herself. That’s not in character for her, not really. — FOR LOVE, I WILL HANDLE YOUR SINS | This is up to whichever player is down to do this plot with me, but essentially, Aurelia will have started cultivating a friendship with a specific Necromancer. This is so that she can use one of her back-up plans, and it’s definitely a last resort, but if one of her family dies in this revolution, she would want them brought back very badly indeed. In fact, she would give some of her own life to power that regeneration, if necessary. In the event that the King dies or even THE EMPEROR falls, she would want a way to bring them back and set them to sail across the sea and live out the remainder of their days as a commoner. It’s fitting punishment, in her mind, and it’s better than them being dead, isn’t it? For she cannot and will not kill them, but exile will satisfy her needs, and their public death will satisfy the people’s needs as well. CHARACTER DEATH: Yes, but I would prefer her to get close to taking power, first, because it will be sweeter to have that hope and see it taken away. WRITING SAMPLE: SCENE ONE // Aurelia relishes in the feeling of grass beneath her palms, her head cradled safely in Petra’s lap as she cards through her hair. Her voice fills the small space between them, reading to her from the latest novel she’s plucked from her father’s library, and Aurelia lets her eyes flutter shut. She’d prefer if THE LOVERS were with her, but they’ve fallen ill, and she would never coax them from a restful slumber if it will make their healing faster. Petra is her second favorite of her ladies, anyway, her voice the lowest of them all and most suited toward reading. She never minds, either, whether it’s complicated, confusing poetry, or a simple romance novel from twenty years ago. She’ll even read intercepted missives to her, though Aurelia generally lets those lie until her eyes alone can read them. It’s not that she doesn’t trust her ladies, for they are her closest confidantes and her very best friends, but she doesn’t want to endanger them. They can’t know more than they should, for their own safety. Now, the tale is coming to a close, and the Crying Tree whispers in the slight breeze as Petra’s voice trails off into silence. Aurelia sighs; it was a good story, if not a great one, and she’s sad to part with it. ❝ Thank you, Petra, ❞ she says almost to the wind, lashes still brushing her delicate cheeks. Book set aside, her lady-in-waiting now uses both hands to comb gently through the princess’s hair, much to her lazy delight.❝ I thought it was… good, in the end. What is your verdict? ❞ A hum comes from on high, making Aurelia smile slightly. Petra is a thinker, always considering each angle before she responds. She’s the best strategist in Aurelia’s arsenal, certainly. ❝ Passable, my lady, nothing more. ❞ Aurelia has managed to break most of her ladies of their formal habits when they’re alone, but Petra clings stubbornly to some sort of title, downgrading it from highness to lady only after much pleading on Aurelia’s part. Now, she sits up, letting Petra’s fingers trail from her scalp and fall into her lap as the wind plays with the strands of hair around her face. She turns a beatific smile in Petra’s direction, whose responding expression is indulgent and fond. ❝ You comment thusly on all the novels, ❞ Aurelia points out. ❝ We must endeavor to find one that measures to your exacting standard, or I will never be satisfied. ❞ She turns at the sound of Luneria’s voice, looking over her shoulder to where another of her ladies is popping a fat grape into her mouth and giggling. It takes her a moment to swallow, and she offers a grape to Aurelia as she speaks, who takes it with aplomb. ❝ Have you tried her on any historical novels, Aura? ❞ She thinks around the fruit in her mouth; Luneria is the newest of her ladies, and thus would have little awareness of what she has or has not attempted to have Petra read her. ❝ I attempted once, though it was a romance, which we quickly discovered was not to her taste, ❞ she admits after thinking it over. Petra steals an orange from the basket in the middle of their blanket and begins to peel it with practiced precision, neatly curling round and round the fruit until the rind can be neatly coiled in the palm of her hand. As she works at the small project, she smirks a little bit; ah, this is Aurelia’s favorite side of Petra. ❝ The frippery of the language and the content suits me ill. Nothing in them is ever practical, and if you’re not careful, they’ll fill your head with flights of fancy, my lady. ❞ ❝ Give it here, please, ❞ Aurelia asks after the skin of the orange, distracted from their conversation by her overwhelming love for the scent of oranges. She takes the rind and cups it in two hands, leaning down and inhaling the sharp scent of citrus. Luneria giggles again, and Kolva raps her on the knuckles with the spoon they’ve been using to sample the saucer of mousse. Embarrassed, her cheeks flush red, and she turns wide eyes in Aurelia’s direction. ❝ I’m sorry, Aura. I’ve never seen someone so excited by an orange peel, that’s all. ❞ Another member of her family might have punished her insolence, but Aurelia only wrinkles her nose before laughing too. ❝ If I could fill my bath with orange and lemon every day, I would, ❞ she admits, pressing the rind to the skin at the nape of her neck so she’ll carry a fragment of the scent with her during the rest of the day. She can be entirely unselfconscious with her ladies-in-waiting; that’s why she vets them so thoroughly, getting to know them without pretense before admitting them into her inner circle. Luneria is new, but she’s not cruel, and she would do anything for Aurelia. She can be nothing less, else Aurelia would’ve declined to invite her altogether. Now, she holds out her hand for the rind, which Aurelia hands over with mocking reluctance, smile delicate but sure. Luneria lifts it to her nose a moment before smiling. ❝ It smells like you, ❞ she realizes, mouth opening in surprise. ❝ More fool am I not to have recognized it before. Do you keep these beneath your pillow? ❞ ❝ Tucked into the pillowcase, ❞ Kolva explains before Aurelia can. The princess merely shrugs, opening her mouth when Petra offers her a slice of orange so that she can taste the sweet fruit without getting her hands sticky. Luneria claps her hands together, delighted to learn something new about Aurelia’s routine. They’re so easy to please. Sometimes it scares her, honestly, that they’re this easy, but their love is the kind that’s without reserve. She’ll never take it for granted, not with how blessed she feels to have it, but she won’t curtail it, either. She wants them with her always.   Turning bright eyes Kolva’s way, she eyes the mousse with suspicion. Kolva avoids her gaze a moment, but her mouth twitches, barely containing her giggles. For the most taciturn of her ladies, she has a streak of wildness and delight to her that Aurelia coaxes out as often as she can. Now, she leans forward in an attempt to inspect the saucer, but gets caught in the sheer amount of fabric in her dress. ❝ Kol-va, ❞ she sing-songs, flopping onto her back with the effort exerted. ❝ You better leave some for me, or I shall have to inform the entire castle of my most fearsome lady-in-waiting’s sweet tooth. They say it may be the sweetest tooth this side of Koldam. ❞ This memory exists in the space of time before Koldam was destroyed, when they were nothing more than a smaller city-state she’d read about in history books and seen as a dot on the map. It’s also where Kolva is from originally, before her family moved to Tyrholm for better prospects and Aurelia spotted the delightful shade of her hair from across the market. The rest, as they say, is history, aside from Kolva’s light accent. She hears rustling around her, and when she opens one eye, she sees Kolva sitting above her, red kissing the blonde in her hair even more than usual in the halo of midday sunlight. Eager, she sits up almost too fast, breath knocked from her by the corset around her ribs. ❝ Ouch, ❞ she whispers, and all three of her ladies are immediately crowded around her. They strike like soft lightning, like the edge of a healing blade, sharp in movement but soft in expression. ❝ Are you hurt, my lady? ❞ Petra asks, running a hand down her side in an absent, soothing gesture. Aurelia shakes her head, tenderness in her smile as she looks at each of them in turn. ❝ Merely winded a moment, and perhaps touched by your ready response, ❞ she admits, for sharing affection always makes her happy. Petra presses a kiss to her temple, while Luneria takes her hand and presses a kiss to the back of it. Kolva dips her spoon into the saucer, holding it gently to Aurelia’s lips. ❝ Your tooth rivals mine, ❞ she says stubbornly, even as she slides the silver spoon between the princess’ lips. The texture is airy and rich, a perfect compliment to their picnic, and Aurelia’s sigh is one of contentment. ❝ And you never let me forget it, ❞ she answers, reaching out to cup Kolva’s cheek in one soft palm. ❝ What would I do without you, hmm? ❞ She looks at each of them in turn, Luneria practically in her lap and Petra behind her, one hand still on her shoulder. ❝ I would be lost without even one of you. ❞ Yes, even Luneria, as green as she is. Her infectious enthusiasm and joy is something Aurelia had been afraid she was starting to lose, but with Luneria at her side, how can she? Each of them brings something to the table, something to her heart. Her ladies. Her circle. They are the thing that keeps her balanced, her corner of sanity in a world that makes less sense each day.

SCENE TWO // Disclaimer: While I included THE LOVERS, I did my best not to god-mod them. That said, this is only a sample, and not meant to be canonized without the consent of my fellow player. Her receiving parlor is not a throne room, but Aurelia sits in her ostentatious bergère as though the crown is already atop her head. THE LOVERS stands at the back of her chair, to her right side, but they know to keep quiet. The best help anyone can be in matters of censure, with Aurelia being so young and seen as so gentle, is to be silent. Her expression is cold and imperious, a far cry from her usual gentility, and though their heads are bowed, she is almost positive the three guards kneeling before her can feel the sharpness in her gaze. ❝ I have been informed of quite an ugly circumstance, ❞ she says quietly. Her voice is not cold, not nearly so frigid as her eyes remain, but it is far worse: each word drips with disappointment, with the feeling that you have let down someone who loves you dearly. They’ve laid their helmets in front of them, and she can see quite clearly when one uncovered head dips, right at the center. They do not like this treatment, and they should not. She doesn’t have to be cruel to them to punish them. This is something her father and brother have never once understood. When you are the warmth of the sun, you must only force someone to remain in the dark, and they will learn well what it is to appreciate the heat when it returns. The silence is its own form of punishment, forcing them to wait on her to continue. They know what they’ve done, of course. They knew when they began that she would not approve. They just didn’t seem to care. Now, she looks at each of them in turn, wondering which will be the first to break down and apologize directly. ❝ As my midday meal came to an end, I was approached by a servant with news from the dining hall. She claimed that three guards, my personal guards, were disrupting the peace. Would any of you care to confess as to why you would interrupt the rest and rejuvenation of those around you to be needlessly cruel? ❞ She waits. Aurelia was not impatient, and she has nowhere else to be today. This is, after all, the privilege of being second-born. She is never expected, not really, not if she doesn’t want to be. In a lack of duty, a sense of honor was born to her that ensures she has her own responsibilities to attend to, this being one of them. Her fingers tap against her lap for a moment, the rhythm precise and methodical. ❝ No? ❞ she inquires one last time, into the deathly silence of the room. ❝ Then I can only assume none of you will plead ignorance to what you have done in my name. ❞ Her voice now hardens as she confirms what she knew from the start. At in my name, the guard to her left flinches, and her heart hurts. Still, this is what must be done. She cannot avoid punishing them simply because she cares for them. ❝ I have only three rules you must obey to stay a part of my Coterie, ❞ she reminds them, authority ringing even in her own ears. Coterie, she calls them, for they are not only a Guard, they are her friends. They wear her heraldry, her own personal identification on their armor, and every single act they take has her name on it. That is why their betrayal hits her so strongly, perhaps, and it is a betrayal. To go against her beliefs is as going against Aurelia herself. ❝ The one you have broken is the one I value above all else. Will one of you recite it for me? I know you capable and aware of which it is you have forsworn me by. ❞ Etienne is the first to speak, thus refusing Octavia and Isobel their chances. ❝ No one with the privilege of wearing your heraldry shall wield it for the purpose of cruelty or out of spite, ❞ they say, corn-silk hair falling out of their braid and into their eyes as they look up to speak. Whatever they see in Aurelia’s expression burns them, for they gaze upon the floor again soon enough, trembling head to toe. ❝ Thank you, Etienne, ❞ she says out of politeness, for nothing in her countenance suggests gratitude. ❝ We’re so sorry, your Highness, please — ❞ Isobel starts, her voice revealing her to be on the verge of tears. As they are all looking down for the moment, Aurelia reaches over her shoulder for THE LOVERS hand a moment, to steady her. She has never enjoyed making her people upset, even if it’s for a righteous purpose. The warmth of their touch gives her courage. ❝ Not sorry enough, or you would never have done it. ❞ She sighs. ❝ Besides, I am not the one who merits an apology from you. When we are done here, I expect you to apologize to Guard du Jardin, and I hope that you will mean it. ❞ ❝ Of course, ❞ Isobel whispers, ❝ As soon as we are able. ❞ Aurelia is sure they will. She’s sure they mean their apology sincerely, and she’s positive that they will not act in such a manner again. That’s not the issue. The issue is a deeper one that underlies every part of her section of the court, from her Coterie to her inner circle. It’s not particularly their fault that they’ve highlighted it to her, but if it goes unpunished, it will galvanize the others. ❝ I understand that a position within my Coterie is highly coveted, and that my restrictions make it hard to obtain one. ❞ The ban on cruelty and spite is fairly simple for people to swear to, but the five recommendations and the trial period before her inner circle decides whether they stay on in a permanent position are not. ❝ What I do not understand is why you would use that envy against someone else, when you yourselves have felt it so keenly. Your solution is to laugh at someone for thinking to try? To hold your position over their heads and talk down to them? ❞ She shakes her head, expression miserable. She will not be used as a cudgel to put others down. She will not be lorded over anyone. Aurelia turns to Octavia, who has done an admirable job of keeping quiet. ❝ Do you have anything to add, Octavia? ❞ She does not call her the oh-so-affectionate V normally reserved for her, does not indicate any inch of familiarity between them, but Octavia doesn’t flinch. Instead, she meets Aurelia’s eyes evenly, without malice or defiance. ❝ I do not, your Highness. You have said it best yourself. It was a petty thing for me to do, and I regretted it immediately. Any censure you have for us will be deserved. ❞ At this, tears well in Aurelia’s eyes, though she does not allow them to fall. Octavia is the only one in a position to see them, anyway, and at the sight, her own eyes well with salt water as well. They must both be strong, for the sake of not only each other, but Aurelia’s right to respect from her court. They love her, yes, but they must also obey her, and Octavia understands this most of all, coming from a noble house herself. Aurelia nods. ❝ Yes, I find it will be. ❞ At last getting up from her seat, Aurelia leans down to Etienne and Isobel in turn, tilting their chins upward with careful fingers, so that they can see her. She hates this part, the punishment part, but it’s a necessary step. She refuses to do it without at least looking them in the eyes. Once done, she returns to her position, regal as always. ❝ For misusing the power I have given you, I see I can no longer trust you with it. Each of you are no longer a member of my Coterie. ❞ Isobel gasps, a wounded sound that Aurelia associates with hospice or injury. ❝ If you wish to return into my service, you will be required to receive no less than seven individual recommendations, none of which may be issued by those who previously floated you for your positions. In addition, ❞ she says, hardening her heart to the look of horror on Etienne’s face, ❝ I require that one of those recommendations come from Guard du Jardin personally. ❞ They’re lucky that she has enough members in her Coterie now that they will not be missed. Were that not the case, were they infringing on her safety, their punishment would be far greater. ❝ Stand, please, ❞ she says, and the three of them rush to their feet. Octavia holds her head high, but Isobel is crying, and Etienne’s lower lip trembles. Rather than asking THE LOVERS to do this part, because it’s hard, Aurelia approaches them herself to unpin her insignia from their armor. They bear it with as much grace as they can; she knows if this were her brother or father, they would do it where the entire court was watching. Then again, they would never dismiss a personal guard for cruelty in the first place. Once collected, she hands these items to THE LOVERS for safekeeping and turns back to them, now looking somehow naked with no heraldry to mark them as her own. ❝ As I hope you understand by now, your punishment is that which you so disdained your fellow Guard for mere hours ago. I hope, should I see each of you in my service again, you will comport yourselves in a way that does not debase me. I will treat you with exactly as much honor as you show me yourselves. ❞ Head held high, she returns to her bergère and sits, exhausted. ❝ You are dismissed. ❞ The moment they have left the room, Octavia shutting the door behind her, Aurelia allows her tears to fall. It is hardest to punish those you love, she thinks as she covers her face in her hands, allowing THE LOVERS to hold her at last. EXTRAS — In my first writing sample I wanted to say there was a Weeping Willow, but I renamed it Crying Tree because it just seemed to fit the mythos more to me. I would think it would be interesting if perhaps they’re favored by The Undying God, considering their mournful legend in our own history. — The only weapon Aurelia will ever carry herself is a knife, because it’s easy to conceal amid all her layers, and it will only be used as a last resort. She trains with it, so she can defend herself if she’s caught alone, but she isn’t a physical fighter and she never will be. She hopes she’ll never have to use it on a living person, not ever. — Here’s her pinterest. — Here’s her playlist.

[aprilmillerphd-archive]

This is a Bias List. Because I am Biased, and also a Follow Forever. For reasons. Mostly that April hit a milestone and that’s friggin’ amazing in my book.

So I have to start with @darcywho who has been my main and exclusive Darcy since... well actually since I took April from the private rpc into the independent rpc something like four or five years ago. I know Mariah IRL (and will soon be living within easy driving distance of her)-- and basically. Mariah is bombtastic. She’s hella smart and funny, and when I’m having a crappy day (or given how the beginning of this year went, a crappy year) -- she texts me incessantly to talk about what Darcy is doing, and what April and Darcy should be doing, and I have so much character history, and Important Events, and developmental experiences just from talking and writing with Mariah, that I honestly don’t think April would be the character she is, without having had Darcy’s mitigating influence. We’ve just done so much that we’ve reached a point in our friendship and writing relationship where I literally feel as if Mariah could write April, and do her justice and vice versa. If y’all don’t follow her already, you should get on that because seriously, she is the absolute best take on Darcy Lewis that I have ever encountered in the Marvel RPC, and I know the PC rp com is going to jump down my throat for ‘making comparisons’-- but again. THis boo is my main and exclusive Darcy Lewis, also I do whut I want. @scarsearned MANGOOOOO. Okay so funfact; this brat used to have a diff url and we chat on dis/cord and it STILL took me like three days to realize on tumblr they were the same person. I FOLLOW YOU ON FOUR BLOGS MANGO. THis is what you signed up for all those years ago. I’m sorry. SO TO THE POINT! Mango has a bevy of blogs she runs, I met her when she wrote almost exclusively on Rummers here, and what I say ‘met her’ I mean I started sending her asks talking about Brock Rumlow, reread her rules and realized she had a password, at which point we were already talking over Skype, and then I sent in her password and she teased me relentlessly for it. (I deserved it, I’m a total goob)-- Mango is right up there with Mariah in terms of IMPORTANT character development shit. Mango writes a CANON DIVERGENT Brock Rumlow, and has put so much time into developing him, I think Marvel should give her a fuckin’ job. She’s also like... insanely smart. I say this as someone who likes to play at being really intelligent. Mango talks and I feel like I’m back in grade school and I want to hide myself away in shame. So obviously it’s no wonder we ended up shipping. (Actually no, I still have literally no idea how or why THAT happened tbqh I’m a fuckin’ potato) -- but Mango and Mariah go hand in hand because I introduced them and now their Brock and Darcy are inextricably linked forevermore as siblings and it’s fuckin’ A Plus. @russkiyuragan YET ANOTHER PERSON I MET BECAUSE OF MANGO. But also hella quality child of canon OC. Like, legit we started talking because Mango dragged us into a group rp and it turned into us mutuall talking about character development and now basically Seamus is one of April’s smols. Even though he really ISN’T one of hers. She’s basically claimed him as a child who needs mothering and dammit she is going to give him all the mothering ever. Even if he doesn’t need or want it. AND BASICALLY THEY ARE A FUCKING SWEETHEART WHO NEEDS ALL THE FUCKING LOVE because they’re really insanely smart and super sweet and friendly and I heart them. @phxtxn PHIL!!! OKAY SO I MET PHIL IN A CLOSED RPC FOR-FUCKING-EVER AGO. And immediately Genis and April butted heads. (He destroyed like half her office, ruined a couple PRICELESS books and then offered to buy her lunch in apology. Suffice to say April was less than impressed) -- except over the years, they’ve gotten really close. Occasionally Phil and I delve into the divergent canon where April and Genis actually end up romantically involved but it always ends in heartache because April is bad at being happy and Genis is bad at... well.. mitigating April’s more extreme bouts of self-loathing. BUT they are exceptional friends and Phil has a fantastic knack for finding the fun and funny in every situation and driving April absolutely UP A WALL. Phil’s also another rp partner I dragged into the collective with Mariah, because I like it when my writing partners all write together because I’m a spoiled princess. Phil’s a total sweetheart though and his Genis Vell is motherfucking spot on. He’s spent a lot of time with the character and it shows, but he also understands pragmatic, human interactions from a writing sense so it’s always a joy when we write together or chat. @askprofessorx NAAAAYYAA -- Naya’s another of those rpers I sort of. Grew on. Like a fungus. I wooed her with poetry first and then introduced her Charl to April and what I consider to be one of my more beautifully painful plot ideas. It involved time travel and the overhanging possibility of April dying. And because April was from the modern era trying desperately to get back, it was that much more painful when she started developing connections. And basically Naya and I plotted everything out over IMs and asks and now we have the most ridiculous tiny person ship in the history of ridiculous ships and Naya’s Charles is like... the cornerstone of my favorite Charles’s. She’s got this beautiful grasp of our fave telepath’s charming flirtatiousness and paired with the very Serious way he views morality and the world, which combined with April’s general cynicism (and it should be noted, our mutant verse involves April being a touch-telepath who can’t actually touch people without destroying their brains because control? what is that)-- and you have an April experiencing her worst fear. Which is not being in-control of herself. It’s beautiful and Naya is beautiful bean. @iremembereveryonethatleaves AHAHAHA Lilo was the first  ‘child’ April ever like. Accidentally adopted. And it happened entirely because of my age of aquarius verse, wherein instead of April seeking out Charles Xavier, she looked for Magneto instead. She found him. And his kid. And I literally have no idea WHY OR HOW April ended up becoming surrogate mom to Lilo since there’s no rational reason for Magneto getting along with April who is a cynical, borderline nihilist with Serious Rage Issues. But-- April and Lilo. Mommy and daughter and just. LITERALLY ALL MY HEART AND LOVE FOR THIS PERSON WHO MADE WRITING MUTANT APRIL FUN AND NOT PAINFUL. Until you (you asshole) made it painful. I still go through our tags to read all th angst, and I didn’t do it half so well as you and Tori did so.. @actually-i-prefer-magneto frick me so apparently I did my mutant crew in a triumvirate.  The flipside of the age of aquarius verse, where April found Magneto instead and became part of his Brotherhood. Because who wouldn’t have a need for a hyperpolyglot, with genius level intelligence and touch-telepathy? Magneto knew what he was getting out of the bargain, I just don’t think he expected April Miller. TBQH. Nobody ever expects her which is great, and this basically started as an incredibly painful, probably tragic plot that I had (sort of) intended to result in April’s death and it didn’t go that route. Like. At all. probably because these two babes understand that good angst is hard to come by and with the persistent low-hanging threat of April’s head getting blown off, or even worse, her returning to her own time, it meant that every interaction was always charged with a lowkey kind of desperation and tension.  Even when Erik and April got that ‘happy’ ending. It took an actual fucking lifetime to get there. And the best thing about Kristy is that she’s smart as fuck, I seem to surround myself with people who make writing look easy, and whose ability to thread together a long arching plot is so absolutely bafflingly amazing I am often struck stupid. @captain-outoftime AaBbbbYyyyYyy. So like- I met Abby through Mariah. Abby is the Steeb to Mariah’s Darcy. They’re hitched. It’s great. April helped Steve propose to Darcy even though April seems to have a PERPETUAL ISSUE with Steve Rogers that defies all explanation. IDK-- it’s probably something to do with the fact that April is a giant pain the ass and a tiny, fight-y blonde? WTF knows. Steve tolerates April. Abby tolerates me. Abby is a goddess. Beautiful, smart, funny as fuck, and like. Constantly busy. How she manages to balance RL shit with rp is beyond the scope of my ability to grasp yo but she’s the bomb-diggity. @americanasitgets MOTHERFUCKIN’ GABBY! My DC babe. Light of my liiife, fire in my loins, (not really but I was on a roll yo) -- I also met Gabby because of Mariah. And Gabby’s Clark. Gabby’s Clark is made of fucking sunshine okay, and the best part is, is that we’ve had like a sustained rp universe where April harasses Clark and doesnt know he’s superman, WHILE TASH-TRALKING SUPERMAN TO CLARK’S FACE. It’s comedy gold. Poor April. But I love Gabby, because she’s smart as shit and fuckin’ hysterical, and will literally snowball crack scenarios over IM into the wee hours of the morning. Even better, I’ve found someone whose as bad at keeping track of threads as me. (I say, as I eyeball our New Krypton thread that’s been in my drafts folder for like. Six months. Oops). @talonscourt D I KNOW THROUGH MY TIM BLOG-- but who I first met on April and then promptly FORGOT ABOUT because I’m a total dipshit. D writes Jason Todd, April surrogate son. This is a recent development. Tim loves Jason, April loves Jason. D is amazing as Jason. D is like... my platonic lover from Narnia. They’re smart as hell, and incredibly sweet even when I’m shit at keeping in contact because my real life is a hot-fuckin-mess and I’m always sick and on the verge of nuclear collapse. I would be TOTALLY LOST WITHOUT YOU. @galaeus Echo. As written by the ever talented Amy who I’ve known since April’s very first incarnation. Which... is a long ass time, Amy’s seen April through several character developments and rewrites, and has legit known April as a character since like. Legit. Post Tim. When April was a baby.  Echo is April’s other southern, raised by a pageant queen biffle. They shoot the shit together, Echo is also legit the only person in existence whose allowed to give April nicknames, or turn April into a diminutive. Amy’s basically like... hands down the reason why i never gave up on writing an Indie female OC, and that’s because Amy’s a boss and she also happens to be a spectacular writer, both in the RPC and in real life. @agentharrisonofshield and last but not least, this girl. Right here. April has like... a bevy of Awesome Girl Squad frands. All of whom are infinitely more talented and bad ass than she is, like. Legit. April’s smart. but in a fight? She’s basically cannon fodder by comparison. She just isn’t built for the field. April and Viv became friends because they got locked in a closet together. I’m not sure HOW that happened, but now they get together and chat in other languages and April feeds her, and basically this s the woman April goes to when she wants someone shot. I literally love all the headcanons we’ve put together and that Agent Harrison is invariably the first ‘shield agent’ April casually mentions outside of Echo, in threads of mine. That’s how you know you’ve found an awesome rp partner and friend. When their own characters start casually infiltrating your threads in the form of namedrops.