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#only children who grew up very no adult contact never learn language
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Hi, I wanted to tell you thank you very much for running this blog.
I've been born and raised in France, spent 20 years knowing I was Catalan only of name and in heart (my family is the sole one in France with our surname), but never been in contact with Catalan cultures and language.
It always made me struggle with identity crisis, on top of being biracial. I didn't know enough about my Catalan grandfather and spent time he was "a mix of Spanish-Italian" until his passing. I would even start to believe Catalonya wasn't "real".
As older I am now, more aware of the past-politics of France and other Europe states concerning Regional minorities and cultures, and the effort put to make them disappear. The anger made me set on reconnecting with my stolen heritage, and your blog among the first ressources I've found gave me hopeful breathe of fresh air.
I will keep on pursuing to learn Catalan language and cultures, for goal to reach level as fluent as possible even if it'll be hard now at 20+ years old.
Feliç any nou!
Thank you so much ❤️ this message warms my heart.
I wish you all the best in your journey reconnecting. And don't loose hope, it can be done in adult age too. It makes me think of the case of Júlia Taurinyà, a journalist from Northern Catalonia who explained her situation with language some years ago.
She explained that her personal situation is the same as many Northern Catalans and other native languages of the French state. Her grandparents spoke Catalan, but they didn't pass it on to the children. Júlia grew up hearing that her grandparents spoke Catalan to each other, but she hadn't learned it. She decided to learn it when she was older, and she was the one who taught it to her parents! I explain this story because it's an example that proves that there is no age limit to learn one's origin language. She speaks Catalan perfectly now and works as a journalist in France 3 making content in Catalan.
Molts ànims i bon any nou! ❤️
(Check the comments of the post to see others' additions)
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fumblebeefae · 3 years
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some people have never read Chompsky’s rebuttal of Skinner and it shows. I can’t believe you’re getting people arguing that language is just operant conditioning when they just learned the term yesterday, next they’re gonna reinvent Whorfianism or something /j (sorta)
Honestly. Skinner already proposed that language acquisition was just operant conditioning in the 50′s and was thoroughly ripped a new one. 
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the-blue-fairie · 3 years
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Elsa’s scars are because of a complex interplay between the pain of the accident AND the pain of her upbringing thereafter.
I talk about the ways  in which the trolls’, Agnarr’s, and Iduna’s choices negatively impact Elsa and Anna a great deal. It’s a complex subject to discuss - and I feel like I’m always returning to it because the fandom often tries to reduce it to black and white.
On the one hand, there are people in the fandom who vehemently dislike Agnarr and Iduna and portray them very negatively.
On the other hand, there are people who love Agnarr and Iduna and try to defend their every action, even when their actions hurt their daughters.
And... the trolls don’t usually get brought up at all. I mean, there are definitely folks who point out that the trolls are to blame for stoking the whole royal family’s fears... but I don’t think people can see their pain as easily in the abstract magical characters’ actions, so they just don’t dwell on them as much.
In my opinion, both extremes are approaching the matter in the wrong way. I don’t agree with people who hate Agnarr and Iduna. I don’t agree with people who paint them simply as abusive parents. In both the first film and the second, Agnarr and Iduna are good people trying to do their best in a painful situation. BUT, at the same time, their parents’ actions and the trolls’ actions hurt both of the sisters - and I feel like, when people bend over backwards to defend their actions, people ignore the hurt they caused.
AND, in some ways, I feel like the second film encourages this black and white thinking. The second film WANTS viewers to ignore the negative ramifications of the trolls’ and the parents’ actions. That’s why the film proper never discusses Agnarr’s and Iduna’s or the trolls’ actions while the sisters were children - opting instead for the tie-in book Dangerous Secrets to discuss those events... a tie-in book that, however well-written, will only reach a select audience while the films will reach a far wider audience.
This bothers me because it usually means I see people ignoring many of the external forces that caused Elsa to grow into who she is as a character.
In some cases, these are people who simply treat Elsa like a bad person because they ignore all the context that informs why she behaves like she does.
BUT, at the same time, I have friends who are deeply sympathetic to Elsa... but can’t seem to process how deeply Elsa’s upbringing informed who she grew up to be. 
Like, I’ve had long discussions with friends who have told me that, if Elsa was raised differently, she would still grow up the same because her trauma comes from the accident.
I feel this represents a gross misunderstanding of how child development works.
Yes, Elsa was devastated by the accident. But consider her actions and body language immediately thereafter:
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Her first instinct is to run to Anna and hold her in her arms. Even after her parents coming rushing in and her father asks what she has done, she defends herself, saying, “It was an accident. I’m sorry, Anna.” She still holds Anna close:
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Elsa has to be taught to recoil, to shrink away, to keep her distance from Anna.
Elsa’s fear is learned. We only see her truly starting the pattern of shrinking away, of curling inside herself with fear of herself after Pabbie shows her an ominous vision, telling her there is “danger” in her powers.
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A fear of herself that continues thereafter, after she has processed that she is and so begins to see herself as a danger:
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Yes, the accident itself scarred Elsa. But to say that, “If Elsa was raised differently, things would have turned out the same because her trauma emerges from the accident” is simply wrong. 
Elsa was a child being influenced by adult authority figures who ultimately failed her.
Pabbie igniting a vague and fiery vision of danger before an impressionable child influenced her, helped to cement the idea in Elsa that she is naturally dangerous.
Agnarr and Iduna separating the sisters reinforces to Elsa that there is something wrong in her - something she has to repress.
Keep in mind, I’m NOT saying this to demonize Agnarr and Iduna. As this moment shows, they are heartbroken the more Elsa shrinks from them. They love their daughter, and hate to see her hurting like this: 
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BUT that doesn’t change the fact that their actions helped to hurt her. Inadvertently, I know. But they still did.
To ignore the influence of the adult authority figures on who Elsa became is to ignore the complexity of how children interact with the world, how they respond to elders who are in positions of power. Elsa trusts the signals given by the adults around her. When Pabbie tells her there is “great danger” in her powers, she believes him. When her parents tell her that it is a necessity that she isolate herself and conceal herself, she trusts them.
Sometimes, certain people make much of the nuances of Pabbie’s words  or Agnarr’s words. They point out that Pabbie also says there is beauty in Elsa’s powers and that “Fear will be your enemy” also refers to Elsa’s inner fear of herself. They comment that “Conceal it, don’t feel it” is not the same as “Conceal, don’t feel.”
The thing is, these readings put the blame on Elsa for misunderstanding - instead of putting the blame on the adults for inadvertently imparting hurtful messages to a child.
It shouldn’t be placed on the shoulders of a child to decipher a cryptically worded aphorism. It should be on the adult figure, especially when this adult figure is an ancient and wise being.
And really, for all the distinctions between “Conceal it, don’t feel it” and “Conceal, don’t feel,” their essence is still the same. The misguidedness of concealment, of not feeling something that is a part of you, is still rooted in the words regardless of which version we choose.
 Elsa, as a child, was still told by the adults around her that she should keep her distance from others for their protection and so, as she grew older, she took that more and more to heart. She grew into what she had been taught - even though the teaching initially came from a good-hearted place.
Sometimes, I’ve had my friends ask me, “But by putting all this focus on Elsa’s influences growing up, are you sure you’re not losing focus on the pain Elsa feels because of the accident itself?” And... no, I’m not. That’s why the title of my post is, “Elsa’s scars are because of a complex interplay between the pain of the accident AND the pain of her upbringing thereafter.” Because I WANT this post to be a nuanced reflection.
But... if Pabbie hadn’t shown a vague and terrifying vision to and impressionable child and her frightened family... you can’t tell me things would have been the same.
If Iduna and Agnarr hadn’t limited Elsa’s contact with people, you can’t tell me things would have been the same.
A friend once pointed to the trail of ice Elsa makes on the journey to the Valley of the Living Rock, arguing that this shows Elsa’s loss of control and panic before Pabbie stresses that she is dangerous - and therefore arguing that this highlights that things would still turn out the same for Elsa growing up even if the trolls and her parents made different choices because she fears what she can do:
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I feel my friend’s reading here is... a bit of a stretch. Elsa is scared, yes, but the self-hatred that defines her as an adult? That comes later. That, she has to learn. And it is that self-hatred and fear of herself that paralyzes her.
And I’ve had friends point out, “But Elsa WAS dangerous! She DID hurt Anna, and that’s tied into her stress with wanting to protect her, and that was before the trolls or her parents had any involvement...”
I don’t like this take because it seems to put an impossible amount of weight on Elsa as a child. It asks Elsa as a child to be perfectly composed. To not be scared for her sister’s safety. To... not feel.
It’s a take that follows the misguided logic the film ultimately refutes while defending the mistakes that caused that misguided logic to do so much harm.
And, yeah. Sure. Elsa becomes scared. In the ballroom and riding through the forest. She’s a tiny child.
That doesn’t justify teaching her to fear herself, actions that only make the problem far, far worse.
 And you can say, “Well, the adults didn’t MEAN to teach Elsa that-” I know they didn’t mean to do it.
But showing a terrifying light-show to a little girl will impact her, regardless of what Pabbie meant. Especially when he does not clarify.
But slamming the gates shut will have a powerful psychological effect on both Elsa and Anna, regardless of what their parents meant.
Elsa was a child.
Children learn from their surroundings. They respond to the actions of adults they trust, adults they love. While the accident itself impacted Elsa, we cannot ignore that the way she was brought up thereafter also had a profound effect on the way she saw the world, the way she responded to the world. 
Elsa was a child being influenced by adult authority figures who ultimately failed her - and the fact people are so willing to put the weight of that on a child instead of the adults surrounding her is troubling to me.
The fact that the second film kind of tacitly puts the weight of that on Elsa’s shoulders by only making abstract references to “fear” - instead of openly talking about the complex circumstances Elsa and her parents found themselves in - is troubling to me as well. It allows viewers to disregard the more complicated elements of Elsa’s relationship with her parents and only focus on the positives the second film puts on display.
(Keep in mind, I DON’T intend this post to be anti Agnarr and Iduna. I love them as characters - ESPECIALLY Iduna, with the backstory F2 offers. Agnarr and Iduna are good people. They are loving parents. They were put in a horribly complicated position... and ultimately their actions - for all their good intentions - had negative consequences.) 
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lilacmeadows · 3 years
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Made For You pt. 2
Omg you guys thank you so much for all the support! Part 1 was my first fic and you guys were so sweet. I had to get started on part 2 right away. If you want to be on my taglist, just let me know! This is just leading up to the next few chapters that’s just gonna be FILTHY. I needed a bit of backstory to be satisfied, but now that the boring part is out of the way, I’m gonna go research other names for genitals. Hope you enjoy! -Savvy
BUCKY X READER
Summary: Hydra had just finished training you to be the Winter Soldier’s perfect mate when the Avengers saved him. But what’s going to happen to you now that Hydra has deleted your old life and left you with nothing but a soldier that needs to learn to love himself before he can love someone else.
Part 1    Part 2     Part 3
WARNINGS: explicit sexual content, explicit language, underage reader (nothing sexual happens underage), stockholm syndrome, mentions of family death, eventual dom/sub dynamics, mentions of captivity and kidnapping. violence- guns, mutual pining, eventual smut, fluff, angst if you squint (must be 18+)
WORD COUNT:  2.9k
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“Make the Soldat happy. He is my mission.” 
When she was first taken, of course she was scared. She didn’t know why, where she was going, if she’d be rescued. It was a painful adjustment, and some days it was as if the tears would never stop. It’s not like she was worth anything to anyone who mattered, her family wasn’t rich. Just her mom and brother. They lived a happy and normal life. 
She’d guess it didn’t really matter. At the age of 10, y/n was old enough to understand basic concepts, carry a conversation with adults, and she had strict teachers in school, so she knew how to behave. 
What she didn’t know was how to be a wife. Or a ‘life-partner’. None of the Men would ever call her a future ‘wife’. She was training to be a mate. Someone the Soldat could own and connect with so he didn’t fly off the rails if things got out of control. If he got out of their control. Every morning, a watcher would wake her up at 8AM so she could stretch, eat, and meditate. By 10AM, her first trainer of the day would come in and teach her the schooling she was missing. Just basic math and reading, a little German, and a little Russian. Not enough for her to eavesdrop on their plans, but enough to understand her Soldat if he didn’t feel like speaking English. 
At 1PM, another trainer would come and bring her to the small kitchenette down the hall. They had no intention of domesticating the ‘couple’, but she was learning to be a woman- of course the Men would have her start in the kitchen. She would learn very simple meals that could feed a fully grown man, and usually had something light for lunch herself. The men brought her the other 2 meals a day. At 3PM she would have lessons on ‘Womanhood’. At least that’s what she called it. A trainer would come in and teach her a never-ending list of rules that she had to follow in order to be a ‘lady’. It reminded her of an old Barbie movie she would watch when she was little. There was a song called ‘To Be a Princess’, where a poor girl learned how to act proper. Once she started seeing herself as that princess, the days got a little easier. Some days, they would go over how to sit and lie down like a lady. Others, they would walk laps around the halls open to her, reviewing how to walk on the balls of her feet. She learned to talk in short sentences with excellent manners, and how to brush her hair, so she could look more presentable for her Soldat. 
Over the years of compliance, the trainers softened on her just as the watchers had. Of course, they were still horrible people, but they knew she was a kind girl at heart and wouldn’t cause trouble. Some days, she would be made to sit perfectly still with a stack of books on her head, while her trainer would tell her something silly happening outside the walls of the building that became her home. She learned little bits of information about their lives, music, art. But never anything political or having to do with who the Men even worked for. That was strictly forbidden. They would let her color in her free time. Sometimes a watcher would bring a book from his home for her to read, and when she was old enough, she was given a few colors of yarn and started knitting sweaters and scarves on plastic needles. She didn’t have a clock, but she would learn by the rotating shifts of her watchers what time of day it was.
There were children whose lives sucked more than hers. And for that, she was grateful.
When she got older (let’s say 18), the training started to change. She never knew what day it was, or even what year. She had stopped keeping track so long ago, but the changes were made gradually. She would be made to read books on intimacy, and then watch videos of men brutally ravishing ladies about her size. She had to learn what to do to please her Soldat, without being taught physically. This made her happy. The thought of any of the watchers or trainers doing that to her made her sick. And everyone thought it was in her best interest to be completely innocent to the touch of a man when she has her first encounter with the Soldat.
Which turned out exactly as planned. But on the day Steve and Sam plucked her out of her bedroom, she was not expecting the Soldat to be sitting right in front of her. In all his glory.
The quinjet was eerily silent for all of seven seconds before Clint had the audacity to continue the conversation he started.
“You make the soldier happy?” was the best the shocked man could come up with.
“I haven’t met him yet, but I’m ready. They made me ready for him.” y/n said with bright, hopeful eyes. Her words flowed so easily, they sounded rehearsed.
“Do we tell her?” Tony asked Steve, who was getting greener by the second. He couldn’t believe he just got his best friend back, not two weeks ago, and now he has to worry about a girl who’s obsessed with said best friend.
“I don’t think we really have a choice.” Steve replied, taking a deep breath. The whole quinjet looked like they were holding their breath. y/n still didn’t know the names of the three men on the opposite side of the quinjet. Two of them standing together, pausing their conversation, and the brooding man, who everyone keeps looking at.
“y/n, meet Bucky.” Steve said, pointing at the man across from her. But ‘Bucky’ went completely over her head- the name being unfamiliar to her.
“Hello, sir. Pleased to meet you.” She said, offering a genuine smile, but clearly not picking up what Steve was putting down. Clint chimed in again, wanting to be out of his confused misery.
“Wait a second. Y/n. You mean the soldier, as in the Winter Soldier?” Y/n immediately nodded at hearing that name. She knew her Soldat went by that name. “As in that guy right there?” 
Her eyes went wide at the realization. He was sitting right in front of her. Staring at her since the minute she stepped onto the plane. And he was gorgeous. Long hair, thick thighs, piercing blue eyes, and a jaw that could probably cut glass. But he looked upset. Pissed really, and that scared her. She had one job: Make the Soldat happy. And there she was, barely presentable. She hadn’t even addressed him properly, how she was taught. With all the eyes on her, she felt a blush rush through her whole body at the embarrassing thought. But she had to. He wouldn’t like her if she didn’t follow the rules she grew up with.
Y/n daintily stood up and walked until she was right in front of Bucky. He held her eye contact the entire way, still not having said one word during this whole exchange. She gently knelt down until she was on her knees in front of him. 
“I hope I can make you happy, my Soldat. I am a gift from the Men who take care of us, and I am entirely yours.” Bucky’s jaw twitched. He hadn’t said anything this whole time, but his mind was moving at lightning speed. He watched this gorgeous, barely dressed girl sit across from him, and was already in awe. But then that girl got on her knees and declared her loyalty to him? In front of everyone he knows? He couldn’t lie to himself, he’d never been more turned on. But everything about this was wrong. She was just a Stockholm Syndrome’d girl who wanted to follow orders. But her orders were to make him happy. He finally broke eye contact with her to see Tony’s shocked face looking over at Bruce and Thor, to make sure he’s not hallucinating this. 
“Y/n, you should stand up.” He said to her in a hushed tone. Probably harsher than he meant to. He could see her visibly take a breath at the sound of his voice, his eyes followed the gentle slope of her neck down to her breast. She dreamed for years about what his voice would sound like, and it just rolled over her. But she quickly obeyed and stood in front of his seat. He expected her to say something else, but she was silent then. Her previous outburst was one of the few exceptions to her ‘only talk when spoken to’ rule. “What do you want? Where is your family so we can take you home?” He asked her. She could feel the tears well up in her eyes. He didn’t want her was all she could assume. She was made for him, so why was he turning her away?
“I want to make you happy, sir. It’s all I want. Please let me be good for you. I promise, I’ll be so good for you.” Begging was familiar to her from her studies. She didn’t expect to be begging for her to be able to please him, but she would do whatever it took to get him to keep her.
“No. Y/n. This isn’t right. You were being kept there, whatever Hydra told you to do is over. You’re free now.” The tears flowed freely down her cheeks and it broke his heart. She tried to cover her face with her hands. He didn’t want to see her cry, nor did he want to turn her away, but he also couldn’t just let her be his sex slave. It wasn’t right. 
“Please don’t be sad. This is for the best-” He tried to reason with her, but when he took her hand off her face so she would look at him, the contact only made her sob harder. This was all she wanted. 
“Buck, I think we should just let her sit for a minute. Can you grab her some water? Tony and I will try to figure out where she was from.” Steve said to Bucky- trying to end this painful and awkward situation. Bucky stood and walked to another area of the quinjet. He was grateful to be able to use this time to think.
“Y/n, we’re gonna need your help to get you home okay. What’s your last name? How old are you?” 
“Y/L/N” And then she went quiet. It never occurred to her that she didn’t know how old she was. Of course, she remembered her birthday, but she couldn’t tell the weeks and months apart, so she hadn’t celebrated it since she turned 10 in 2006. “What year is it?”
“When did they take you?” Steve asked gently. Being a man from another time, he could remember well the day he woke up in 2011 when it was supposed to be 1944. He knew how jarring it was to discover all the time that’s been lost, and wanted to spare her that grief.
“2006. I was 10.” She looked at him, and she could tell it’s not just 2008 by the look on his face. She knew her body went through changes over her time with the Men, but between the ‘dietary supplements’ they gave her, and the fact that she wasn’t looking in a mirror- much less shopping for clothes- she didn’t realize she had fully completed puberty. 
“Y/n, it’s 2016. You’re 20 now.” And that made the tears come harder. But she wasn’t so upset about the 10 years of her life. She was mad at 20 years of her life wasted. Since Bucky didn’t want her, all of the training was for nothing. She knew living for him made her the definition of a broken person- she wasn’t dumb. The idea of her Soldat was what grounded her all that time. When she was lonely, she’d think about the man the Men always tell her about. They told her how he was their ‘greatest asset’. And she often fantasized about if he would fall in love with her. So by the time she met him, she had already been in love with him for much longer than she’d care to admit- which makes the heartbreak of rejection hurt that much more.
Unfortunately for Bucky, his heart was heavy too. He tucked away into the tiny bed area on the jet after quickly handing Steve the water to give to y/n. It was too much. Being in that room with her, she looked at him like he hung the moon. But he most certainly had not. He was a murderer. Tony’s father was a scientist during the war, and Bucky knew him pretty well through Steve. And he killed him. He had scattered memories of hurting dozens of people, so why would she be so willing to be with someone like him?
Part of him wanted it. After almost a century of not owning anything and not having a choice, he was given the opportunity to have something that belonged only to him. A gift from the men who take care of us. If it wasn’t cruel, he would have laughed in her face. Maybe she was taken care of, but he most certainly wasn’t. She was brought in young enough to still be under the impression that Hydra wasn’t evil, just strict. He imagined for a minute how things could have turned out for the two of them if he hadn’t gotten free. If Hydra really was planning on giving him a gift. He didn’t like the last gift they gave him in the shape of an arm, but y/n was perfect. She was the perfect size for him- although his broad frame could dwarf most women. And her smile pulled at his heart.
He wanted to kiss her the minute he saw her. He knew he wanted to make her his.
And that was bad.
He rubbed his hand over his face and decided to rejoin the group in the middle of their conversation. Thor and Bruce decided to stop being passive members of the conversation and introduced themselves. Y/n was very confused at Thor’s proclamation as ‘God of Thunder’, but with all that was happening, she didn’t feel it was her place to question it.
“- a good thing we have spare rooms at the compound. You can stay as long as you like.” Tony finished speaking to y/n just as Bucky was walking into the room. “We’re gonna have a new house guest MC.” He waggled his eyebrows at the man who caught the back half of that conversation.
Bucky’s jaw dropped. This would only make the situation much harder than it needed to be. He looked to Steve for an explanation. The blond stood up and made his way over to Bucky.
“Look, Hydra scrubbed her records off of every database and-” He took a deep sigh, “Her family is dead, Buck. They probably killed them after they took her.” 
Then it was Bucky’s turn to sigh. He knew the right thing to do was to help her, but he also knew how much he wanted to feel her soft skin in his hands. And that made her dangerous to be around. 
What nobody knew was why Hydra took the 10 year old from Georgia. In 2006, the Winter Soldier was sent on a mission to kill a scientist that lived there. Of course the poor guy didn’t have a chance when the Soldier was sitting in his house, waiting for him when he got home, but what the Soldier wasn’t expecting was a little girl to be coming inside with him. The scientist looked sleazy and didn’t have any children, so who knows what would have happened to her if the Soldier didn’t get there in time. She screamed and cried. The comm in his ear commanded him to kill the girl for being a witness. But the part of the Soldier that was still Bucky wanted her to be safe. He shushed the little girl and asked her for her address. When she recited it to him, he rubbed her head and told her she was a good girl, before he dug his metal fingers into the child’s pressure points and she fell limp into his arms. y/n woke up in her bed, crying at the bad dream she must have had- her mother not even home yet. That was the first act of defiance Hydra ever experienced from the Winter Soldier. First sign of humanity and compassion. They knew if the mind control was getting weaker, he would be harder to control next time they unfroze him, but his protective nature of the girl would make her an asset to them.
Her capture was arranged before his heart was fully frozen in the chamber. Neither Bucky nor y/n remembered this- Bucky only remembering parts of his time under their control, and y/n never thinking about that bad dream again, but the connection was still there as strong as it was that day 10 years ago.
Part 3
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cherryquitecontrary · 3 years
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Elvira Casimiro
Decided to do a character bio for @arcana-echoes​ and because I haven’t made one since I first made this blog oops
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Art by the talented @joeyhazell-art​​
Full Name — Elvira Casimiro
Meaning of name — Elvira: “foreign and true”; Casimiro: “peaceful”
Family — Ignacio Casimiro (Father; deceased), Camila Casimiro (Mother; deceased), Marina Valeriano (Aunt; deceased)
Nicknames — Evie, Starlight (by family & Asra)
Favourite meal — Pozole
Favourite drink — Honey lemon tea
Favourite flower — Marigold
Birthday — August 8
Age — 26
Height — 5′ 4″
Gender — Female; she/her pronouns
Romantic/Sexual orientation — Bisexual/ Biromantic
MBTI: ISFJ
Zodiac — 
Sun: Leo
Moon: Virgo
Patron Arcana — 
Major: Judgement
Upright: Judgement, rebirth, inner calling, absolution
Reversed:  Self-doubt, inner critic, ignoring the call
Minor:  Queen of Swords
Upright:  Independent, unbiased judgement, clear boundaries, direct communication
Reversed:  Overly-emotional, easily influenced, bitchy, cold-hearted
Familiar: Luna the Xoloitzcuintle
Appearance 
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Plague-Era and Present Elvira (sans white hair) created via Artbreeder
Height: 5’ 4”
Hair: black, thick and wavy (2c hair type), white at temples post-resurrection, about mid-back length
Hair style: parted to the left, typically worn down
Eyes: emerald 
Build: slim, but wider at the hips, toned arms and legs (from climbing things)
Distinguishing features: strong nose, full eyebrows, full lips, birthmark under left eye
Skin tone: Honey Tan
Typical outfit: black dresses paired with a well-loved fringe shawl made of burgundy fabric, barefoot if she can help it
Languages spoken —  Venterran, Vesuvian, knows some Vesuvian sign language
Hobbies — reading novels and poetry, tending to her many exotic plants, playing the guitar. singing, dancing, telling stories
Love Interests — Asra, Nadia, & Julian
Background — UNDER THE CUT
Childhood —
Elvira was born to Ignacio and Camila Casimiro on a small farm in the Venterre countryside. The small family was not wealthy and did not have the help of immediate or extended family. Ignacio was orphaned young and Camila had no contact with her parents or her older sister Marina. However, they were a very close and loving family unit. Elvira’s parents worked their land and managed farm animals, selling the products of their labor to survive. Camila was also a seamstress, and would make and repair clothes for the people in the nearby village. When Elvira was young, her father was in an accident on his way to a village further away to sell produce. He died and left Camila and Elvira to fend for themselves. Camila grew depressed when her husband died, but she tried to hide it from her daughter and continue to manage the farm without him. It became difficult to manage a young child, a farm, and herself as she grew sick from an illness she didn’t know she had at the time. Slowly, her health grew fragile, and many of the farm chores that couldn’t be supplemented by young Elvira went undone. The crops went unplanted, the farm animals were slaughtered for food. Eventually, food became scarce and Elvira had to steal from the surrounding farms for survival. She spent much of those years tending to a bedridden Camila. At the end of her days, Camila wrote a letter to her estranged sister Marina, letting her know that she was dying and leaving her little girl behind, and sent it to the last known place she knew her sister to be: Vesuvia. When Elvira was 15, Camila passed away, not knowing what would happen to her daughter. 
A couple of days after Camila’s passing, a woman dressed in black came to what was left of the Casimiro farm. She was tall, with dark hair, dark eyes, and a striking resemblance to Camila. She told Elvira that her name was Marina, and that she was her mother’s sister. Showing her Camila’s letter, she informed the young girl that she was to come and live with her in Vesuvia, upon her mother’s request. Initially, Elvira refused. The years of struggling and watching her mother slowly die had hardened the girl. She didn’t trust her aunt, who was a stranger to her, nor did she want to leave behind everything she’d ever known. Eventually, she came around and left Venterre with Marina to live with her in Vesuvia. Initially, living with each other was not easy for the two women. Marina had spent her adult life living alone and she had no children, so she frankly didn’t know what to do with a teenager. Elvira was also wary of her estranged aunt, unsure of how to react to her and her new living arrangement. However, the two eventually grew close and changed each other for the better. They were both guarded people, traumatized by their pasts. But, they made each other open up. Marina became Elvira’s mentor and taught her everything she knew about magic- from potions, to spells, to fortune telling. Elvira adopted many things from Marina, like her fashion sense and her love of worldly topics- like romantic poetry and foreign languages. Eventually, Elvira befriended a young orphan named Asra that she had met a couple of times during the Masquerade and Marina took him in too. The three of them lived in happy bliss until the Plague came to Vesuvia.
The Plague —
At the start of the Plague, Marina dedicated herself to the research effort at the palace, leaving Asra and Elvira to run the shop. After months of working tirelessly to find a cure, Marina caught the Plague and died, never having the chance to say goodbye to her wards. After this devastating loss, Elvira and Asra started debating on whether or not they should stay in Vesuvia. Asra wanted to leave, but Elvira wanted to stay and finish the work that her aunt had started by any means necessary. After a huge fight tore the two of them apart, Asra left Vesuvia and Elvira offered her help to Doctor Julian Devorak as his assistant. The two worked closely together during the plague and managed to find comfort in each other while the Plague grew worse and worse (NOTE: this manifests as a romantic relationship only in Julian’s route). Eventually, Elvira, too, fell sick and died of the Plague. She passed away alone in her home, and was found with forget-me-nots tucked into the bodice of her dress and a book of poetry in her hand.
Resurrection —
When Elvira was resurrected by Asra, she had lost all memory, along with the ability to speak, read, and generally care for herself. She spent many tireless months with her former-friend-turned-mentor relearning how to perform essential tasks and how to perform magic again. While she regained some aspects of her former self- like remembering how to play certain songs on her guitar and how to care for her plants- she was no doubt different. There was only one physical difference: the hair at her temples grew out white as snow (Asra quietly remembers this as the way that Marina’s hair used to look). Personally, she had become a person Asra hardly recognized. She had guarded her heart, shut the world out like she did when she was a child and rarely ever ventured out of the shop alone. Elvira had also become fixated on regaining her memories. Even though Asra had to stop trying to help her access her memories through magic, she still had an aching in her heart to know who she was. 
When Asra left on his first trip without her, she had to learn how to tend to her own needs. Her first time venturing outside of the shop, she found a small dog shivering in the cool night air out behind the shop. The dog was still a puppy and was scrawny. She initially avoided the dog, not knowing what to do or how to take care of it. But, the dog stepped closer and seemed to be illuminated by a moonbeam. Elvira took this as a sign to bring the dog in. She named her Luna and decided to keep her as a pet after she felt a connection with her. When Asra came back, he told her that Luna was likely her familiar, and the two have been inseparable ever since.
Presently, Elvira still runs the shop and lives with Asra and Luna. She is now fiercely independent and has taken more of a partnership role when it came to running the household and the shop. She is still guarded and tends to keep other people at arm’s length by nature. But, she is learning to be more open to others and new experiences.  
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nadiaportia · 3 years
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Sayelle of Bizatena
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art by @ia-bi-tia​
The adventurous disciple with a rare gift
Other bios: Ximena | Deirdra | Heloisa | Cibela
Full name:  Sayelle bint Zahir (”Sayelle, daughter of the Magician”)
Meaning of name: Amalgation of “Sayid” and “Elle”; Arabic for “patient” and French for “she”
Family:
Faarooq al-Rashid and Balqis bint Oaisara: Sayelle’s biological parents. They died when their child was only a baby in an earthquake that was part of what would later be called “The Cataclysm that almost was”, during which both an earthquake as well as a tsunami devasted parts of Bizatena.
Farida bint Zahir: Sayelle’s mentor and adoptive mother. She along the other apprentices of age helped raise the children brought to the Magician’s temple and later on took on the role of tutor in all affairs of life for Sayelle. She is supportive of her ward and protects her affinity for umbramancy as soon as it manifests. 
Khentkawes: A dodo and Sayelle’s familiar. During a trip to an island north of Prakra, Sayelle got lost and injured but was guided back to the village by a perceptive and helpful bird. She decided to leave her peers behind to travel with Sayelle and see the rest of the world like only very few flightless birds living on an island could. Khentkawes is very clever and an equal partner in running Sayelle’s magic shop, responsible for cataloguing the goods kept and sold.
Nickname: Sally
Favourite meal: Tabbouleh, heavy on the spring onions and mint
Favourite drink: Pomegranate juice
Favourite flower: Hibiscus
Favourite color: Turquoise
Birthday: 27th of April
Age: 33 during the events of the game
Zodiac: Taurus
MBTI: ENFJ
Patron Arcana: Wheel of Fortune and the Seven of Cups
Upright: The Wheel turns endlessly with the passage of time, changing fortunes as if by whim.
Reversed: The Wheel must return all to its beginning- life cannot remain in the sun forever.
Upright:  In dreams possibilities seem endless, but the waking world won't wait for you forever.
Reversed:  Sometimes an offer is too good to be true. Be wary of false promises in the coming days.
Gender: Trans female
Sexuality: Bisexual
Height: 1,70 m // 5′6″
Appearance:
Sayelle is of slender build. Her skin is light brown with a cold undertone and she has an angular face. There are freckles on her cheekbones and nose, which is of aquiline shape. She has dark gray eyes and slightly full lips. Her wavy lilac hair is usually braided with some streaks being loose and in her face and her eyebrows are rather thin. 
She usually wears small black glasses on her nose, a golden nostril ring and a golden necklace with a small turquoise pendant. She wears brown lipstick and dark brown winged eyeliner.
She carries herself with ease, a certain light-footedness and confidence.
Visual inspirations:
Golshifteh Farahani
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Languages spoken: Bizateni, Zadithi, Prakran, the Common Tongue of the People of the Drylands, Firentian, Kerusksch and the Common Tongue
Magical abilities:
Air-based magic, the ability to conjure storms and manipulating temperatures
Umbramancy; shadow magic that requires a lot of discipline and focus. She can travel faster through darkness, is able to communicate with “the shadows” and has a connection to nocturnal animals and everything that primarily lives in in the dark.
Astral magic; the ability to separate her mind from her body even within the mortal realm, and having her conscience pass into the realms of the dead
Love interests:
Nadia
Deirdra: They were together for a brief time, broke up due to realizing they weren’t in the right headspace to be in a relationship, and during the events of the game have to work through some issues that happened while Vesuvia was a victim of the plague.
In general, like with most of my characters; if they’re compatible sexuality-wise as well as personality-wise, feel free to ship them with your OCs or MCs. Hit me up with a message and we can discuss the details!
Backstory:
After the death of her parents, the young Sayelle was like most children without parents or potential guardians taken to one of many temples where the Magician was revered and his craft taught. Her mentor, a Bizateni magician who herself had grown up at the temple named Farida, taught the young apprentice everything she knew, coming to see her as someone with immense talent, drive and also like she was her own child.
Shortly after her arrival at the temple, Sayelle proved herself to have a great interest in all things that had to do with magic, something she had in common with her late parents but other than them who didn’t show any signs of being able to use magic, Sayelle turned out to be a prodigy. By the time she was ten, children her age paled against her magicks and spell work and she became a peer to many older children who were on her level of knowledge. She found both good friends, admirers of her talents as well as rivals amongst her fellow magicians, and yet grew to see them as siblings, and the adult magicians that taught them the ways of their creed as mentors and in a sense aunts and uncles.
At the age of 17, she symbolically shed the name given to her birth by her parents and took on one of her own choosing, as well as officially binding herself to the Magician with a name, like it happens to all adult residents of the temples. Now legally of age, Sayelle was let into the secret arts of umbramancy - shadow magic - after Farida felt the affinity within her during the many years of training her and soon enough she mastered the spells so well that she was already on Farida’s level. It was sometime after that when the magician Soraya, who was in direct service to the Emir, came to visit the temple to look for potential acolytes to train at the Palace and was immediately drawn towards Sayelle and her master. Umbramancy was a highly revered form of magic, especially because there were very few who didn’t fear it due to its bad reputation or have bothered to get attuned to it - Farida being one of the few who had successfully done so but kept it a secret.
Sayelle and Farida were invited to come to the Palace and vouch for themselves in front of the Emir with Soraya’s help. The ruler was clearly impressed by Sayelle’s talents and thus she and Farida left their life at the temple behind and moved into their chambers at the Palace, now with Sayelle as the resident umbramancer and Farida as her assistant to uphold the lie that Farida had learned umbramancy from Sayelle as her mentor could have very well been executed for keeping these sorts of secrets from the Emir’s eyes and ears at the temple and the magicians at court. Other than Farida, who constantly felt unwell at the Palace and grew annoyed with the nobility’s antics, Sayelle came to enjoy the attention, the ability to buy whatever she desired and be able to live a life she had never even dreamt of.
Years passed but Sayelle came to realize how selfish the Bizateni nobles truly were, but she didn’t think she’d be able to leave as she was the resident umbramancer who technically was upheld more as a symbol of status – having a magician with a very rare specialty and affinity gave a lot of fame to the Bizateni city-state. Yet Farida committed a selfless sacrifice to grant her adoptive daughter and protégée freedom from the court; by claiming as herself as the more powerful umbramancer, she took Sayelle’s place, who from then on returned to the temple in which she grew up on but her abilities still made her highly desirable. She took a leave from Bizatena and ever since worked as an adventurer, exploring ancient ruins and learning from the cultures that used to live there and the ways they utilized magic.
It was during those extensive travels that she not only met her familiar Khentkawes, but also various other wandering magicians and scholars, one of them Asra Alnazar and his then-girlfriend Ximena Rubalcaba. With them she struck up a close friendship which ultimately convinced her to set foot in Vesuvia where she opened a shop for magical utensils and worked as a professional medium and made the acquaintance of Deirdra Margalit, a teacher living in South End, with whom she had a brief relationship and continued to be friends with. When the red plague claimed many lives in the city, she volunteered in helping fight the disease but was powerful when it claimed patients, some of which had been friends and colleagues. She broke off contact to Asra when finding out about him wanting to aid Lucio in a sinister ritual and continued to run her business as usual after the plague ran its course.
More art:
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feat. Nadia by @joeyhazell-art​ | post
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feat Deirdra by @missrabbitart​ | post
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jenwhitner · 3 years
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( ADELINE RUDOLPH. SHE/HER. CIS WOMAN ) Did I just see ( JENNIFER WHITNER )? This ( TWENTY SEVEN ) year old ( VETERINARIAN ) has been living in Chicago for ( EIGHTEEN YEARS ). Some say that they are ( TENACIOUS & COMPASSIONATE ) as well as ( VOLATILE & INSECURE ). If they had a theme song, some might say that it would be ( ALL THE TIME by MOOSE BLOOD ). All I know is that I can’t wait to see what they bring to the Windy City.
hellooooo, it’s lauren, back with my second character. this is jennifer! she’s one of rowan’s older adopted siblings, and she’s one of those people that acts super tough and a little distant at first, but she’s a sweetheart really, i promise. @hocstarters​
‏‏‎ ‎
INFO:
full name: Jennifer Ahn Whitner
birth name: Ahn Ji-hyun
nickname(s): Jenny, Jen
birthplace: Daegu, South Korea
birthday: 25th June 1993
age: 27
zodiac sign: Cancer
gender & pronouns: cis woman, she/her
sexuality: Heterosexual
physical: 5′6, brown hair, brown eyes
occupation: Veterinarian
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PAST:
( tw: death; car accident; child neglect; bullying; mental illness )
1993, Daegu, South Korea. Ahn Ji-hyun was born to a newly-married couple, who cared for her well and loved her dearly. Her early childhood was great, and she had plenty of friends. She showed a love for animals and nature early on, and developed a habit of picking up and bringing home any injured animals she found, wanting to help them. She also loved literature and art, spending hours covered in paint or listening to her mother tell her stories.
But, tragedy struck when Ji-hyun was 5 years old, and the family were involved in a car accident when returning to their home after a meal out. All the members of the family were rushed into hospital. Unfortunately both of Ji-hyun's parents eventually succumbed to their injuries, but, Ji-hyun managed to pull through. She spent a few weeks in the hospital recovering from her minor injuries. Somehow she had managed to walk away with only cuts and bruises, a concussion and a few broken bones. The couple had no other family that were able to take care of the now orphaned young girl, and she was taken to a foster home. The memories of the accident haunted her, and she had night terrors regularly, waking up in a cold sweat and gasping for air. It caused her to withdraw, and she became quiet and reserved. She was placed into therapy to try and help her deal with the loss of her parents, and eventually she began to show signs of improvement. Art was one of the things that helped her to express her grief and loneliness, and she continued to improve her painting skills over the years as she used it as her main emotional outlet.
When Ji-hyun turned 7, she was adopted by an American couple. Knowing absolutely no English, Ji-hyun was terrified of leaving Daegu and her friends behind to go to a completely new country. She begged the adults in the foster home to not make her go, but they promised that she would be safe and have a happy life, and would have more opportunities in America then she would have in her home country. So, reluctantly, she moved to Rockford, Illinois with her new family. Her name was legally changed to Katie, but she continued to refer to herself by her Korean name.
But, things didn't turn out the way that Ji-hyun had been told they would. She was enrolled in school, but the language barrier proved to be too much. Despite having special tutoring in English, Ji-hyun couldn't seem to learn fast enough for her new parents liking, and they were disappointed in her. Thus began the neglect. Because they couldn't communicate properly, her parents began to ignore Ji-hyun out of frustration, adopting another child and spending all their time and affection on their new son. Her teachers soon began to notice that Ji hyun was turning up to school dirty and hungry, and called social services who then got involved. By the time she turned 8 years old, Ji-hyun was back in foster care, this time in Chicago.
The experience left his distrustful of other people, and she kept herself very guarded, not speaking to anybody about personal matters and never showing signs of any emotion unless she was safely locked away in a room by herself. Her faith in humanity was gone, and left her bitter and cold towards the world even at such a young age.
A year passed, and Ji-hyun settled back into the routine of a foster home, until one day a new couple came along. A few weeks after meeting them, the news came that the Whitner's were going to adopt Ji-hyun. Yet again, she was scared and dubious. In her head, before even going to the family, she was expecting it not to last long, so she was stand-offish with the couple and with their other adopted children, not wanting to form any connections out of fear that they would end up being severed in a short time. 
It wasn’t until a few months into this new chapter that Ji-hyun finally realised that she was now in a safe and loving home, with people that cared about her and wanted her to have a good and happy life. The realisation came from such a small gesture on the Whitner’s part, but a huge one for her. They asked her what she wanted to be called. So, not wanting to completely lose touch with her birth name that had become her only sense of identity over the years, and the only connection she had to her biological parents, she chose the name Jennifer. Her parents agreed to her keeping her surname, using it instead as a middle name. Thus, Jennifer Ahn Whitner became her legal name. 
Despite knowing that she was finally in a safe space, that didn't change the struggles that Jennifer dealt with during school. The Whitner's did their best to help her learn English, but the kids at school picked on her because she was different and because she couldn't communicate with them properly. 
Nevertheless, Jennifer was very intelligent and excelled in all other areas of her education, and eventually she became good enough at English that she could hold a full conversation, thanks to her parent's consistent tutoring and support, and the help of her adopted siblings. Once she got to high school, language was no longer an issue, but her accent was still prevalent. Kids were cruel, and the bullying continued. This drove her to develop depression and anxiety, and she became withdrawn and quiet. Throughout her dark times, she carried on painting, finding solace in art.  Yet again, she began therapy and threw herself into her studies, deciding that she wanted to become a veterinarian. She went off to college, and here she flourished. As she grew older, she became more confident in herself and her abilities, and finally started to develop a bit of a social life again. But, she still kept herself guarded, a defence mechanism that she just couldn't bring herself to let go of. It was hard for her to make friends because of it, but those who persevered and finally broke through her tough exterior are still close friends of hers to this day.
‏‏‎ ‎
PRESENT:
Recently graduated from veterinary college, Jennifer lives in her own apartment and works at a local animal clinic. She still keeps in contact with her foster parents, visiting them regularly and also maintaining strong relationships with her foster siblings.
She has continued on with her art, but only ever as a hobby. Her friends continue to push her to try and pursue it as a full-time career but she loves her job working with animals, and doesn't want to give that up. Despite that, she does commissioned work for people on the side, but because her job is so demanding already it's a rather rare occurrence.
‏‏‎ ‎
PERSONALITY:
At first, Jennifer can come across as rude and uninterested, but this is just her way of avoiding letting people get too close. It will take time to break down that tough, uncaring exterior she puts on, but once it's done, her true personality will come through. She can be volatile and insecure at times. She struggles to trust people and let them in, and rarely talks about her biological parents or her first foster family. The memories still haunt her from time to time, but she does her best to focus on the positives. 
She returns to Daegu to visit her family as often as she can, and still speaks in her native tongue often, finally being proud of her Korean heritage and wanting to celebrate it rather than hide it to save herself from other people's judgement. 
Her temper can change quickly when she feels vulnerable or threatened, and can be quite harsh when she's in a bad mood. She bears grudges for a long time, and if anybody upsets her she won't ever forget about it. She may forgive, but the relationship will never be the same again. At times she is also overly-sensitive, and small comments made can stick with her for a long time and cause quite a big impact on her, and leave her questioning her worth and abilities.
But, Jennifer is very compassionate. As seen from an early age, she has a very nurturing personality, and will look after anyone and anything that needs help. This quality is what makes her so good at her job - her caring nature and love for animals combined makes her a brilliant veterinarian. 
With strangers, she can struggle to initiate conversations and it takes time to gain her trust, but once it’s done and she lets people see the real her, they will have a loyal friend and someone to lean on and be loved dearly by.
She is also incredibly tenacious, and once she puts her mind to something she will see it through no matter how difficult it may be at times. 
Reassurance and small gestures of affection are her love language, both for herself and for others, so she will go out of her way to remind the people in her life how loved and important they really are.
‏‏‎ ‎
WANTED CONNECTIONS:
closest friend(s) - these will be the people she’s most comfortable around and can be completely herself with. they probably know a little bit about her past, but not the whole story
colleagues - fellow veterinarians, or other staff at the clinic
neighbours - she has her own apartment, so there’s a few options for neighbour type connections
ex-boyfriend - will have been during college years, can have ended on good or bad terms, could even still be feelings there if we wanna get real angsty with it
past hook-ups - again, probably during college years, can be awkward or not, i don’t mind
enemies - people that she doesn’t like or don’t like her, or someone from her past that did something to really upset her and she’s holding a grudge still
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dartiri11 · 3 years
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CREATY
Habitat: Aloria
Alliance: Aloris
Hight: around 2,60 meters
Agelimit: 1600 years.
Race: Alorian Creaty
Order: mostly herbivores
Related to: Arachy (Darkan Arachy)
Family: Imiro (Creaty, Arachy) Reptile related
Name: Creative, Creation (Plural = Creaty)
Creaty are humanoid related creatures with long feathers on head and tail. Probably related to the old velociraptors but with human hints of intelligence.
Appearance: A healthy, adult Creaty can get to 2,80 Meters tall and to around 50 Kilos heavy.
On head and tail they have long feathers with conducting use. The ones on the head are the most conducting ones. And every feather behind the ear line is in state to rise and form a crown. A long feathertail help them keeping balance when runing or climbing.The feathers even have a symbolig sign. The longer the feathers are, the higher is their state. The elder and more experienced Creaty have longer feathers than children or just unexperienced ones.
They are very colourful. Their skin mostly has light pastel colours like red, blue or other and their feathers can have every colour except black. Black is not possible to be on the Creatys body. Their eyes can have any colours except for black and white. The pupil is colourful as well as the rest of the eye. The pupil is only visible because of its slightly darker tone.
They actually walk on their toes if you view it anatomically. They have three long front claws and a heel claw on each foot. The mostly serve their climbing skills but also for self protetcion. Their skin itself is familliar to lizards but a bit smoother. Still dry and resistent.
Mental skills and language: For their humble living they are actually very intelligent and love little mysteries and puzzles to solve. Logical thinking is very important in their live. Their brain is actually pretty big and they never stop learning and wanting to learn. They love reading and writing books. About everything they know to show their new knowlegde to others. Their language has more vocals in it. But the most heard sounds next to vocals are S and R sounds. Like hissing, growling or purring. The written letters are pretty round designed. And every Creaty has their own handwriting. Like human. Because their language is alone a bit confusing, their movements, mood and tone are important too. So it's pretty hard to learn it because of all the diffrent aspects of performing it.
Also new discovers of other worlds. Because of Aloris' alone lead, the shield around Aloria is a lot weaker and it's possible to chance worlds on purpose. They do it with two of the guardian dragons. Dragon of Space and the Dragon of Time. This kind of travel is not very normal but yet usual. In other worlds they prefer not to show themselfs. They stay in the shadows and watch the other races silently, making their notes and learning from them. There are several different names for them when they got seen. Like Timebrakers, shinigami or even devil. In some other worlds they are seen as signs from the heaven. But actually they are just visitors learning from everything they see.
Abilities: The Creaty are fast and agile even for their size. They can reach a velocity to around 140 km/h on the ground. In the state of Aloris’ protection even more. Their bones are light but still stable so they can reach such speed and they can climb very easy.
Most kinds of Creaty cannot swim because of their long and thin statue having no control over the water. To that their feathers suck themselfs up with water and get heavy in water. What makes them a lot slower. They don't really sink but will start getting hysteric when they can't move properly in water. They actually don’t like it so they don't even learn how to swim and just avoid as much water as possible.
Tough there are still some sorts of Creaty that actually live near the water and learn how to swim. But the most don’t need to swim.
Their feathers are very important in generally. Mostly the ones on their head. The Creaty use them for taking signals better and for sending them. Their ears are not on the sides of their head. They form a little ring from the place where the human ears are over the head between front- and backhair. The ears are very sensitive and so are hidden under their feathers. They still hear normal when their backfeathers are closed. When they are open, the long feathers collect sounds and tones and conduct them to the ears. So they can hear distant sounds are sharpen their hearing by forming the backfeathers into a crown.
In that case they can send signals as well. The crown makes their sounds, cries and screams louder. Not when regulary speaking but when sending signals over larger disdances .They also help when attacking or with self protection. The Creaty them can form the feathers into the right position and let out a horrifying screetch. The screetch mostly keeps away the Arachy thanks to their hate of loud sounds.
Behavior and habitat: Those beings are similar to the human race in behavior. But they don’t eat meat very often and don’t farm animals for meat. Not because they don't know how, but because they know how bad it would be for the animals themself and for the environment. The want their land to be wild and aviod as much as possible to leave their villages or just homes in general. Knowing that the world beyond it is dangerous. If they eat meat they go hunting for it. In the most cases they go fishing. Every Creaty fisher has their own mathode of fishing. A lot of Creaty are true herbivores as well. They eat special fruits and farm them.
Usually they make their homes on single Solari trees or even in Solari forests. Solari trees are huge trees that can get thousands of meters tall and millions of years old. The Creaty build villages and almost cities in it by carving their houses into the wood. But others build nestlike houses between the leaves. The trees grow little fruit called Sola. The main nutrition of the Creaty. But it is possible to grow diffrent kinds of fruit on the trees as well by planting smaller other trees onto it. The little trees are no problem to the massive tree full of energy. The Creaty living on those trees doesn’t bother the trees’ health as well beacause there are actually not that much Creaty to overpopulate and there are plenty of other places for them to live too.
Gravity in Aloria is lower than on earth. This is the reason why giant creatures like dragons are able to fly and why the Creaty can jump and climb incredibly. That is also better for the huge trees. Through the low gravity there is more water in the air and the trees take that through their leafes. So they can live longer with the Creaty living in them.
They reproduce by laying eggs but only Creaty in true love can hatch them properly and have children. If there is no true and pure love between the partners or if they are not mated, their eggs won’t hatch. But this almost never happens. Creaty mate for live and will fall into enternal sadness if their partner dies or leaves them. They can also die from heartbreak. If they actually got a kid, both parents will rise it at the same time. A common sigh to notice a Creaty is hearbroken is that when they are sad, light starts fading from their eyes. But that chamges again when they are happy. But when a Creaty is Heartbroken, their eyes turn into a silky, dead grey and they then die.
A normal family has around one to two children. The young grow and learn fast. In school they learn how to stay on their own feet in the world outside and how to use their body in the right way. Language and logical thinking is a big point in school as well.
They also live together with the eleven guardian dragons. Next to other wild dragons those have more connection to the Creaty and are bound to protect them. The dragons are taimed for all the Creaty and can understand them because of their own past lives as Creaty.
Creaty don’t have a leader or a king. In times of arguing or problems they still listen to logic and the opinion they think is best. Even tough this often causes more arguing but here everyone is allowed to say their oppinion and the others have to listen and choose whos idea is best for the people. But if there is too much arguing or a really serious problem, the elders’ oppinion counts the most and all the Creaty have to listen to them.
The alorian Creaty avoid the dark as much as possible. And caves are the worst for them. They are the savers of light and hate darkness out of instinct. They are dayactive and sleep at night. But just being in the dark is not a reason to fall into Aloris’ protection. They are just fearing the dark and when they cant see. Night is not the problem because they can also pick their power so see out of the moonlight and can still see. But in really dark places like caves or dark roomes Creaty can get hysteric pretty fast and want to get to the real light again.
Aloris’ protection: This is a very rear phenomenon that mostly happens to already darkened Creaty or ones whos eyes got damaged. In this state the Creaty will get out of control and will flee or attack as long as the state is active. If they flee or fight depends on how the Creaty grew up, what kind of damage it was, how hard it was, who did it and how is the actual case of possibilities. If the Creaty got badly hurt by and non Alorian race or creature and has no way to go and save itself, it will fight until every enemy is dead. Is one enemy dead and still something that couls be dangerous is in reach, the Creaty will mindlessly kill until it feels save. If it actually is able to avoid fighting, it will run away as long as it feels unsave. But in the most cases they fight because of a chain reaction in life. If the Creaty was already badly hurt or got into contact with darkness of other dark magic or forces, they rate for them to fall into this state is a lot higher. But this does not just happen through accident or something like this. It comes when creatures really try to hurt or corrupt them. The god Aloris made this detail for protecting them from the Arachna or the Arachy. If they get in serious contact with the darkness Arachna uses, they will fall into it.
History: (i guess i have to tell it all in a nutshell lmao SPOILER BTW!!!) After Arachna destroyed their world, Aloris rescued eleven survivers of the dark calamity. He build them a new world and made more of them. The Creaty. After the new world with its new habitants was finished, Arachna wanted to destroy it as well. So aloris turned the eleven first Creaty into the guardian dragons. Never getting older, they task is to protect their Creaty fromm the dark forces of the Arachy.
(Thats it in a nutshell and it hurts my heart not to tell it really dramatically myself. But it will come in the story! YAY! Ok stay serious Tiri! This is your own Wiki!)
(And have a few artworks of Creaty from me! i know my drwing is not really good but i tried!)
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Tiri (Creaty) and Ara Ku the first (Arachy)
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My Creaty concept :P i tried
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My OCs eyes! Wellp... YAY
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Text
On Bruce And Texting:
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Author’s Note: Hello and welcome, this is my first properly written fic, originally posted to my AO3, and now that I have finally created a writing blog, it’s here as well. Please enjoy!!  AO3.  Masterlist
Warnings: Hopefully none, its all cute and fluff <3
Summary: Bruce Wayne texts like he's sending correspondences to the Queen, so of course the little monsters he calls children just have to make fun of him! Brats, the lot of them, but he wouldn't have them any other way.
Features: Bruce Wayne/Selina Kyle, all the bats and birds, mentions JL, no crime fighting, only family fluff, jokes and nods to Millennial and GenZ shenanigans.
Word Count: 2.7k
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Billionaire, genius, tech expert, father of many children, and all around up-to-date-with-just-about-everything type of person he may be, it is also a well-known Fact that Bruce Wayne, the Batman(TM) himself, can’t text to save his life.
Whether it’s due to his Very Proper English Upbringing, his inability to be informal via written correspondences of any type, his indifference, or the fact that it bothers his children so much, Bruce Wayne has not and never will text with anything less than perfect grammar, spelling, and formality. If he has not sent you a proper letter (featuring a dedication, indentation for every paragraph, signature, and post-script when applicable), he did, in fact, not send you that text. Informality is not his Batman Way(TM) according to his children... he’s not too sure what that even means, but it makes his young ones laugh so it’s probably fine?  
His oldest children (Richard and Jason) were raised in the time of Change, where computers, internet access, social media, and all things similar were only just being introduced into households en-masse. They were young enough to remember a time without such devices and connectivity (both for very different reasons, of course, but they grew up without the newest technology none-the-less). They could understand his relationship to the digital environment more so than his younger children, but they still tended to poke fun at his ‘texting blunders’ regularly. All his kids somehow ended up as brats. He doesn’t know how this happened. It’s certainly not his fault. He blames the League members, and especially Clark Kent, for their defiant personalities. 
His younger children, whom he loves dearly, like to confuse him as much as they possibly can with their slang, egregious spelling errors, and all-around ‘internet humour’. He doesn’t know what ‘wig’ or ‘worm’ or ‘oof’ or anything means. He has no idea what those dances are, or how they relate to the music that seems to always accompany them, and for the love of all that is good, don’t ask him what he thinks of this or that ‘meme’. What even is a ‘meme’, and should he be more concerned about his kids being obsessed with them? He tries, oh my god, does he try to follow the children’s conversations, but they somehow all learned a language he has no idea how to decrypt. His best response to them once they start speaking in tongues is as follows: smile but not too much, listen to child even though he is deeply confused, and pat child on head or shoulder when they are finished and are looking for assurance.  
He refuses to be a parent who ignores or tunes out his children, so he always makes sure to put down his work, his crossword, his tools, or whatever else is in his hands when a child searches him out for a conversation. But somehow, despite all the time he spends around them and their strange words, when he gets text from them comprised of abbreviations, acronyms, and completely random words, he goes a little cross eyed. He would never tell anyone, but he keeps a running list on his phone about the things they say that he has had to translate in the past. Spilling tea? Speaking the truth, usually to do with gossip. Wow? Multiple possible meanings: either a video game, or someone saying it (different pronunciation depending on context and who sent the text). Stickbug? A nice little prank with no ulterior motives, just for fun. Something along the lines of “this basic bitch Karen at the grocery store who is a dirty rat-licker and is def an anti-vaxxer just took 45 (forty-five) minutes to decide she didn’t actually want that almond milk. I Stan the cashier who had to put up with her. Rad af dude.” roughly translates to “A rude, middle-aged white woman who wasn’t wearing a mask and doesn’t believe in disease control or vaccinating her children wasted a great deal of an essential worker’s time in the checkout line. The cashier was very professional in their dealings with said customer and should be commended on their actions.”  
Given enough time, the internet for searching up new slang words, and occasionally some help from a friend (Alfred, Selina, Lucius, another of his children, etc), Bruce could decode and respond appropriately to most texts. He was quite proud of these achievements, and although he didn’t always like how often his children were on their phones or computers or gaming systems, he was quite proud of how integrated and easily they adapted to the ever-evolving world of electronics. All his kids were gifted in many ways, but their ability to learn, their hunger for knowledge, and their perseverance when exploring new and challenging ideas were always the things that he was most impressed by.  
He could do without their comments though. Yes, surprisingly, he did manage to get girlfriends with his type of texting. No, he doesn’t miss the ‘good old days’ when telegraphs were the main form of long-distance correspondence (how old do these brats think he is?!). And yes, he does know what a “tweet” is, and how to “post” on his social media accounts, and what “sliding into your DMs” is (thanks to a frantic search after a WE employee mentioned it near him). The Wayne children, truly whom and what Bruce considers his pride and joy, are cruel little jerks to him sometimes. His hoard of parenting books fails to mention what one should do when their children gang up on them. Bullying is covered of course, but he can’t really talk to a teacher or his guardian about how his second son calls him an idiot sandwich, or that his third son regularly tries to get him to do something “For The Vine”. His oldest and youngest boys are only slightly better in the bullying him department; Richard and his puppy dog eyes when he wants to do something dangerous or not-Alfred-approved, and Damian and his growing collection of pets because “Mother never let me have them, and I am deprived, and don’t you love me Father?”.  
His only good child is his beautiful daughter Cassandra, the flower of the Wayne clan. She gives him hugs, and pats his hands, and can sit with him and just enjoy the quiet and stillness when his other children are not around. Her language skills are improving by leaps and bounds every day, and her heart and spirit are unparalleled, but her main method of communication is in her movements. Her hands, her posture, her dancing; Bruce couldn’t think of a more graceful, fluid, powerful person if the world depended on it. His amazing little girl doesn't bully him (and if she ever does, he probably deserves it, he trusts her), so he turns to her most of all when it comes to communicating with someone else. She doesn’t let him send anything that is “sketchy” or “wrong words, bad meaning, Dad”. He would give the world to his children, but for Cassandra, he would destroy it and build her an entirely new one.
Social media, especially with his terrible children all having accounts dedicated to making him look like a simpleton, was another rocky terrain he had to navigate on the regular. He had professionals in place at WE to run the company’s many accounts, paid top dollar to help appeal and relate to the masses, but he mostly had to manage his personal accounts himself. And so, @TheRealBruceWayne was one of the greatest struggles in his adult life. Why can’t he just retweet every post from @WE_Offical and leave it at that? People should only want to know about what’s new with the company. What do you mean they want to know more about our family and private lives? That’s unnecessary, and not important to the running of the company, right? Right? Why are you laughing?!
Luckily, most people in his life aren’t so intimately aware of his struggles. He can act and lie all he wants about being “hip” and “woke” and whatever else the kids are saying these days when he’s with the JL or in board meeting intermissions, networking with his associates. The Batman knows all and sees all, Green Lantern, of course he understands how “Tiktok” works. The Batman is a robot without a funny bone in his body, Green Arrow, but I did witness him sigh and say “same” when he knocked his cup of coffee over while on monitor duty once. No matter how badly his darling children call him out, the Justice League would be so much worse. So, it’s one of his most importantly guarded secrets... even more so than his secret identity at this point. Being unmasked in front of every Gotham rogue would be less detrimental to him than his “friends” learning of his utter ineptitude in staying on top of the younger generations’ lingo.  
When questioned why the League doesn’t have a group chat or a forum or anything that they can use to contact each other outside of world ending matters and communicator (”because we’re friends, Batman! Ma and Pa Kent would love to have everyone over for a barbecue!”), the person who dared even mention texting isn’t even given a verbal response. They are just glared at, silently, often for several uninterrupted minutes, frozen in place only able to breathe shallowly in fear of setting off the Bat. “You know why” his glare says, “I’ll eat you, your family, and everything you have ever held dear” the younger members hear. No one makes the mistake of asking about it twice.  
Outside of his children and Alfred, and his small circle of true friends involved in all aspects of his life, there is only one more person Bruce allows to know of his Darkest Secret. Selina. Someone most people would recommend he not be involved with. Catwoman: accomplished thief, distraction, chaos-incarnate most nights, and his significant other. Sharp as a whip (ha) and crafty like no one’s business; he is head-over-heels. On again/Off again and all over the place their long romance has been, but no one has ever challenged him, intrigued him, like this clever, beautiful, amazing woman has. He’s brought his partners around his children before, both for their judgement, and for their worst behaviours to vet out any “unworthy” suitors. He trusts them explicitly to tell him the truth about those he allows into the manor; were they rude about Bruce wanting to have group outings, did they say something about Bruce’s money, did they get angry or shout or make anyone uncomfortable while they were here? If his children even looked slightly unhappy with someone he brought them to meet, that person would not be invited back. Children, he finds, have the best sight when meeting people; no motives other than finding safety and love, no fear of consequences from speaking honestly...  
Selina, or Catwoman, as they had known her first, was someone all of his kids liked without issue right off the bat. She would make puns and play word games with Richard, his first Robin, tiny, still working on his English, able to connect with him over their acrobatic abilities. His second Robin, Jason, skittish and feisty as an alley cat, knew of Catwoman and her daring escapades long before Bruce found him. The young boy had a few heroes, and no one (not even Wonder Woman) could compare to the incredible burglar who bought food and jackets and medicine for the street kids in Crime Alley. She was saintly in his eyes, and to this day, Bruce was still working on convincing Jason he was good enough for Selina. Tim and Cass and Stephanie (basically another daughter to Bruce, she spends so much time with the family) all joined the Wayne clan around the same time and officially met Selina as a friend and partner of his, and in the good graces of his first two sons. Selina, in all her nightly business, and many travels and acquaintances, had met the three independently, helping Tim get home safely back to Drake Manor when he escaped to photograph Batman and Robin in the dank darkness of Gotham when he was just a young boy, spending some time with Cassandra when her despicable father left her alone long enough to recover from his rough treatment, showing her the first scraps of kindness in her short life, and watching over and protecting Stephanie as she followed and sabotaged her father Cluemaster and his criminal activities. There was no need to win them over once they met her civilian identity, she had already gained their favour and acceptance, and they were happy to have her near their new family. Damian, his youngest, his biological son, took the longest to warm up to Selina. He would never fault his little boy for fighting so hard against a woman that was not his birth mother, especially after all the manipulation and cruelty dealt to him by Talia for the first decade of his life. But as he began to learn about his father, these people in his father’s life, and this woman that was Not His Mother but “still okay, I guess”, he grew to see her as acceptable. Her cats definitely helped, he’d say, no one with cats that loyal and happy can be a bad person.  
Selina, the love of his life, he’d admit quietly to himself, was also a dirty traitor and in cahoots with his terrible children. She would say his texting skills were “sweet” and “very gentlemanly” when she was asked by anyone outside the family, and privately to him she would say she thought they were “adorable” and “please don’t ever change, Bruce, I like it.” However, nothing seemed to bring her more joy than his children sending her texts and “Snaps” and “memes” about him to her. Sometimes it was screenshots of the family group chat that they forced him to join, where he would post “To whom it may concern...” and “In regards to...” when he needed to reach all his delinquents in a timely manner. Sometimes it was video clips of him staring at his phone intently, then typing something on his laptop, then him reading and nodding along, and then finally going back and responding to the text he received with a small, pleased smile. And sometimes, when he got too injured or was too incapacitated to text coherently, he’d have his nearest able child transcribe his text to her. Depending on who was texting her for Bruce, she could expect many different things. From Dick, she’d get lots of shorthand and silly emojis, and many, many, winky and crying/laughing faces in brackets depending on what Bruce had made him type. Jason, bless him, used proper English most of the time, but would never write a single word of Bruce’s soliloquy to her, instead she enjoyed the TL;DR version: “hurt again, missing you, come home soon, blah blah blah, sappy gross words here, love you”. Tim would allow speech recognition to run on Bruce’s phone, and just let it go until the man passed out. Stephanie, the little chaos child, would film it and send it to her, including all her muffled laughter and shaky camera shots of Bruce emoting with his available undamaged limbs. Cass, still more versed in physicality and emotive movement, would interpret Bruce’s text into mostly emojis, hearts and happy faces and animals, but would include photos, and phrases that she found important enough to type out for Selina. Damian, forever his Father’s son in any way possible, texts very formally, referring to her or his siblings Bruce mentions by last name only, and lots of “Father requests me to tell you...” and “Kyle, know that Father...”. She adores these kids, and once Bruce recovers enough to text her himself, or she gets back to the Manor, they get to laugh about whatever she was sent this time.  
So, while it’s true that Bruce couldn’t text his way out of a wet paper bag, and his kids are sometimes brats about it, there’s probably a lot of different reasons he doesn’t spend too much time trying to improve his skills. Whether it’s the smiles of his children, the giggles of his significant other, or the warm feeling in his chest when he sees all his important people bonding over him, well, in the end, who’s to say?
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voices-ringing-out · 3 years
Text
CHARACTER BIOGRAPHY: Eli the Devi
Trigger Warning for Christianity references/allegories
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“My friends are dead because of my teachings! The way of love - it wasn’t the way for Gabrielle. I was too proud to see that. What good is this gift if I can’t at least protect the ones I love? Why did you even give this to me? What am I supposed to do? You show me! What am I supposed to do?”
                                                           ~*~
Eli was born to Malachi and Sarita, but never had a chance to know his mother, who passed away shortly after he was born. It had been natural causes; she had fallen ill partway through her pregnancy with Eli, and held onto strength long enough to bring him into the world, to get to know him and help Malachi come to terms with what would be happening before she passed.
To his credit, Malachi tried his hardest to be a good father. He put aside any and all habits that might hinder his ability to provide the best life he could for his son; no more drinking, no more journeys that might prove risky. His world revolved around three things and three things only: his child, working to provide for them, and keeping his wife’s memory alive.
Still, growing up with only himself and his father - who was often scarce, trying to make sure they had money enough to survive - left Eli a very lonely young boy with a tendency to find distractions wherever he could. Usually that meant wandering the village, always getting on well with the other village children, but never connecting enough with them to become proper friends. 
He often found himself wanting to help others in need, becoming frustrated when he couldn’t due to his own poverty-stricken status and his small, thin frame. This frustration came to a head when he was thirteen: Malachi’s best friend, a man named Rakesh who suffered from chronic convulsions, was visiting one day when he fell into a particularly bad fit. Malachi left Eli there with him while he ran to find the village healer. 
While trying to comfort the man, Eli had reached out. When he touched the other’s forehead, he was gripped with a white hot surge, and when it passed, Rakesh had stopped convulsing. He was perfectly fine when Malachi and the doctor returned, and Rakesh never convulsed again. But no matter how hard he tried to replicate it, tried to explain it, Eli could never figure out just how he did what he did - or what exactly he had done in the first place.
After years of wishing he had the power to help, thinking he might have it, and then deciding it had all been a fluke and a coincidence because he couldn’t replicate it, Eli gave up on the dreams of helping others with some god-given power at the age of 16. His father was ailing and he needed to help earn money to survive; it wasn’t something he nor his father was proud of, but he had become adept at magic tricks and illusions, and began making a name for himself as a street magician who did shows for others’ amusement.
Even as an adult, this was the job he took. It didn’t pay well, sometimes, and he took to traveling from town to town to make ends meet, always sending money back to his father; it was the only way he knew how to help, as Malachi was aging and finding it harder and harder to work. 
It’s while traveling in India and putting on his performances that Eli meets Xena and Gabrielle - two women who eventually, through a remarkable chain of circumstances, come to help him realise that he does have powers - he is a Devi, a divine healer who has contact with God. He just hasn’t learnt how to use those powers to the full extent yet. Taken aback, Eli decides to take his leave for a while and mull everything over, trying to come to terms with a fact that he had thought was a dream this entire time.
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THE BASICS
full name: eli. in his canon verse, nobody really has surnames; in modern verses/ones where he does have a surname however, his entire name is elisha cyril theodorou - which makes it apparent why he prefers just to go by eli.
aka: eli, the devi
age: it varies verse to verse but in general his age is in the late twenties range!
gender & pronouns: gender doesn’t particularly matter to him, though at the same time he definitely connects to masculine energy - so he/him or they/them are both fine.
orientation: panromantic asexual! which basically means (for him, it varies from asexual to asexual) that he can fall in love with any gender, but doesn’t really have a sex drive. he just likes pleasing his partners in whatever form that takes, but if it does go sexual, he WILL be awkward as hell and people are just gonna have to deal with that.
species: human more or less, though it is up for debate (and differing in other verses)
occupation: street magician, healer
residence: verse-dependent; he travels a lot, and canonically they ran across him in india - i would imagine he often travels up and down from greece to india on a semi regular basis.
PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
hair: long and oftentimes braided or tied back with some sort of fabric or ribbons; thick and black.
eyes: an expressive, stormy blue-grey.
complexion: lightly tanned from his frequent travels in the outdoors.
build: he was very small and skinny as a child, oftentimes looking sickly, but grew to be quite tall in his later teen years - he’s leaner now, with more muscle on him, but still fairly thin.
scars: most scars he has from his travels; various accidents, such as the time he was bucked off a horse, or the time that he lost his footing climbing a ridge and tumbled down a sheer cliffside. a few scars he has from fights, but he generally prefers to flee rather than fight if given the choice - at first out of fear, but then out of a desire for peace.
tattoos: he has none, though has occasionally had others create temporary art on his body with henna. he enjoys how it looks.
piercings: a variety of ear piercings, with golden hoops being his favourite jewelry to place there.
etc: when he’s truly joyful, he smiles with his whole face - a grin with the teeth showing, dimples in his cheeks, eyebrows raised, eyes dancing. he feels emotions intensely -  whether they be grief or joy or fear - and no matter how hard he tries to hide them, his face is so often an open book, easil and expressing his feelings for all to see.
face claim(s): timothy omundson for most of his verse faceclaims, though i’m still looking for a childhood faceclaim!
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PERSONALITY
zodiac: pisces
alignment: somewhere between lawful and neutral good
hogwarts: hufflepuff
positive traits: compassionate, gentle, generous, perceptive
negative traits: anxious, can be a pushover sometimes, insecure, perfectionist.
MEDICAL RECORD
mental: he has anxiety, but other than that, not much else that could be diagnosed.
physical: N/A
phobias: atychiphobia (fear of failure), thanataphobia (fear of death/dying), thalassophobia (fear of deep water).
eyesight: excellent.
drug use: verse-dependent; in most verses, eli tends to stay away from drugs.
alcohol use: again, verse-dependent, but it isn’t frequent - he’s a social drinker, or will have perhaps a glass of wine occasionally.
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BACKGROUND
birth place: unknown
ethnicity: greek mostly, i think; mediterranean at any rate.
parents: malachi and sarita
siblings: none, but he considers anyone he grows close to as family, whether that be siblings, children, or otherwise.
pets: he travels too much to provide a home for pets, but has oftentimes helped feed and take care of stray animals - cats, dogs, or otherwise - that ended up following him on his journeys. he loves animals.
education: he didn’t receive a formal education, instead learning trades and skills as he grew from those around him. he was fortunate enough to get book-learning, something many people in his village didn’t receive growing up, thanks to his travels later on in his teen years.
notable skills: magic tricks and illusions he has mastered the art of, which proves to be his greatest skill - it is his main source of income before he turns to the nomadic life. he also has a love for wood carving, often making little figurines that he will sell for money on the side. other skills he has are just those expected of someone in his world - how to farm and hunt if needed to feed himself, how to take care of others as best he can, etc.
languages: this is tricky because of the way the xena: warrior princess canon is set up lol. let’s just say he knows english and depending on verse, can also speak some hebrew, greek, and hindu.
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changelingvixen · 3 years
Text
Coffee and sympathy. On lost friends.
It was her oldest, ex-friend’s birthday.
When she’d been a child, she had had a close friend, an Au Ra, called Eyrin. Eyrin was beautiful, but as children and even as teenagers, that didn’t seem to matter. She was jealous of the attention Eyrin received but her friend still cared for her. They shared ideas and made up stories together and read the same books, learned languages and history from both sets of parents like they were siblings. Eyrin was smart and quick, but so was she, so they understood each other. They laughed together and shared secrets. They were happy.
And then, Eyrin realised she could do better. Slowly but surely Eyrin’s new friends became her best friends and she, her old friend, was moved into the background, into the role of servant or supporter when Eyrin needed a boost, before she moved back to her new crowd. She was fine to bake a cake for Eyrin, but she wasn’t invited to the large party Eyrin would throw to share it. Eyrin’s beauty and laughter and stories were for her new friends now, and she used them as leverage for popularity. It came easily to her, and she wouldn’t have minded except for the way Eyrin treated her now, in spite of who, what, she had grown into. She knew she was an embarrassment to Eyrin now, she couldn’t play the game Eyrin played, the game of life. She just wished…
So one day, she simply left. She didn’t speak to her friend again. She didn’t go to her house or meet with her. And Eyrin didn’t chase her. And that was the end of it.
But she often thought of her ex-friend, of where she could be now. Of what she could have done differently to keep her friendship, or if she’d really deserved to be a second class citizen in her friend’s life. From time to time, she saw Eyrin’s name in newspapers under stories she’d written. Eyrin was published, she was famous, in her own way. The pictures that accompanied the stories were lovely. One of them had been about her own wedding.
She’d thrown the newspaper away.
She remembered her Eyrin’s laugh, her quick, shining eyes. The way she poured wine, its redness staining her lips as she giggled, the way when Eyrin had actually focussed on her, she could make her feel like the centre of the universe, like she was interesting and worthy and for a moment, beautiful, too. Eyrin’s pretty dresses, the way she’d grab her hands to make her dance. Their conversations on speculative history. What if there was another emperor in Garlemald, what if the Allagans had changed this or that? What if the elementals in the Shroud changed their desires for peace or war? Eyrin’s dreams, her sweet face. How it felt when that face had turned from her, dismissive, cool, uncaring, ignoring her. Oh, how she missed her. Every part of life seemed like she lost more than she ever gained. Being alone might be the right choice – the one that allowed her to admit some touch of self-respect - but it didn’t make it the easy one.
And so she sat, chin in her hands, staring out the window over a cold cup of coffee, watching the people come and go down the dusty streets of Ul’dah, until a voice interrupted her memories.
“Gil for your thoughts? If I had a spare gil, that is…”
She smiled wanly. “My thoughts aren’t worth a whole gil, don’t worry.”
Martyn sat beside her, perching on the chair next to her. He pointed at her blue mug of coffee. “If you ain’t going to drink it, I’ll stop makin’ them.”
She recoiled, pretended to be offended. “Don’t you even! It’s the only thing keeping me alive.” She was only half-joking. It was so strange how such a small thing became such an important, heart-warming part of her day. “You’re the only other person in the Celestium who can make good coffee, anyway. Royse puts too much milk in.”
“She does,” he agreed. “So what’s that face for? Want to talk?”
He looked genuinely compassionate. She tried not to read anything into that. He’s a nice person. That’s all.
“I was just thinking…about someone I used to know,” she said, paused, and blurted, “She’s not my friend any more. She changed. I don’t know. It’s her birthday today. That’s all.” She stared back into the mug.
He sighed. “Hey. I’m – I’m sorry. It never gets easier, right?”
“Nope,” she said, shrugging one shoulder. She folded her hands on the small table.
“Close friend?” he asked, and she nodded. His lips tightened. He placed his hands on the table, near hers, near enough to feel their warmth.
“I had a friend, like that, too,” he said, haltingly. She nodded, looking at his hands near hers. She knew about Whastrach, vaguely.
“You never get over how they change so much, right? What could have happened, were they always like that?” he grimaced. “What didn’t I see? We were workin’ together, Whas and me. I thought he cared about Blue Magic as much as me. About the Whalaqee.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “He made friends there an’ helped out with everything. And he was talented. Naturally talented. It wasn’t any work, for him. He picked spells up like…” he snapped his fingers. “Even when he got back to Eorzea, when our funding was cut. I didn’t expect him to give up everything an’ come back but…I didn’t expect him to sell out either.” He snorted. “I thought he cared – about somethin’ more than money. There’s plenty of things more important than money. But he didn’t see that, not any more, if he ever did…” he trailed off, something stubborn and hurt in his eyes.
She wondered if she could put her hand on his. If she could turn her palm over to press against his.
“I’m sorry…” she said, softly, instead. “You just keep wondering. It never stops. But…” she glanced at his face, then away, not able to make eye contact. “It wasn’t – I mean, it’s not you. I think…he missed out on a lot. Money isn’t…” she bit off ‘love’ as a follow up word. “…isn’t happiness.” She bit her lip.
He threw her a smile – a real one. “That’s what I said. I was angry, at first. We argued. How could he be such a…bloody idiot? The way he treated people, I hated it. And he didn’t get it.” His teeth grit. “He just…sneered at me. And I thought, I didn’t ever even know him at all, did I?”
She thought of Eyrin, her casual expectation that she should be bowed to, naturally, as the superior talent. It hadn’t even crossed her mind it would be any other way. That their friendship had been something childish and small, and now they were adults, she had learned how to play a new game, the game of success and power. And if she was honest, she was jealous of Eyrin, even though she didn’t exactly value those things. They were the way of the world, and she couldn’t do it. But below that, was the small stubborn part of her heart that said no. You have the right to be yourself. And she treated you cruelly. You know it to be true…she didn’t love you like you loved her.
“I don’t know…” she admitted quietly. “Is there some kind of…trigger? Something that changed their minds that we missed, or something inherent in them that just came out? Something they didn’t mention, didn’t even know themselves, about themselves? But…” her voice grew fiercer. “You did what you did because you cared, and that’s far more important. You did the right thing, by the right people. It isn’t you. Heck. It isn’t even me, although…I get it. I do. I understand her.”
He shook his head. “Hey…no. If it’s not me, it’s not you either.”
She rolled her eyes. “Different circumstances…”
“It ain’t,” he said, tapping his fingertips on the table. “Not really. You thought you knew someone, and they weren’t who you thought they were, and you lost ‘em and you miss ‘em.”
“But,” she interrupted, and he waved his finger at her.
“You trusted her, this friend. If I wasn’t wrong to do that, why were you?”
She paused, unable to think of a sensible answer, and he grinned at her.
“I’m not saying…it doesn’t hurt, ‘coz I know it does. But it didn’t stop me doing what I loved. I won’t let him take that from me. He’s the one who lost out, too…” he sighed, just a little, wistful. “Don’t say. I wish it had been different. But it ain’t.”
“Yes…” she said, very softly. “I feel the same.” 
There was a short, awkward pause, then he said, quickly, “Let’s go out. Get some food…somewhere in the city. Somewhere else. Something you haven’t cooked for once. Come on – my treat.” He smiled, almost shakily, to her eyes, and after another moment, held out his hand to her.
She stared at it. Her heart contracted, a dismal, scared feeling rising in her throat. Why? Do you mean it, are you serious? Why are you asking me? Pity? Empathy? Kindness? I want it to be more. I can’t…I don’t think I can face it. Your kindness. Not when I… “Uh. Thank you but…I. That’s not – I - I’m not really hungry. Maybe one of the others is free?”
His smile faded. “Sure,” he said, easily enough, and pulled his hand back, curving his lips into his familiar smile again, before he stood and left her, with a little wave.
She stared at his retreating back with a sinking heart. It was the right thing to do. But this time it didn’t feel so sure that it was.
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millenniumfae · 5 years
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Mass Effect: Andromeda Companion Headcanons
Liam Kosta
He’s canonically a big fan of 20/21st century culture (aka, OUR culture). That’s not being retro, that’s the equivalent of being a Victorian era buff. Very geeky, but he’s not alone - he’s attended ‘21st century’ conventions, subscribed to youtubers who specialize in exploring the 20th century, been to reenactments, and has more than a few period dramas in his vid collection.
His favorite 20/21st century things? Old cars, weird recipes, and the movie Train To Busan.
And if there’s still anime in the year 2185, he’s a huge fan of that too. Doesn’t stick with a particular drama, he loves many of the more popular ones. Doodles characters in an anime style, and he’s not particularly good - but he wants to be better.
He was perfect for the role of being a crisis response specialist. His teammates thought he was great at calming the injured down, ensuring positivity in stressful situations, and producing results. Literally employee of the year.
And that’s one of the reasons why he fucks up a bit when in Andromeda - its not a high crisis situation like a hostage holdup or a terrorist bombing, its a slow but terrifying pressure on them all. Not what he’s used to, or what he thrives under. Take him on Vetra’s loyalty mission, you see a glimpse of the crisis expert he used to be.
He’s actually not that great in communicating with aliens. It takes a special skill to understand radically different cultures, and Liam spent most of his years surrounded by other humans. Hence his weird way of doing it with Jaal, and accidentally pushing Turian/Krogan buttons
Cora Harper
During the game’s duration, there’s only flat coffee available, but the minute someone’s offers blended venti-sized caramel macchiatos, Cora is first in line.
She’s medicated for depression, and it definitely helps her. Back during her training on Thessia, she had a lot of emotional problems stemming from her life as an especially powerful biotic. She found one pill that works, and sticks with that.
I don’t like how the Mass Effect franchise handles the Asari, so I’m changing it; Cora never had a relationship with an Asari, but its not because she’s straight - Asari aren’t at default women. Some are, but most don’t have genders. Just because they ‘look like women’ doesn’t mean Cora, a straight woman, wouldn’t be attracted to one. It’s just a coincidence. 
I mean, it’s 2185, humans have had contact with several alien cultures for decades. The vast majority of people understand gender and sexuality in a much less limited way than we do nowadays.
Used to have a pretty popular Instagram, or at least the Mass Effect universe equivalent of one. Sometimes, it’s pictures of her hair and makeup, sometimes it’s her working out, sometimes its scenery and landmarks. On occasion, it’s her at a crazy bar and about to down some weird novelty cocktail.
Pelessaria "Peebee" B’Sayle
Her age is the human equivalent of being 24, since she’s near Liara’s age and Liara was apparently barely an adult. She’s got a doctorate, and several masters. Not human ones, but not Asari ones, either. Asari doctorates probably take 100 years, masters half that long. Peebee’s studied all across the galaxy, because her dislike of staying in one place has always been her hangup. 
She’s telling the truth when she tells Drack that her father was an Elcor. Drack does that to people - brings the truth out of them. Peebee doesn’t admit it, but she felt like Drack didn’t deserve some bullshit lie. 
And her Elcor father didn’t raise her, because her mother was one of those Asari who didn’t want a partner but wanted offspring. That’s rare amongst humans, but common with Asari. Her mother said to her father, ‘I want a child, not a husband.’
And her mother died 70 years before Peebee would jump onto the Andromeda Initiative from age-related complications. Her older sister, on the other hand, was left behind. But since she was already much older than Peebee, she’s probably dead and gone too. Peebee left her only remaining family with more than one tears shed, but they were never particularly close. 
Kalinda knew how young Peebee was, and that’s why she decided to use her. She was Peebee’s first actual relationship, started right after Peebee left her sister for dead and about to leave home forever. Kalinda knew what she was doing.
Nakmor Drack
Drack’s understanding and gentle nature isn’t atypical of the Krogan. In the original trilogy, we could usually only talk to Krogan during battle situations, unlike Ryder’s chances to be diplomatic. Sure, the Nakmor clan is particularly civil since they’re the ones to join the Initiative in becoming immigrants to another galaxy, but there’s more than one gruff yet charismatic grandpa out there.
It’s canon that he likes cooking, and yes, he’s good at it. He specializes in roast meats, which is not easy, but he also bakes pastries, delicious soups and stews, grain dishes and other noms. Some of those recipes are very old Krogan ones, but many are from other cultures and other aliens. He got them from cookbooks, which he reads in his spare time.
Such as Hanar shellfish cocktails, Asari butter biscuits, Drell cheese dips, human sauced pasta, Turian marinated chops, Elcor flatbread, etc. Except Salarian cuisine. He doesn’t want to ‘benefit’ from them anymore than the Krogan had to. But Salarian pillbug skewers are pretty tasty.
And like many grandpas, he’s kinda slow to adapt to new technology. ‘New’ to him meant Omni-tools at one point, universal translators at another, and etc. As the centuries go by, Drack’s gotta get used to some other new smartphone-equivalent technology. He’s not the best at it, but long ago he learned not to be stubborn and make an effort.
Vetra Nyx
Garrus in the original trilogy made a big deal out of being an atypical Turian, but Vetra and her sister even more so. That’s because Garrus grew up in Palavan to a very traditional family, while Vetra and Sid spent their lives bouncing from place to place. As she said, they’re probably not part of Turian society anymore. No rank, no caste. If Vetra ever wanted to rejoin the Turian census, she’d have a lot of trouble. That is, if she did it completely by the book.
So Vetra is so much more flexible and casual compared to the Turians of the original trilogy. You see it in her jokes, her body language, but also when she gets mad; Turian culture has people like Kandros reign in their volume and temper when they get frustrated, but Vetra will snap back.
Humans wouldn’t know this, but Vetra’s actually not much of a looker in Turian culture. Her mandibles are thin, her eyes too large, and her waist too short. She wears the Turian equivalent of makeup, but its not much. She looks like what we’d think of a librarian nerd would be. But that matters little to her; Vetra’s charismatic and highly intelligent, winning crowds (and sometimes hearts) all across the board.
And speaking of librarian nerds, Vetra’s visor is for her poor vision, too. She’d been wearing corrective vision technology since she was a kid, and it’s inherited from her mother. Sid, meanwhile, lucked out on the vision compartment, never needing a visor. 
The age gap between Sid and Vetra is around 14 years, and they have different mothers. 
And Vetra isn’t a horrible cook (Sid is grateful), she just doesn’t know how to make human steak. Turian meat needs to be cooked much longer than Earth cow, so she overshot it and doesn’t realize why. If Ryder chooses to romance her, Vetra actually makes an effort to learn about human cooking and does much better at it.
Jaal Ama Darav
Jaal’s poetic vocabulary is typical of those native to Havarl, which is where he (and his accent) are from. And he intentionally harbors it, too, because his family is famous and rooted in Angaran royalty. As an insecure famous soldier figure, he unconsciously makes an effort to appear as affluent as he can be.
We only see two models of a Rofjinn amongst the Angara; Jaal’s, and the smaller ones like Efra has. But there’s many styles of Rofjinn out there, Jaal’s actually being more ornate, with a patterned fabric that has a sheen. It was gifted by his mother, who makes them as per tradition to children that she believes are destined to live a troubled or eventful life. The Rofjinn is a reminder than they have their mother’s love and protection.
And Jaal’s Rofjinn is especially ornate particularly because Jaal’s actually quite camp. Not because of his love for lotions and perfumes, that’s typical amongst his people. We don’t get to see it, but Jaal loves fashion, aesthetics, and accessories that border on tacky. He rarely gets an opportunity to explore it as a soldier, but in his spare time, his crafts are wildly dotted with gold and pink acrylic flowers, holochrome pearls, and shining with glitter. And when his mother made his Rofjinn, she decided to make it a bit more Extra just for him. He was thrilled.
Jaal’s huge compared to us, and indeed he’s stocky amongst the Angara. But his attractiveness isn’t because of that, it’s because of his particularly theatrical and poetic nature. Angara are naturally expressive, but some are expressive in a gruff way, others in a dramatic way. Jaal is one of those Angara that embrace the world like a Broadway stage. 
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redladydeath · 4 years
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Anxiety is asleep, post Lust arc headcanons
Nylpho was the daughter of the leader of a decently sized “tribe” native to Asmodean. Her marriage to Ilotte was part of an effort to create closer ties between ethnic Asmodeans and the Beelzenian nobility.
At the time of their marriage, Nylpho was 18 and Ilotte was 29. Ilotte had chosen to put off marriage until he he became duke.
Nylpho was an incredibly sweet, affectionate person who also happened to be a bit flighty and overemotional. Ilotte was a textbook psychopath, with an external charm but inability to form meaningful relationships with people on an emotional level. Nylpho, due to her personality and eagerness to be a good wife, was the one exception in his life and, as a result, he put her up on a pedestal in his mind as the perfect woman.
Sati’s mom, Avelina, was a friend of Nylpho’s. She was prompted by her father and brother to become close with the Venomania’s as part of their plan to establish themselves among the Asmodean nobility, but her affection for Nylpho was genuine. Ilotte proposing to her relatively soon after Nylpho’s death was quite a shock, but she graciously accepted and enjoyed her time as duchess.
Witnis was married to Annlee and the couple had twins. Life was good for a few months until Irina passed through their village. She set a house on fire for fun and the fire soon spread to encompass the town. Witnis and Annlee got out, but the children were left inside. Annlee sent Witnis back in for them, but he hesitated at a crucial moment and part of the burning roof caved in on him, knocking him unconscious. The twins died in the fire and Annlee couldn’t forgive Witnis for failing to save her children, resulting in them eventually separating.
Ilotte hired Witnis as a guard on a whim while Nylpho was heavily pregnant. He was in a good mood and needed more security as Nylpho got closer to giving birth.
Nylpho went mad with guilt after Cherubim was born and was in somewhat of a daze leading up to her suicide. She visited the nursery to say goodbye and had a brief interaction with Witnis, who had been stationed to guard the room. Nylpho started to break down while she was talking to Cherubim, and Witnis, deciding to try and comfort her, ended up making what at the time seemed like a redundant promise to protect her son for her.
Ilotte flew into a rage after Nylpho’s body was returned to the mansion and it was determined there was nothing to be done. He tore off to the nursery and nearly stabbed Cherubim before he was blocked by Witnis, who, not wanting to watch another baby die, managed to convince him that Nylpho wouldn’t have wanted him to murder their child. The basement was Ilotte’s compromise; punish/utterly remove the child from his life while still not technically killing it (even if he half expected Cherubim to die from exposure regardless).
As a toddler, Cherubim had all the hallmarks of a feral child, and it was only because Witnis realized this and decided to disobey Ilotte’s orders to simply stand guard and not pay him any mind that this outcome was avoided. Cherubim was still delayed and stunted when it came to speech/emotional/etc. development, but he did at least grow to be somewhat functional.
Cherubim hated most things about himself, but as a teenager/young adult he became particularly insecure about his stunted physical development. He was very small and skinny and a result of chronic malnutrition and most people, assuming he was much younger than he actually was, treated him as if he were a child. This resentment was aggravated by the fact that Cherubim did not fully understand concepts like masculinity and sexuality and therefore couldn’t articulate, even to himself, why he felt so insecure about such things to begin with.
It cannot be overstated how dramatically Cherubim’s upbringing affected his personal development. He only had a rudimentary understanding of many basic concepts and never reached a level of emotional maturity higher than that of a child. Even as Duke Venomania, many people were shocked by how little he understood many things, although by that point he had reached a level of confidence where people could write off his ignorance as a personality quirk rather than assuming he was “affected” as had frequently happened in his previous life.
Cherubim was incredibly clingy, both physically and emotionally; a trait that persisted even after the contract. While he was unaccustomed to positive physical contact, he desperately craved it. In the sin swap AU, when given license by Gumina, he basically never let stopped touching her and Sati, always wanting to be close to them and panicking when they had to separate, much to Sati’s discomfort. (basically, if he wasn’t afraid you were going to hit him, personal space didn’t exist for Cherubim)
The Venomania boys were basically the only people Gumina felt safe to let her walls down around. To everyone else she was cold and haughty, but with the brothers she was bright and fun loving. Sati’s betrayal and the eventual realization that Cherubim was Duke Venomania caused her to retreat progressively further into herself until she eventually reached a breaking point.
Although he never fully acknowledged it, Sati was rather traumatized by finding out about Cherubim’s existence. Up until that point he had thought of his father as this perfect, rational force in his life, and discovering that he had the capacity to treat one of his own children so horrifically shook him to his core. From that point onward, there was always a small, private fear in his mind that, if he crossed his father one to many times, he would punish him in just as terrible a way as he punished Cherubim. Of course, this never came to pass, but it did inform Sati’s lack of conviction when it came to helping Cherubim in any substantial way after getting him released from the basement.
Cherubim and Sateriasis did not look as though they were siblings, although if you took the time to look closely, you could notice some striking similarities. Cherubim was small and starved-looking, while Sateriasis was tall and athletically built; Cherubim inherited his mother’s curly hair, which he wore short, while Sati’s was long and pin-straight; Sati’s skin was a few shades lighter than Cheri’s, and Cheri had his mother’s abnormal luminous green eyes while Sati’s were a normal, handsome shade of brown (purple and blue in the main verse). However, they both inherited the same hooked nose and front tooth gap from their father, although Sati eventually got his gap fixed on a visit to Beelzenia (this was rather heartbreaking for Cherubim since it was one of the few traits they actually had in common).
Cherubim would not have been nearly as unnerving upon first glance were it not for the physical abuse he endured. The chronic malnutrition left him bony and hollow-looking; as a child, he had sustained an infection in his eye that left it milky white and blind; the facial deformity was not merely cosmetic and actually grew/worsened, resulting in the surrounding skin becoming purple-ish and veiny; and the various physical injuries he sustained from the other servants, local bullies, etc. left him constantly cut and bruised, with some wounds turning into lasting, jagged scars.
Gumina’s mother died when she was very young. On this level, she could somewhat relate to Cherubim, both having never known their mothers.
Cherubim was very taken with the flowers in the mansion’s garden, although he didn’t often get a chance to work with them.
AU where Cherubim never acquires language. Witnis, Sateriasis, and Gumina construct an informal sign language system with him, but hardly any of the other servants care to learn it. As the majority of them are also illiterate, Cherubim feels even more trapped as he literally cannot get anyone to pay any mind to what he has to say. During the big breakdown day, Sateriasis and Gumina both refused to pay attention to what he was trying to sign at them, and, after the stab, the reason Venomania couldn’t call out to Gumina is that he has once again lost the ability to communicate verbally.
Although he never told him, Witnis really did love Cherubim as a son and was constantly eaten at by guilt both before and after their separation in regards to him not doing more to take care of Cherubim or not being brave enough to take him and flee the mansion.
Ilotte was the first person to die in the Venomania massacre. After the engagement party concluded, Ilotte, having seen Cherubim and Gumina’s confrontation, went off to find Cherubim, who had run off after Gumina’s rejection and hadn’t been seen since. He found him curled up in the corner of a corridor and proceeded to tell him how disgusted he was by his audacity to speak to Gumina in public and his ungratefulness to both he and Sateriasis for their generosity to him, even indicating that he was going to lock him back in the basement as punishment. At that moment, Cherubim pulled a knife that he had taken from the kitchens earlier that day and, in a fit of rage, grief, and desperation, stabbed his father directly in the heart. Cherubim was in such a dissociative state afterwards that the killing might have stopped there had another servant not come in to investigate the noise.
Sateriasis was the last person to die in the massacre. He slept through the majority of it before being awoken by a scream and discovering that dozens of servants had been murdered. He shrieked and ran for help before running into Cherubim, who he did not immediately recognize as the murderer. However, that realization came fast and soon a chase began. Sateriasis made it all the way to the foyer before Cherubim, incensed by the idea of Sateriasis of all people getting away, lunged at him, tackling him down the staircase. On the way down, Sati cracked his head against one of the stairs and died only a few moments after reaching the bottom. Cherubim, seeing his brother rapidly slipping away, seized his knife and stabbed him, although he was just too late. Livid that the opportunity to exact revenge on Sateriasis had been taken from him, Cherubim began stabbing and mutilating the body in an absolute frenzy before gradually coming to his senses, realizing just what exactly he had done.
Avelina was very conflicted in regards to what should be done about Cherubim when she discovered he existed. Thanks to Sati’s insistence that he was, in fact, his brother, coupled with the distinctive green eyes Cherubim had inherited for Nylpho, Avelina very quickly put together that he was Nylpho’s lost son. She was absolutely horrified and demanded that Ilotte free him from his confinement. However, after Sateriasis and Cherubim were sent out of the room, Ilotte managed to convince her that, if Cherubim’s true identity was discovered, it would endanger Sateriasis’ claim to the dukedom and therefore he could not be allowed to go free. Avelina still could not allow Nylpho’s son to be sent back to the dungeons though, so the two of them eventually came to the agreement that Cherubim would work in the mansion as a servant. Sati was incensed by this plan as the whole reason he had revealed his knowledge about Cherubim was in hopes of getting him recognized as his brother, but Ilotte would not relent on the matter, and Cherubim, not fully comprehending the difference between the two options, did not try to fight it. Avelina always endeavored to treat Cherubim with kindness/understanding, but could never quite get past just how unnerving his mere existence was to her.
Cheri had an ingrained habit of staying quiet/silent even when in extreme pain/distress. There was such an emphasis put on staying quiet during his childhood that, even long after he was released from the basement, he would reflectively cover his mouth or bite his tongue when when he was unable to keep from crying out.
Cherubim’s name was derived from an Asmodean fairytale about a vain man who is transformed into a hideous monster by the gods as punishment for his hubris.
Gumina is “finish half a game of chess in one move” smart. Sati knows all the mechanics of chess and is good enough at it, but gets so caught up in the little details that he fails to notice the danger signs. Cherubim doesn’t know what chess is.
Asmodean/Lasaland was either just not being governed in EC 136 or Gumina was running things out of the basement, because Venomania didn’t have a clue or care in the world about how running a duchy actually worked.
Sateriasis is named after a great-grandfather of his from his mother’s side of the family.
The Venomania mansion housed about 50 people pre-massacre.
Sati is tol. Cherubim and Gumina are smol.
*concept* Cherubim: I want a father who‘s proud of me and a mother who looks after me Gilles and Irina: lol gross but okay i guess
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chicagocityofclans · 3 years
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Helo Adama → Dylan O'Brien → Rat Animal Shifter
→ Basic Information 
Age: 28
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Straight 
Born or Made: Born 
Birthday: August 1st
Zodiac Sign: Leo
Religion: Deism 
→ His Personality Helo personality is most accurately described as intelligent, hyperactive, and curious. He is a notorious bookworm who excels at piecing together clues and figuring out mysteries. Helo enjoys puzzles and acts as the main IT guy for the pack in order to gain information and evidence regarding the threats that they face. For this reason, his intelligence is his greatest strength within the pack and has either given them an advantage or has outright saved them in multiple situations. He is slow to trust people, but once he warms up to them and the person gains his trust, he becomes very close to them and will do whatever he has to do in order to protect them and ensure their safety. Because of his hyperactiveness, Helo can often become so overwhelmed by trauma that he both physically and verbally lashes out at those around him. Despite his increasingly violent reactions to bad news, he is a very loyal person who would do anything to protect his loved ones, even if it means giving up his life to do so. 
→ His Personal Facts
Occupation: Full Time Head of CTRL
Scars: None
Tattoos: Matching Tetris Pieces with Hanna 
Two Likes: Technology and Amazon
Two Dislikes: Best Buy and LEGO
Two Fears: Blackouts and Losing Hard Drive Data
Two Hobbies: Videos Games and Role-Playing 
Three Positive Traits: Outspoken, Sarcastic, Clever
Three Negative Traits: Long-Winded, Awkward, Arrogant
→ His Connections
Parent Names:
Graeme Adama (Father): Graeme is Helo’s number one fan and motivator. Graeme has always had an active role in Helo’s life, whether it was reading him Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings before bed as a child or helping him build foundations for CTRL as an adult. Graeme has taken time off from RED and joined Helo on CTRL after the Underground attack. Nick has been pushing for Graeme's return and Helo has been pushing to find a way to help RED win some leeway Underground. He wants his father to return with some type of advantage. 
My Bellarose Adama (Mother): My Bellarose seems like a character from a book that Helo’s has not read yet. Everything about his mother is perfect enough to be unreal or made up by an exquisite writer. She can do no wrong in his eyes. She is currently teamed with BOND and SKIN. Helo has no idea how she jungles Graeme, work and their family but somehow it all gets done and more. Helo is happy she has taken a liking to Hanna, just like the rest of their family. 
Sibling Names:
Radak Adama (Brother): Radak is Helo’s older brother. They are complete opposites of each other but surprisingly get already well. Radak has never been into technology or science fiction/fantasy. Radak joined BOND in order to travel and get away from Chicago, he always wanted to see the world and learn about different cultures and languages. When Radak is home he usually works on SKIN. 
Vala Azalea Adama (Sister): Vala is Helo’s older sister. She is one of the RED survivors and has recently celebrated her 30th birthday. She had a mental breakdown recently, feeling unaccomplished and with a shit ton of survivor's guilt. Helo feels absolutely helpless. He has taken to constantly checking on her and is trying to include her in wedding plans to brighten her up. Helo is considering hooking her up with Louis or Achilles to get her spirits up. 
Tahmoh Adama (Brother): Tahmoh is Helo’s little brother. Tahmoh is a 23 year old nerd that has recently joined the ranks of GOLD. Helo is proud of him, knowing he worked hard for the position while attending community college full-time. While Helo had gotten his degree online, Tahmoh rebelled and went to one of the local colleges. Helo was surprised that Nick allowed Tahmoh to attend college. However, it was not until after Tahmoh graduation that Tahmoh was able to tell their family that he was only allowed to attend if he kept an eye out for the Jackals and other shifters who attended college there too. 
Children Names:
None
Romantic Connections:
Hanna Moore (Mate and Fiancee): Hanna and Helo have been dating for 5 years. They met on an online dating app. The first time they met in public, Helo brought Louis with him, thinking it was a scam. Helo and Hanna clicked in person just like they did over the phone; adding Louis as their third party too. 6 months into their relationship, Helo asked Hanna to move and join his pack. A long distance relationship wasn’t hard, but Helo wanted her close and running CTRL, which was still new at the time, was becoming too much to leave for a weekend getaway. Helo does not reject the decision at all and does not think that they are moving too fast. He knows whether he is living until 90 or 400 years old, he wants to share his life with Hanna. Which is why he proposed and they are planning to start a life despite people thinking they will not last or will regret it. In the history of Adama’s there has never been a divorce and there are currently 30 living generations. While Helo does not want to add kids to their equation yet, he does see them there in the far future.
Platonic Connections:
Louis Martin-Rovet (Best Friend): Helo cannot remember when Louis and he became best friends or when they actually met. Every time a question about how they met comes up they both spin an outrageous elaborate story, coming up with it and crazy details as they go along. Despite their obvious age difference, Louis being older than Helo’s parents and maternal grandparents, the two of them might as well be brothers. 
Theo ‘Hibachi’ Easton (Friend): Helo and Hibachi could easily be described as being your typical nerd buddies. Helo was there to help Theo when he needed his Tumblr page set up, and Theo was one of the very small numbers that knew about Helo dating Hannah first. Their friendship is an easy one, where both are simply comfortable being themselves around the other.
Achilles Idris (Friend): Helo really likes Achilles and enjoys having him around. It is hard to believe that Achilles is Jax's older brother. However, this adds to Helo theory that Nick and Jo raising Jax had a large effect on the person he grew up to be. Achilles is currently a part of GOLD and BOND, thus Helo has been seeing a lot of him. It is nice having someone else closer to his age in his inner circle too. 
Ray Hamelin (Associate): When Helo first developed CTRL, he had to implement it into NERVOUS and BOND before CTRL could become official. Helo and Ray formed a professional relationship during that time. Helo has nothing but respect for Ray and the job he does for their pack as a whole.
Jim Montgomery (Unsure): Jim has been coming around more and more often. Helo is unsure as to why but also does not want to find out why either. Helo has been running micro surveillance cameras in and out of the police department for SKIN and is currently working on a credit card system for them. Helo is hoping to match their spending habits to different names the human shifters may have, which could possibly bring a large amount of unknown shifted forms to light.
Ryan Cleirigh (Possible Contact/New Friend): Ryan has an amazing podcast that Helo listens to on his down time or whenever he needs something playing softly in the background and music isn’t cutting it. Helo has joined Ryan a few times for shows as a guest and accompanies Ray whenever he goes too.
Hostile Connections:
Jaxson Idris (Annoyance): Helo and Jax never got along and always clashed with one another. Helo does not know what it is about Jax but the air around Jax always ruffles his feathers and sends him up a wall. Helo has tried in the past to bury the hatchet but it has always come to bite him in the ass. Jax will never receive mercy from Helo or his personal CTRL care; which Helo usually gives to his team members.
Pets:
None
→ History Helo was raised by loving parents and has always had a close relationship with the entire family; including siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents. Helo grew up around the supernatural but did not grow up as a typical rat. Helo’s family, the Adama's, have always refused to sleep with tens of thousands of other rats. They enjoy the finer things and as a result, Helo grew up within a separate house which is unlike many of the local rats. While he did not follow in his families by joining GOLD, SKIN or RED, Helo did start his own team called CTRL when he was old enough. That won the approval of both his family and extended family. CTRL is in control of surveillance, tech support, data processing, basic hacking and virtual mapping. They are also in charge of accounting for SUGAR, research and development for BOND, and simple tracking for other teams. → The Present Helo’s love for technology is how he stumbled on an online dating app for supernaturals and how he met Hanna. Hanna was in Fort Wayne, Indiana when they were matched, but the two commuted alternating weekends to make it work. Hanna eventually moved up to Chicago to be with Helo and join his pack. Hanna moved to Chicago only 6 months after meeting face to face for the first time. They celebrated their 5 years anniversary where Helo had proposed to Hanna. They are slowly planning their wedding much to everyone's cringe. A lot of people disapprove but Helo has always known what he wanted, and it has yet to come to bite him in the ass. Helo’s immediate family and his best friend, Louis seem to be the only ones that are in support of how quickly their relationship is moving.
Helo’s to-do-list has been overflowing for CTRL. He is slowly but surely knocking them all out by working overtime and pulling all nighters. Helo is working on big projects for BOND, GOLD, SKIN, RED and CAMO that has taken priority over other projects that he has been handing off to his team members. CTRL is currently without a second which Helo isn’t actively looking for but is willing to consider after missing an important wedding venue appointment.
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emiliabeauchamp · 4 years
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♕ Q U E E N  E M I L I A ♕
G E O M E T R I C S
↬ Full name ↫
Queen Emilia Natalia Catherine Romanov-Beauchamp
↬ Nickname ↫
Em
↬ Birthday ↫
August 6th
↬ Birthplace ↫
Kingdom of Elya 
↬ Zodiac ↫
Leo
↬ Height ↫
5′4
↬ Orientation ↫
Heterosexual
↬ Social Class ↫
Upper class
↬ Wealth ↫
Being a princess, she was always somewhat wealthy but Miria is actually more prosperous than Elya is
A P P E A R A N C E
↬ Tattoos ↫
N/A
↬ Piercing ↫
Just her ears
↬ Outfits ↫
Emilia dresses for her role as princess and queen but always tries to be a little trendy. She loves to follow fashion and look her best. She’s very Princess Diana and Victoria Beckham.
P E R S O N A L I T Y
↬ Normal mood ↫
She’s typically pleasant but has a hint of sass. Em doesn’t hold back but her years of being a princess has her keeping to her best behavior unless absolutely necessary in social settings.
↬ Temper ↫
Emilia is feisty but also diplomatic. She keeps her composure but is stern and isn’t going to back down if she steps up.
↬ Discipline ↫
She is incredibly patient and disciplined because of her upbringing.
↬ Strengths ↫
Emilia has been mentally strong for a long time due to being a princess who rebelled against her family. It wasn’t wildly known to the public but it caused a lot of tension with her parents up until she was shipped off to Miria.
↬ Weaknesses ↫
Her weakness is actually appearing weak. She doesn’t want anyone to think she isn’t strong or can’t hold her own.
↬ Drive/dreams ↫
She’s never had to think much about dreams because she was always set to be married off to be a ruler of sorts but she’s very driven at whatever she has to do. Now being with Rhys and them finding real love with each other, she really wants to be a mom and have a family.
↬ Fears ↫
Em hates spiders but she’s also afraid of losing Rhys and their life.
↬ Likes ↫
Music, art, gardens, horses, travel, jewelry. She’s a typical aristocrat.
↬ Dislikes ↫
Mess, scary movies, lip gloss, cheap champagne.
↬ Soft spot ↫
Rhys, animals, kids
↬ Depression ↫
Emilia’s abortion and then immediate move to Miria within the next year really took a toll on her. She had too much alone time with her thoughts and it took a long time for her to feel happy again.
↬ Inspiration ↫
It’s a toss up because partially it is her mother, she’s always respected her as a queen but she also is inspired by Rhys and how much he cares for the kingdom. It makes her want to be a better leader.
↬ Role model ↫
Her mom despite any strains in their relationship, she’s always looked up to her.
↬ Mental disorder ↫
N/A
↬ Habits ↫
She has a habit of drinking a cup of tea before bed.
↬ Love Language ↫
Physical Touch
R A T I N G S
(5 Stars means very high strength, 1 star means very low strength aka weak)
↬ Psychological strength ↫
⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑ - She’s strong and always holds her own
↬ Physical strength ↫
⭑⭑ - She’s athletic enough but I wouldn’t say she’s strong.
↬ Leadership ↫
⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑ - Emilia is a naturally leader despite being the youngest in her family. She also knows when to step back and let others lead.
↬ Wisdom ↫
⭑⭑⭑ - She’s wise but I would say averagely.
↬ Intelligence ↫
⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑ - Em had the best schooling growing up as a princess and she never minded school.
↬ Confidence ↫
⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑ - She’s always been fairly confident since nothing has ever come in her way to knock her down.
↬ Endurance ↫
⭑⭑⭑⭑ - Her struggles are minimal but she’s strong enough to handle issues when they do arise.
R E L A T I O N S H I P S
↬ Father ↫
King Nicholas III - they were never very close since she was the youngest and he had most in common with the boys. He always wanted to protect her since she’s the girl but Emilia felt like it was bit misogynistic as she got older.
↬ Mother ↫
Queen Natalia - Although they had always been close, it’s also always been a tense relationship. Her mother expected a lot from her and the pressure eventually made them drift apart when Emilia got older.
↬ Siblings ↫
Her brother Nicholas is the oldest and taking on the throne. Her other brother Peter is in the military. The three of them were always close but she hasn’t had much contact since moving to Miria.
↬ Other relatives ↫
She has cousins in Auradon - King Ben II and Queen Evelyn.
↬ Enemies ↫
She has held some resentment towards her family but no real enemies.
↬ Rivals ↫
Whoever Rhys is rivals with.
↬ Friends ↫
Rhys, she also has some various diplomatic friends as well as some of her advisors in the castle. She lost touch with a lot of her party friends in Elya.
↬ Best friend ↫
Rhys :)
↬ Love interest ↫
Again Rhys
↬ Marital status ↫
Married to King Rhys
↬ Children ↫
Oliver, Liliya, Sebastien, Juliette
↬ Pets ↫
Besides horses, they don’t currently however she would like the kids to have a dog so eventually they get some animals for the kids.
P A S T - T I M E
↬ Hobbies ↫
Piano, horse back riding, painting.
↬ Talents ↫
She’s always been really talented with the piano.
↬ Sports ↫
She doesn’t have much interest anymore but she played polo for a bit growing up.
↬ Classes ↫
N/A
↬ Occupation ↫
Queen of the world jk Miria
H O M E   L I F E
↬ Location ↫
Born in Elya but now living in Miria.
↬ House size ↫
They have many homes but their main is a beautiful castle.
↬ House type ↫
Inside the castle is more modern. Emilia and Rhys keep most of the classic touches but wanted to make it their own.
↬ Level of luxury ↫
The more luxe the betta.
↬ Outdoor description ↫
It’s beautiful with stables in the back with a lot of area to ride as well as large garden area for them to explore.
↬ Indoor description ↫
Very glam but keeping with the classic touches to respect the history of the castle.
↬ Bedroom description ↫
They have their bedroom done with dark and sensual colors with a lot of rich fabrics. It feels cozy despite the luxe look.
L I F E    S T O R Y
↬ Age 0-12 ↫
Emilia grew up very privileged. She had access to the best education, hobbies, clothes, you name it. Her parents tended to leave their children with the nannies. Em learned a lot from them and in hindsight, it made her a lot more grounded as an adult.
↬ Age 13-18 ↫
Through her teen years, she started to get more rebellious. Being the youngest plus the only girl made her parents try to be overprotective however she did not want to follow their rules. She often broke them but her parents never did well at reprimanding her so she just kept breaking rules until it got her in trouble.
↬ Age 19-25 ↫
She found trouble in boys and partying. Emilia got pregnant with a shitty ex fling and had to get an abortion. Shortly there after, her parents essentially married her off. Emilia was not thrilled about being on her own in Miria. It led to a rocky start to her relationship with Rhys. After a while they bonded and the two of them have become incredibly strong. She’s happy with how her life has turned out with Rhys and feels their relationship will only grow with them.
↬ Darkest secret ↫
Her abortion is definitely her biggest secret - Rhys is one of the few people that know. The only other person who knows is her mother who forced her into making that decision.
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inversenova · 4 years
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Tales from the Cyrpt (3)
Growing up with Bob as a father was...difficult, to say the least. Having served in Vietnam, Bob was exposed to Agent Orange, not to mention the wide variety of traumas that accompany military action. As far as I know, Bob was in the air force; he does not often speak about his time in the military (at least, not to me; I have overheard a number of conversations between Bob and Soren, my ex-boyfriend still best-friend wherein Bob detailed some of his memories and time serving in the war). From what little I have been able to gather, Bob continues to struggle with memories of dropping bombs on civilians and targets and basically anyone and everyone the military told him to drop bombs on. Knowing this now as an adult, it is easy to see the effects that these traumas have had on him, not to mention the child abuse he suffered at the hands of his mother.
My grandma, his mother, was not a kind woman, even to my brother and I as children, and my memories of her are few and far between, intermixed with confusing instances of her watching us while my parents were gone. I still have strange memories of us being left in her care one evening while my parents went out gambling in Las Vegas, only to have her lock us in the bathroom, paranoid and raving about someone coming to get us. She was a thoroughly unpleasant woman who left a thoroughly unpleasant mark on Bob. I can only guess as to what she put Bob through based on how she treated my brother when he was sent there over the summers. I’m unsure why he was the only one sent; perhaps it was because, over time, she grew to care deeply for him in the twisted way she cared for people, Bob included, while my fear of her (and her intense dislike of me) only expanded over time to the point where the last time I saw her was when I was younger than 10 and, now, she is dead. My brother returned from his trips with a wild combination of stories. On at least some levels he seemed to enjoy being there, despite their lack of anything I would consider fun to do, and at least once he was returned home to us covered in bug bites with the explanation being that he “fell” into an anthill. Nevertheless, I was never upset not to be invited along on these yearly escapades. The grandparents that I was close to, and the grandmother I remain close to, are on my mother’s side.
Bob’s approach to child-rearing lay with the “spare the rod” mentality and I learned very quickly to avoid anything that upset him, no matter the apparent triviality of the action. Mostly I accomplished this by staying in my room, leaving the safety of its’ confined only when Bob was not around or if my mother was there. I tip-toed through the house, holding my breath when I thought he might be around, and generally did whatever I could to stay hidden. I feel that my need to shelter in place only grew when we moved to Texas or, at least, I do not have as strong of a memory of being as terrified to leave my room as I was after we moved. The move to Texas came shortly after my mom’s affair, although both of my parents point only to the rapidly increasing levels of debt that they were gathering that soon the business Bob owned could not compete with the monthly payments on the home in California.
Our time in California was, and is, a little difficult to pin down. I remember living in several houses in quick succession and, knowing that Bob is a perfectionist who will sit on the phone and speak to customer service regarding the TV he just purchased until he somehow manages to get a free set out of the conversation, this does not surprise me. Eventually we settled in a beautiful home where my brother and I had rooms that, if you were to hang a curtain, could have been two rooms. We shared a bathroom, which was...horrendous, as my brother’s level of cleanliness never compared to my own and although I’m uncertain if I have OCD, I know that things MUST be done in a certain way and he somehow managed to do them all in the exact wrong way, whether it was cleaning or decorating or even brushing his teeth. His side of the bathroom was like a science experiment, his sink filled with bowls and (at one point) urine that he sprayed with body spray in an attempt to hide the smell. When made the decision to move and had to spotlessly clean the home, I remember the horror that was the bathroom and the fury that was Bob as he screamed at us for losing the toilet paper roll dispenser and told us what terrible children we were for being so messy.
We lived in that home for several years; I’m fairly certain I went through 5th grade in that home but absolutely certain that we lived there during the years of junior high and half of freshman year of high school (which was when we moved to Texas). My time in California remains special to me, despite the trouble and pain of being there. Hopefully I will be able to talk more about some of the friends I made there, and some of the trouble I went through with school. But for now, I want to end this with one final, painful memory I started this post wanting to talk about.
As I have mentioned, Bob’s idea of child rearing often referred back to the “spare the rod” mentality. It did not take long for me to learn that being spanked was not something I liked, especially when we were told to find a switch or when Bob threatened to get the belt. I remember being swatted with a bare hand once or twice, and switched at least twice and that was enough for me to have a healthy, solid fear of Bob and his idea of punishment. I have always been physically sensitive; it does not take much to make me cry or incapacitate me (especially now with the Mystery Spot), and so these short instances remained burned in my memory, rearing up to remind me of the consequences should I choose to disobey. Aaron and I were often threatened with soap in the mouth if we talked back or used foul language and though I never experienced this myself, I remember at least twice walking past the room where my brother and parents were as they held him down, screaming and crying, to force different types of soap into his mouth. Secondhand pain worked well enough for me, and continues to do so now even as an adult.
I’m unsure of what trespass Aaron was guilty of one sunny day in our beautiful California home in the suburbs, although there is no possible thing Aaron could have done to have warranted his punishment that day (as well as others later on), but I think it was probably the first time, and definitely the last time, that I had tried to stop it. I was led out of the house, my mother holding my hand in an effort to guide me outside both as a comfort and as a statement: Not only was there nothing I could do to stop this, but she would not stop it either. Bob took off his belt, the favorite of his punishment tools, and I started to cry and scream, begging for him to stop, to leave Aaron alone, to not hurt him. I’m sure he must have told him to get me out of there because the next thing I knew I was sitting on the front porch step with my mother as she wrapped her arm around me, rocking us both, while my brother screamed and the sounds of a belt making contact with flesh echoed out through closed doors and over the sound of my own wailing. I’m unsure how long the event lasted, although it couldn’t have been more than five or ten minutes at most, but it felt like eons, my mother and I huddled together on the porch, her softly crying and me sobbing and having what I would guess now was a panic attack while Bob beat my brother.
I had never before felt so helpless. I’d never tried to stop Bob before, and sadly, I never did again. I regret that. I regret not doing more. I regret not somehow freeing myself from my mother and bursting through the door and rescuing him. And while it may not be entirely correct, I feel like there was a part of Aaron that may have blamed me too. Although he was my half-brother, both of us sharing a mother, I feel like when we moved from California it broke what bonds we may have tried to create. We were violent towards each other, Aaron and I, but when the violence comes from the person meant to protect you it is unsurprising that it is perpetuated amongst those who receive it. I will deal more with this, the fear I also held for Aaron, later.
For now, it is enough to reflect on my regret. I understand, because I have been told by people who are far wiser than me, that it was not my duty to protect my brother. It was not my responsibility to keep him somewhere safe, and it was not my duty to be a parent to my mother. It was not my fault that Bob hit his child enough that Sam, my biological father, warned my mother to keep Bob’s hands off of me, serving in whatever capacity he was able to as a distanced protector. And it was not my fault that Aaron begged my mother for Sam to be his father, too.
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