#should i tag veronika

[biggestlen]

A terribly angled image of some silly Okazaki doodles I made while I was getting up to date with TDRP...... I adore her!!!!!!

Veronika's also here on my powerbank. these freaks, they're both iconic (and also my favourites from their respective series). The larger Hanano is a sticker I have no clue where to put yet so she's instead blue tacked onto my closet for now.......

some clearer(-ish) images ↓↓↓ konkonkonkon...

Perhaps I'll make some more polished digital fanart after I'm done with all the things i need to do. so much to do and so little time...

[defintlynotgumdrop]

DRDT teirlist if you even care

[accirax]

what to do when you are but a simple antag man with two paths before you……..

[octocharger]

hey deep cut and neo 3 fans

[ask-the-no-killing-game-au]

✨

A new art post should be out tonight. I'm not putting this one in the main DRDT tags, so if you'd like it to get more popular, please help me out by reblogging.

Here's the full list of every post, for reference.

Important posts

Pronouns and identities

Relationship diagram

Official designs #1 (old)

(POLL) Who do you want to see? #1 (old)

Official designs #2 (old)

Official Animation

(POLL) Who do you want to see? #2 (old)

Official designs #3

Other asks

Asks are open

Opinions on the building #1

J talks about video games

Whit discusses gender

Why is everyone here?

Living room map & favourite rooms

Teruko's least favourite

Favourite people, part 1

Nico's plush cat

Favourite things in free time

Levi is given a lollipop

Veronika's favourite movie

Who waters the plant?

Who do you miss most?

J and Nico

Favourite pancakes?

Teruko tries to play Jenga

TV schedule

Who regrets staying here?

Veronika's sticky notes

Nothing bad could happen..

...Or could it

Hu falls over

Arei investigates

Veronika's opinions

David is asleep

Arturo refuses help

Veronika's horror movies

Gender identity

Why do people have favourites?

Arturo finds Veronika

Xander discovers something he shouldn't

.. And so does Nico

Arturo looks too much like her

Nico is threatened

Nico's favourite place

Arei finds Xander

Getting called weak...

Where's Xander gone?

Teruko can't find Xander

Eden's watch

Nico is busy

Map & student locations (old)

Nico is cooking

The kitchen is closed

Nobody can get in

The dinner starts

Levi finds (some of) Veronika

She's a part of everyone

People find out who the dinner was

Teruko wants to know what happened

Nico is dead...

... Nevermind.

What do people do now?

How is everyone feeling?

An interesting video from a person long gone

Caring for the body

How does Xander feel?

Favourite people, part 2

Xander gets stabbed

Eden has a realisation

Someone is stuck with the dead body

Levi comforts her

Xander's true self (It's not my fault.)

"Arturo's" birthday

Xander has a plan

Xander and Arei

Secrets! Deep, dark secrets! (I hope someone recognises that)

Who is Min Jeung?

...Let's not talk about this one.

Veronika's horror movies II

Veronika discovers hair dye

[meilifera]

okay so. drdt ep 8 spoilers under the cut, also please check the tags for tws - a lot of the motives are quite sensitive so please beware!!

last night after the ep, my friend (hi @sentinel-kinjo) and i tried to see if we could connect the motives to the characters. ill explain the reasoning for down below. those that don't have a character next to them means i don't have enough info to be able to pinpoint on who that motive belongs to, even using process of elimination

ace - your body is falling apart but you still refuse to eat

there is a lot of evidence to support this. ace has a low bmi, didn't eat the cake in chapter 1 and has been said to like low-calorie foods in QnAs. ive seen some people throw around arturo due to his body image standards, but he doesn't seem to care much about himself specifically appealing to beauty standards, and was also one of the people who ate the cake in chapter 1.

??? - ever since you kissed her, you were afraid your sexuality would ruin your friendships

im not sure about this one at all- but using process of elimination, and the context, it is definitely one of the girls. the ones i didn't put anywhere are min, hu and eden, so it's probably one of them? i honestly don't really have any basis for pin pointing any of them as this one. maybe we should all collectively comb over ch1 to see who the biggest girl kisser is

j and arei's motives are canon, so i won't go over those

xander - you're constantly blaming yourself for the death of your parents and siblings, it doesn't matter that it's not your fault, just that you didn't go with them

pretty self explanatory, honestly.. we have many examples in the story of xander suffering from survivors guilt. his secret quote also speaks of survivors guilt. i feel like this is the only one that could fit him.

whit - your mother is dead, you always omit that truth

whit speaks highly of his mother, even having dyed his hair because of her. he does omit the truth also when trying to guess what his secret is during ch2, he doesn't speak about his mother being dead at all. his secret quote is also "we tend to idolize the dead" which goes hand in hand with both his motive and the very strong admiration he has for his mom.

charles' is canon, so skip

veronika - you only took on your talent to distract yourself for the incessant need to harm yourself for fun

i won't speak very much on this one, but she fits. the thing she dislikes the most is boredom. she seeks thrill in horror and dark media. it's possible that her talent has helped her heal from these tendencies.

david - you were quite the hopeless child. dying once wasn't enough, so you attempted suicide three times.

ive seen many different guesses on this one, but david is honestly the only one that i feel works completely. his secret is "i hate you, i hate you, i hate you, i wish you'd just die." i hate you is notably repeated three times. this might seem like a reach but i think its also worth noting that when David mentioned that his secret was a family history about depression, nobody corrected him. i feel like if he had lied, or if his secret was something completely disconnected from said depression, the person who had his motive would've stood up and called out his bullshit. but three suicide attempts and depression are not unrelated. i think he was vague about the details of his depression due to his own discomfort talking about these subjects.

rose and nico are canon, so skip

teruko - how could i even select what secret to be your motive? just about everything you've done in your life is worth killing for. the killing game is your fault.

pretty self explanatory. teruko herself says she has too many secrets and doesn't know what they could possibly use against her. don't think anything but this fits

so the remaining ones are levi, arturo, hu, eden, and min. i can't seem to pinpoint these three anywhere due to lack of info... if you guys have any guesses pls let me know :> i love theorizing!!

[weightedblankettt]

So. Um. I’m kind of bored, and need the writing juice to continue NCTTD, so. Which Talentswap character pair would you guys want to see more of?? I can drop hints to their backstory (if planned out) or something!! some of these characters arent fully fleshed out though, so. Keep that in mind… Uhh, i’ll give you guys a day to see what you guys want!! (SHOULD I HAVE USED ALL THESE TAGS IDK… TUMBLR IS HARD)

[sh1ft1ng-starzzz]

HEY THERE! :D

hello there! im Ari. this blog is basically where I dump my semi-incoherent ramblings and brainrot so there's that.

i have a discord acc, its the same thing as my url but with underscores instead of dashes :]

i have an ao3 acc too! same thing goes for with my discord :p

im a minor, basic DNI, ya know the drill.

SIDEBLOGS:

@ask-neo-three : VeronIKA rp sideblog

@the-splatanadeco-menace : splatsona rp sideblog

@h0cata8-fr1e8t : pikmin sideblog

@polaris-posting, @mack-posting, @sammie-posting, @michael-posting: pikposting sideblogs (THEYRE FUN TO MAKE ALRIGHT...)

@aquas0n1c : splatoon sideblog

Stuff I Post About Often:

Splatoon (my MAIN hyperfixation by the way)

Miitopia

Animal Crossing

Kirby

Failboat (should I even put this here????)

Pizza Tower/Sugary Spire

Pikmin

The World Of Mr. Plant

Stuff I Post About Sometimes:

Omori

OFF

Corioka

Welcome Home

Tag List:

#rambling :] : anything really

#my art crap/doodlin' : drawings!

#ask ari: replies to asks!

#FANART YAYYAYYAYYAAA: self explanatory

#somebody sedate me: vent/rant-ish posts, filter that if that's not your cup of tea

#sillysquad shenanigans: stuff about my yee yee ass tumblr friend group (i mean this as /pos as humanly possible)

#category 5 'tisim moment: basically my insane brainrot/rambleposts

#fic writer bullshit: writing related stuff that isn't actually a fic

i have several ocverses and you can find a summary of them all here :]

and a tag list for all of my sillyguys (oc's) :]

ALSO fictionkin over here

current kin is Harmony from Splatoon!

@labratgurlz @idiot-mage-cloudie @mordi-mord @ballpit-bakery @chill-vibes-but-rainbow-panic @spoopy-chipster <- SILLYSQUAD MEMBERS :DDDDDDD

Whenever I'm not talking about any of these things I just ramble. ain't the best but that's what your gonna get if you follow me lol

feel free to interact with my stuff, or even drop a follow. I'm fine with DM's too, as long as it's within reason. it's cool, I don't bite :]

See ya!

[ao3feed-danganronpa]

Please, Bring Him back.

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/SxVn6XO

by v10l3nt (Itz_Kini)

David’s so crazy. Abandoned his mission, attacked against an enemy of humanity without a proper plan, and got himself killed. ..Great. He was such an idiot. Guess Xander kind of rubbed off on him, didn’t he.? Heh..

After all the bad and evil David’s done, I guess that’s the only way he should go out. Only way that he could pay back for the people he’s killed. Lives he’s ruined.

*It's really the only ending he deserves.*

 Why was he.. So.. Cold..? …He wanted warmth. Something, to pull him into a warm embrace. *Someone.*

 He’s.. Mother, Father, *He’s so sorry.* But hear him out.

At least he.. He had a friend.

A friend with red hair like cherries.

Yes.. His name’s..

**Alexander.**

Words: 2426, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 5 of Despair Time one shots!

Fandoms: 無能なナナ | Munou na Nana | Talentless Nana (Manga), Danganronpa: Despair Time

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: Major Character Death

Categories: Gen, M/M

Characters: Xander Matthews, David Chiem, Teruko Tawaki, Veronika

Relationships: Alexander "Xander Matthews/David Chiem, David Chiem/Xander Matthews

Additional Tags: Angst, Sad, The Author Regrets Nothing, The Author Regrets Everything, Talentless Nana ep 13 spoilers, xanvid, i feel bad, Assassin David Chiem (DRDT), Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Alexander "Xander" Matthews has Healing Powers (DRDT), Alexander "Xander" Matthews is very selfless (And silly) (DRDT), Author is very silly, David Chiem As Nana Hiiragi (DRDT/Munou Na Nana), Xander Matthews as Michiru Inukai (DRDT/Munou Na Nana)

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/SxVn6XO

[xxlet]

VERONIKA WHY ARENT YOU QUESTIONING THE AUTHORITY??? YOU ARE ALMOST 18 YEARS OLD WHY ARENT YOU FIGHTING YOUR PARENTS FOR HAVING CONTROL OVER YOUR LIFE. HOW CAN YOU "not care" ABOUT THAT.

[piiecesofovrpast]

tag drop for blake carson

[placegrenette]

A quick summary of Ninety One news from the last couple days or so

They have announced some kind of “new large-scale project” on Telegram, as well as promised more YouTube content. This may be nothing more than the second full album we’ve spent the entirety of the calendar year anticipating. We’ll see. 

But first they have a concert in Almaty in a couple days, and I think three or four more already scheduled for the rest of the year. The tour must’ve been exhausting (and we know it was sometimes frustrating) but I’m glad they’ve been able to make up at least a bit of the touring revenue they weren’t able to collect in 2020 and early 2021.

Meanwhile Zhadra celebrated her birthday and ZaQ posted “Happy Birthday My Girl” on Instagram, continuing to make the case that we can and should allow idols to marry and be publicly happy about it.

Also someone (not Veronika, she knows better) allowed Ace and Alem on e-scooters and they nearly ran over Marat Oralgazin, who was a good sport about it. (Marat Oralgazin is, as best I can tell, a presenter / talk-show host / all-around entertainment presence; here he is hosting Ninety One earlier in the year.)

And then Alem spent all day at the salon and emerged with tight curls and whooo this may be a new low in the annals of Ninety One hair history, please let Bala not follow suit.

BUT! I have buried the lede: Azamat Demegen posted a picture of himself and several of the guys (Bala and ZaQ were tagged, it’s not clear if Alem and Ace were there as well) hanging out with JAH KHALIB. Yes, that Jah Khalib. I’d be surprised if this is related to the Upcoming Large-Scale Project, it may be just bragging about the hanging out, which is entirely understandable. Ninety One’s well-documented insistence on performing in Kazakh (although we did at one point get a snippet of a Russian version of “Lie”) means they haven’t really had a way to openly network with fellow Kazakhstanis who’ve been more successful in Russia, though the productive bro-ing with Irina Kairatovna was a possible step in that direction. In terms of getting our dudes audiences outside of Kazakhstan, or just getting them new friends to exchange creative ideas with, this is a very welcome development.

[tiallussims]

L I F E • S T A G E S • C A S • C H A L L E N G E • by @someone-elsa​

Create a sim in all of their life stages. Or use a sim you’ve created before and create their other life stages. Or use a sim born in game or a premade. In addition to the six life stages you can create in CAS, you can add your own (like a tween for example, also maybe they don’t even live to the elderhood?). You can write their life story if you wish or let us guess. My inspiration for this challenge.

Have fun and tag some people to try this out if you like!

Tag me @someone-elsa​ and use #life stages cas challenge so I can reblog your posts :)

@enniewritesathing tagged me this time. After doing this with Alex, I thought I should do her sweetheart Diya this time.

From early childhood Diya loved to be outside. Wether it was playing on Brindleton Bay’s beaches, swimming in the sea, or hiking in Brindleton Bay’s surroundings. In school Diya became a promising athlete, but Diya never wanted to become a professional athlete. Unfortunately, her parents crushed Diya’s dream of joining the military to pay for her further education. Her daughter a soldier? No. Never. Even being a professional athlete wasn’t something they wanted for her, but at least there wasn’t the risk of her dying when competing at competitions abroad. Frustrated, Diya moved out as soon as she could. She settled down in San Myshuno, where she started working as personal trainer at the local gym. There she met Alex, the teal tornado. When they moved to Willow Creek, Diya had to quit her job at the gym. With her parents far away in Brindleton Bay, Diya fulfilled her dream and finally joined the military. After she completed her basic military training, her CO saw that Diya had an unusual talent and reassigned her to the covert ops division. Diya will be an active retiree. She will go on doing sports, hiking, tending her garden, and hone her flower arrangement skills. Ingame Diya is currently an adult and on top of her carreer as an agent. After Robin and Johnny’s son Darian had become a toddler, Diya developed baby fever all of a sudden. So I had Diya and Alex adopt Veronika.

Bonus

[s1rcus]

Second Chance (NatDex/Blackhill)

Rating: Teen and up

Words: 1555

Fandoms: Marvel, Stumptown

Characters: Natasha Romanoff, Dex Parios, Original Female Character

Additional tags: Reincarnation, Post-Avengers: Endgame, Reincarnation AU, Stumptown Crossover

Summary:  After Vormir Natasha wakes up in a new world where she has a different name and works as a ballet dancer? She also finds a familiar face she has missed, when her best friend/co-worker, Katya, drags her into a bar on a Friday evening.

Authors note: So this a thing I've been working on pretty much since I watched Stumptown. There's also a little cameo for one of Emily VanCamp's characters because I've been watching the Resident and rewatching Revenge recently.

Story below the cut or in AO3 here

The last thing Natasha can remember was her falling. She rubs her eyes and sits up in a bed, the covers pooling on her lap. A bed? That can't be right. She very much remembers falling to her death to save Clint from doing that.

A phone goes off on the nightstand next to her. She grabs it and realizes it's an alarm she had put on. Dismissing it she gets up and heads towards the bathroom. She's not alarmed by the fact that she clearly knows where it is until the shower is running. Something is very wrong.

She gets out of the shower and dries her hair with a towel and wraps it around herself. She goes to check the mail to see who's apartment this is. Veronika Bobrova is the only name in the few letters that lie in front of the door. She's starting to think she's hit her head or something but then the phone starts to ring again and she goes to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Vera where are you? We're starting in fifteen minutes and there's so much I can do until someone notices you're not here."

And with that voice her life flashes back to her. She is Veronika Bobrova, a ballet dancer. They have rehearsals for shows during daytime and during evenings they teach children. Her class is on Tuesday and Thursday evenings so today was a free evening. She shakes her head to clear her head.

"I'm so sorry. I had put the alarm wrong. I'll be there as quickly as I can. Thank you Katya. I owe you some drinks or something."

"I'm gonna keep that in mind."

She ended the call, got dressed and grabbed a toast on her way out of the door.

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

And Katya did keep it in mind. When Friday evening came she was being dragged across town to a bar she had never even heard of. Bad Alibi was such a weird name for a bar anyway.

Katya sat down at a table and Natasha went to order them a couple shots of vodka. When she got back and was sitting across from Katya, she saw a face she knew she could never forget. It didn't matter what had happened, if she was Natasha or Veronika or whoever she was supposed to be, but that face she could never forget. It was Maria. Somehow she hadn't even thought about how her sacrificing herself to keep Clint with his family and to get everyone else back would affect her. Does that make her a bad girlfriend? It probably doesn't even matter anymore. She's dead. In that world at least.

She must've been staring for a while because Katya speaks up next to her.

"She's actually the reason we're here. She's a PI and I really need help with the Jack situation."

Before Natasha has time to really say anything, Katya has downed the rest of her drinks and is making her way towards the woman who looks like Maria. She comes back with her and sits next to Natasha while the other woman sits across from them.

Veronika had never been this happy she was single, while Natasha was happy that Veronika actually was single. Being single had never been a problem for Natasha, she actually kinda preferred it, but Maria had proven how wrong she was. While Veronika definitely hated being single. That probably shows the difference of how they grew up. Or so at least Natasha thought.

The woman says her name is Dex Parios and she asks Katya to explain her situation to her. Natasha hears none of Katya's explanation, barely registering Katya introducing her as her "emotional support". She just keeps staring at Maria/Dex, whoever she is.

This version is way more laid back as her Maria. She's more like the Maria Natasha got to know. The one who'd watch movies with her and eat popcorn. The one that'd cook her dinner after a long mission. The one who called her grandma every Sunday evening no matter where she was. The one Natasha fell in love with.

After a while it becomes too much and Natasha excuses herself, making her way outside. Without a thought she digs through her purse and pulls out a small carton. When she's holding a lighter on her other hand, she makes a face. Of course Veronika would have a bad habit Natasha couldn't stand. She puts the lighter back into her purse and throws the carton to a bin. Leaning against the wall she takes a deep breath. She needs to get a grip.

"What's going on with you? You've been weird these past few days."

Of course Katya would follow her. She needed a lie, a good one. Because telling her best friend that a couple days ago she woke up and suddenly she has all these memories of another life in her head. A whole new personality that had mostly taken over. Maybe just telling a partial truth would be for the best.

"I quit smoking."

"Oh. Well good for you! I was expecting something totally different. Maybe even something bad."

"What? That I joined a secret agency and killed a bunch of people?"

"Uh, no? That was weirdly specific?"

"Sorry, just a dream I had. How'd it go with the PI?"

"Good. She said she'll contact me when she has something."

Before Natasha even realizes she's speaking, she's said her thoughts out loud. "She's so beautiful."

"Oh?"

Shit. Does Veronika date women? Did Katya know if she does? Natasha tries to start thinking back on the memories she's still trying to figure out but it's still all mixed up with her own memories.

"She didn't really seem your type. Well, mainly she wasn't blonde or rich."

Okay, good. Yes to all of the questions. Wait, blonde and rich? Why is her memory showing her Carter in fancy clothes and why does it hurt? Not really important right now but she does need to figure out her mixed memories.

"Well, you saw those eyes yourself. You tell me they weren't the most beautiful eyes you've ever seen."

"Sure." Couple beats of silence until Katya lets out a breath and continues, "I'm heading home. You wanna share a cab?"

"Oh?" Looking back inside where she could see Maria/Dex. She's got a second chance in this and she has to take it. She shakes her head. "No. I'm good. I think I'm going to try to get her number."

"You know I have her number right or you could just get it online?"

"Yeah, but where's the fun in that?" Natasha smirks.

"Fair enough. Don't have too much fun without me though."

"No promises. I'll see you on Monday."

"See ya."

Natasha watches Katya wave a cab and makes her way inside. She goes to the bar and orders a beer. Not really her choice in drinks but Maria had liked it and she had got used to the taste. Also maybe getting drunk while she's mixing memories isn't a good idea and beer isn't strong enough to get her drunk. She moves to a table with her bottle and sits down. Slowly sipping her drink she keeps her gaze at Maria/Dex. Dex, that's her name and she really should start calling her by that. She isn't Maria, just looks like her (and maybe sometimes acts like her).

It doesn't take too long before Dex catches her watching her. Natasha flashes her a quick smile and shifts her gaze to the table top. Dammit, she's way off her game. This isn't how Veronika did things and her body keeps betraying her by doing small things the way it used to. When she lifts her eyes back up, she sees Dex making her way towards her.

"I was wondering if you'd come back," is all Dex says as she sits on the empty chair across from Natasha.

Being this close to her makes Natasha feel at ease, Maria always had that effect on her, and having a gentle smile on her face feels almost effortless and natural.

"How so?" Natasha responds, tilting her head as she tries to read Dex. It's hard, because she clearly isn't Maria like her brain and heart are telling her. Was she interested in her? Part of her was saying yes, but the other part couldn't get a read on her.

"Someone like you doesn't stare at a person without a reason. Either you're hoping to get something or I have something on my face. And I checked myself in the mirror after your friend left, so I'm pretty sure it's the former."

"Someone like me?" It's a challenge and Natasha knows that Dex knows it too.

"Fuck. I didn't mean it like that. I-"

Natasha smirks at her, "I'm just messing with you. I know what you meant. Let me buy you a beer?"

Dex is smiling now and suddenly Natasha has butterflies in her stomach without a reason. She blames Veronika, but it might also just be her.

"I don't think you buying me a beer at a place where I get them always for free is fair. But how about I'll get you one?"

Maybe she really does have a second chance at this. Natasha smiles at her, "I'd like that.

[asunshinepuff]

Secrets of the Darkened Seas

🧜🏻‍♀️ Surprise!! Welcome to my first multi-chapter ficlet which is honestly entirely on-brand for me and I don’t know WHY I hadn’t done this sooner. I’ve been a little run down on writing lately and once this came to mind it was as if I was back to when I initially started writing. This is a wolfstar story, with Remus as a Merman while Sirius is a Pirate Captain.

Some of my own ocs will be thrown in here as well, alongside a few of my best friend Luna’s who is my co-author for this story. Her blog is @ladynightmare913 so please give her a follow!

This is sort of based upon Pirates of the Caribbean, There will most likely be many references to it and to The Little Mermaid and I don’t care. I’m doing it, cause I’m so excited for this.

I want to give a little shout out to Veronika ( @spookypotato ) and a thank you because if it wasn’t for your random idea this wouldn’t exist.

And a big thank you to my best friend and co-author/beta Luna (who I tagged above) for jumping on the idea to help with the writing since we’re both so obsessed with wolfstar and mermaids.

There is some lore included within this, however, it will be explained over time so no worries. Included lore on different types of merfolk was taken from the book “The Secret World of Mermaids” by Francine Rose. I will not take credit for it’s writing. It’s a childhood book of mine that I adore dearly and sincerely think you should all check out! 

Anyways, that’s about it. I hope you enjoy! 🧜🏻‍♀️

.

Prologue: Mermaids and Sirens

Across the seven seas, ever since man began to sail, there have been tales of creatures from the depths of the dark waters. Of maidens from the sea whose songs could drive any mad to hear their song. These creatures were only thought to be part of myths and legend, but those who've traveled across the seven seas would tell you the truth. 

They are not just myths and legends, these creatures were real, as real as the sun rising at dawn, and setting at dusk. 

That just to have a glimpse of them would change your fate. 

Merfolk that dwelled in the crystal blue waters. Mysterious, beautiful, and powerful, these mers live throughout the world undiscovered by those who walked upon the surface. At first, mers were revered by these sailors similarly to that of sirens, denizens of the sea whose songs were hypnotic to the ears of man- pulling those poor unfortunate souls to their watery graves of the deep, the two becoming interchangeable. 

Over time, the difference between these two species became known. Legends of the Mermaids began to be revealed, their powers and abilities spreading like wildfire. The humans on land began to desire their rare and mysterious powers and beauty of these strange but deadly creatures. 

The mers began to be hunted for a fetching price, coveted for their beauty, searched throughout the seven seas for their tears- said to be one of the keys for the fountain of youth, or, said to be made of pearls depending on who you’ve heard the story of mermaids from. Yet, what was unknown to the ears of men is that merfolk actually live among humans, more specifically, a particular species of mers referred to as shapeshifters. 

These shapeshifters looked identical to humans, but with two distinct differences, webbing in between their fingers and toes, and gills upon their necks, with faint scales upon their torso, but over the centuries this trait vanished. Allowing the mers who lived among humans to remain hidden within their communities by the sea. 

But not even the vanished traits could fool everyone. Throughout the centuries that merfolk have been hunted and preyed upon, there were families who made it their livelihoods to know and hunt down mermaids, and could sniff out the mers within minutes. These families drove out the mers from land and back to the water. But some didn’t make it back to the sea, some were captured and sold, while others remained hidden. 

Over the years, the mers went deeper into the sea, never to venture near the surface again. And no one has ever seen another mermaid in a century. Until now.

[carelessgraces]

ok so i started this last night, got distracted by having my heart ripped out, and then danced around it in the tags of a different post so here are those tags and here is a quick rundown of why astoria’s mother in her grishaverse au really... isn’t a good one and how that damages astoria in the long-term —

#(i was going to write abt her mother in this verse not really being a good mother and the way that astoria is let down) 

#(first by the father - father-as-fjerda - and later by the mother and the way that this makes her both actively seek out validation)

#(especially validation from men in positions of authority & men who represent a threat to fjerdan values)

#(and actively reject anything that resembles family for as long as she can - because family means disappointment)

#(family means being let down by the people who are meant to protect you no matter what)

#(and the only way she finds family after this is by having a specific person reach out and pull her into it usually against her will)

— and i want to emphasize first and foremost that veronika isn’t a questionable mother because she’s raising astoria alone; she’s a questionable mother who happens to be raising astoria alone, and the way that this damages astoria could possibly have been lessened had astoria had another adult role model in her life during her childhood. 

     and i talked a little bit about fjerda as the father in this post, but essentially: asta does not have a father in her life and so she, like a lot of fjerdan children, look to fjerda as a parent and a guide. the nation represents the model of what a good man should be, and asta, who really doesn’t have any men in her life, looks to that for guidance. it’s an inversion of kaz’s “my mother is ketterdam. she birthed me in the harbor. my father is profit. i honor him daily,” in a sense: my mother is veronika. she gave me my power. my father is fjerda. i fear him daily. fjerda is her father; the drüskelle order is his arm; the ice court is his impenetrable study; and for asta, the ice, the water, is the only extension of his love.

     and this is her first great disappointment: fjerda, her father, not only actively rejects her, but would destroy her if she drew his attention. asta learns from her mother to hide from fjerda-as-father: when you use your power, be subtle. when you use your power, be quiet, be cautious. don’t let anyone notice you, don’t let anyone catch sight of who you really are. veronika — herself straddling the line between tidemaker and heartrender, but with more skill as a heartrender than her daughter — teaches asta only a handful of things, but just enough that asta — becoming astoria — can put the rest together herself —

     she can boil water for tea. she can speed or slow water, and move it in the ways that she wants. she can find the water in blood — and therefore she can boil the water in blood, she can slow or speed the flow of blood, she can halt it entirely to force a blood clot in a wound. she can locate the water in someone’s hair or clothing and wick it away ( wet hair and clothes are dangerous in a place like fjerda! better to stay dry! ), and therefore she can locate the water vapor in the air and manipulate that. shape it. redirect it. if she can move water, she can move ice. if she can move water, she can move it away from salt, and make sea water safer to drink. 

     over and over, veronika teaches asta the things that she needs to survive, without ever telling her what these things are; as a result, asta, though blessed with a fair amount of raw power, is horribly unprepared. she kills the first drüskelle by accident — her absolute fury at seeing her mother harmed inspiring her to lash out viciously — and she has to try and mimic that with the two drüskelle who hunt her next, and it’s a long shot. veronika thinks that if she simply never tells asta that she is in possession of something so desperately deadly, then she’ll never be found out for it. 

     and she could move. she is aware of the danger she’s in — her own mother and sister were killed by drüskelle when she was a young teenager ( as described here ), and she knows what it is to lose a mother, and to be on the run. her father and brother are in ravka, and she could go to them. instead, veronika refuses to leave; fjerda is as much hers as anyone else’s, she reasons, and while she’s not wrong, it does endanger a child who has a very limited understanding of her own danger. it’s more important for veronika to ensure that she gets her own revenge on fjerda — by remaining there, by remaining unmarried, by raising her daughter in the same tradition without shame or fear — than that her daughter, whose power manifests at a young age, is safe from the drüskelle. 

     and veronika’s anger is not a surprise to asta? if anything, it’s a constant companion. as much as asta learns to fear fjerda-as-father, she learns to try to look after her mother, whose anger and grief never quite leave her. so asta grows up fairly quickly, not simply to avoid detection, but to care for her mother. and veronika is, in other ways, a wonderful role model — independent, clever, self-sufficient — but she never fully wants to be a mother and so when asta comes, she almost expects asta to fill the role of sister more than daughter. 

     when asta is caught — because she, at nineteen years old, was so desperately lonely in her isolation that she told her closest childhood friend about what she could do, and he panicked and called for the drüskelle — the drüskelle threatens her mother first, suspecting that she is grisha as well and recognizing the surname. asta responds by lashing out when she sees her mother struck across the face, killing the drüskelle. her immediate response to this is to coach her own mother: tell the drüskelle who come looking for them that you didn’t know. i killed him, and then i knocked you down to escape. you don’t know where i’m going. 

     and veronika does it. veronika, overwhelmed by fear, agrees to asta’s plan, and she doesn’t follow her daughter, or offer to go with her. she reports exactly that to the drüskelle who come next, and she submits to testing by the amplifier only after she’s covered her wrist in parafin, and when she’s released she moves to elling under the guise of wanting to escape a place where her daughter lied to her for nearly two decades, in reality out of a deep sense of shame. 

     it’s some time before asta — astoria, then — is able to fully grasp the depth of how her mother let her down, but she feels so deeply guilty for bringing the drüskelle into their home that she finds it difficult to hold her mother accountable for such a betrayal.