#headcanon funstuffs

[thatboxylady]

if thrust is like that do you think jetstorm might smell anything similar to a used car parking lot. or a used car salesman

OK SO GET THIS I have a big pile of notes that I use as part of a writing bible/guideline for myself in writing and. Jetstorm and Thrust have really specific smells to them.

Jetstorm smells like jet fuel because of the process of afterburning in jets (which is sort of his shtick beyond afterburn just being his activation code):

An afterburner (or a reheat) is an additional component present on some jet engines, mostly military supersonic aircraft. Its purpose is to provide an increase in thrust, usually for supersonic flight, takeoff and for combat situations.

Based on this he kind of smells like fuel with a sort of intense "burnt" effect to it. Like the aftermath of a fire fueled by gasoline, with all the extra industrial kick. As far as the Maximals think he probably REEKS, but he's the guy with guns and doesn't have to live in the sewer of all places... so their opinion doesn't really matter lmfao.

Alternatively, Thrust smells like these images:

You ever been on a freshly paved highway in the summer and smell someone burning their tires at the same time? That's Thrust. He's terrible.

Essentially what I'm saying is that they STINK to normal people but to each other it's probably like "damn boy that cologne is VERY nice." Robots, man. Absolute freaks. 10/10

[spicylief]

Past 9, present 14, and future 8, please~

When they got hurt as a child, who did they go to? How did they react?

Answered here.

What matters most to them right now?

Those that she has befriended in Enderal - her found family, in a way. Maera has lost two families in her life: her first - her mother and sister - who were all crucified by the cultists (she doesn’t consider her father family, even though he was crucified with them), and her adoptive family in Ostian, who were either crucified, fled and went into hiding, or died while escaping Nehrim when war broke out. 

Over her time in Enderal, Maera falls in love with both Jespar and Tharaêl. While her relationship with one or both men have their share of challenges and obstacles, she is fiercely protective of them (and has come into direct conflict with Grandmaster Arantheal over it when he tries to use their well-being against her).

With Calia and Lishari, Maera does care about them, but primarily on a close-friendship level, having only really bonded with them through Order-related business or other circumstances that have them all in each other’s company or working together.

Maera and Aisa’s student-mentor relationship is rocky at first. As the months pass, they eventually develop a mutual respect and understanding for one another, especially when Tharaêl enters the picture.

Would they become a mentor figure for anyone?

Not so much mentor as a sisterly figure. During the week or so long visit to Silvergrove, Maera becomes fond of Ryneus and grows to care for him like a little brother. Ryneus reminds her very much of Sirius when he was a boy, and learning about how he had been abandoned and considered an abomination by his father made her empathize with him on a very personal level.  

Years later, Maera does have children of her own - a daughter and two twin boys. So she does eventually grow into a parental figure as well.

[thatboxylady]

do you think that the reason jetstorm interrupted thrust and blackarachinia was because silverbolt's spark got jealous??? like Wow bro, we know you miss your CBT partner but get Over it and be with your motorcycle bf!

OH for sure.

Jetstorm with Silverbolt (and Thrust with Wasipnator by extension), are each their own individuals. That having been said, the generals being paired with their specific sparks did have an influence on how their personalities formed. Jetstorm has his own specifically aligned sense of "honor" seeing things in shades of grey rather than Silverbolt's black and white. Similarly, Waspinator's aspirations to be an actual cool guy finally manifested in Thrust. Anyways, this is where I'm going with this: there are specific traits that the generals inherited from their sparks in absolutes. Jetstorm has jealousy issues in the same way Silverbolt did (mostly) in secret, and Thrust can be just as clueless as Waspinator.

So, yes. Jetstorm saw BA and Thrust having a "moment" and got a double-dose of jealous "OH NO YOU DON'T" injected straight into his shell program. He saw red and went in for a good bitch-slapping. His quipped comment after the fact of "SORRY COULDN'T STAND THE SUSPENSE" was likely him trying to deflect actually caring about what those two do in their free time, haha.

edit: I MISSED THE PART ABOUT CBT UYAISGUOHIPSAJO

[spicylief]

Past (2), Present (5) , Future (1) [to fix my repeats xD]

Which social class did they belong to growing up? How did it affect them?

During her early childhood, Maera’s family belonged to low class peasantry. However, she does not remember much of what her parents did for a living. She only remembered the abuse she, her mother and sister suffered under her father’s religious zealotry. Upon her family being slaughtered and crucified by the Creator’s cultists, Maera had to flee into the city and blend into the crowd of unwanted children that roamed the streets for a number of moons.

When Maera was taken in by Laches in Ostian, her new ‘family’ was a wide mix of folks with varying backgrounds. Sirius, for example, was the last remaining son of lower-class peasants who were friends of the Matron. Laches herself had the air of an esteemed noblewoman but not much is known beyond that. Seda mentioned being born into a caste of crafters and merchants in Qyra, and became Laches’ business partner upon sharing common beliefs and interests. Dio was left at Laches’ doorstep as a baby, his mother - a member of the roaming Free People from Arazeal - forced to give him up after it was discovered his father belonged to the opposing Civilized people. That said, Maera never really saw herself as belonging to any class, part of which was due to Laches’ careful management of the people around them.

However, given the kind of services the Ostian ‘family’ offered - alchemy, healing, physical therapy and… well… yeah… - and the typically wealthy clientele that they served, they were definitely hovering around the middle-to-high class range in society. For the safety and well-being of both her workers and clients, Laches made sure to brand and operate her network on a foundation of extreme discretion and exclusivity, with the more… personal services being known solely through careful, under-the-table word-of-mouth. Otherwise as far as anyone else was concerned, Maera, Laches and those under her employ were simply providing a service addressing health and personal well-being.

What kind of people do they usually interact with? Who are their friends, the people they look up to/trust, and who are their “associates”?

**SPOILERS AHOY**

In Enderal, Maera’s relationship to those around her is varied. Due to Laches’ upbringing, she is accustomed to interacting with others from all walks of life and at the very least is usually able to form positive working relationships.

As mentioned before, Maera does develop an intimate relationship with both Jespar and Tharaêl, though each relationship and that triangle overall has their share of challenges. She is also really good friends with Calia and Lishari, as they have all worked and helped one another from time to time. Aisa and Maera do have a rough start but both do eventually come to depend on one another in some shape or form - Maera looks to Aisa for guidance, and Aisa learns to become more empathetic through Maera. When Maera meets Ryneus, she is immediately attached to him, as he reminds her very much of Sirius, who she saw as a brother.

With others in Enderal:

Maera and Esme meet each other under different circumstances than in-game, roughly a few moons before the trip to Duneville. Maera is empathetic with Esme and the two get along very well, up until the very end when Maera is urged to share Tara’s fate with the poor Aeterna girl. They do make up in the end, however.

Apart from Lishari, Maera generally gets along with the other mages residing in the temple.  Though Constantine’s abrasiveness tends to intimidate her, she is able to work with him just fine, following Jespar’s lead on how to engage with the crotchety old arcanist. Constantine, in turn, does develop a bit of grudging respect for Maera, but sadly due to in-game circumstances, progress is cut short. With Yuslan, Maera is a bit more friendly, as he is always willing to share his knowledge of magic with her, and of his homeland of Qyra. Archmagister Lexil, despite being a member of the Order, is actually the senior mage Maera becomes closest to over the course of her time in Enderal. His gentle and patient nature is a welcome contrast to the stern and harshness of both Aisa and Constantine, and he reminds her very much of Laches. Magistra Yaela, like with Lexil, is also friendly with Maera, if not sympathetic to the fact that the Prophetess was forced to work with them against her will. Like Lexil, their relationship was a “make the best of their difficult situation” sort of thing, but like Constantine is cut short due to in-game circumstances.

Maera also has a very good working relationship with most of the merchants and craftsmen in Enderal, especially the alchemists residing in Ark. Due to the Red Madness and other troubling developments, many of them are afraid of venturing out of the safety of Ark’s walls for ingredients, and the war overseas have caused complications on both imports and exports of their goods. Maera has helped them in that regard by retrieving the ingredients they require, and offering to assist in the production of more high demand products for them to resell to a wide variety of customers. When Tharaêl moves in and gets into hunting, Maera does become friendly acquaintances with those he works with, often acting as a liaison on his behalf at first before he learns to develop his own approach to doing business with others.

As for the rest of the Order - Arantheal, Natara, Jorek - it depends. Maera is immediately put off by Arantheal, detesting his arrogance and presumptuous attitude towards her - reminding her too much of the less likeable clientele in Ostian. She becomes infuriated by him as he manages to coerce her back into working for him, using the well-beings of her friends and loved ones as bargaining chips. With Natara, it’s oddly neutral. Though Natara has made her resentment of Maera’s inclusion in the Order abundantly clear, Maera does in turn stress with Natara that her quarrel should be with Arantheal, not her, as she does not want work with the Order to begin with. That said, Maera and Jorek do get along relatively well, in a “we’re both in a shit situation” sort of way. He fully acknowledges her reluctance on joining right from the start, and does sympathize with Maera when Arantheal drags her back into working with them. 

Briefly describe their life in the future, regardless of how far into the future this is.

Okay so… at the moment/where the story is positioned to go...

**MEGA-ULTRA SPOILERS AHOY**

Upon the destruction of the Beacon, the surviving group - Maera, Jespar, Tharaêl, Calia, Aisa and Laches (who gets revived by her sister in a ritual involving the third Dreamflower) - goes to Qyra, and seeks refuge with Seda’s family. Once Maera fully recovers from a coma lasting over a moon’s turn, they do eventually get involved with the Golden Queen, her court, and other figures of importance. More specifically, they do meet up again with Gajus and his companion, and engage with someone very close to the Golden Queen (who is on a similar level to Aisa and Laches). Throughout their time in Qyra, Maera and each member of the group have to not only cope with their own personal challenges and developments, but also the fallout of Enderal’s destruction, all the new unknowns involving the High Ones that may still be lingering upon a failed Cleansing.

Even further down the line, the group - specifically the four - do make their way to Lethonia (for a yet undetermined number of reasons). It is there that Maera and the others unexpectedly end up settling down, as Maera ends up getting pregnant from one lover then the other, so now there are children involved (and traveling overseas with them becomes complicated).

[spicylief]

For Maera! #8 for each Past, Present and Future!

What was their childhood/teenage bedroom like?

During her early childhood with her first family, Maera had a small basic bedroom - roughly the size of your average walk-in closet - which she eventually came to share with her sister. 

During her time in Ostian, it varied. As a child, she shared a bunk with Sirius (with him on the top bunk while she slept on the bottom) in a room filled with bunk beds assigned to other orphans under Laches’ and Seda’s supervision. As she got older and her duties increased, she went from sleeping in dorms situated near one of the alchemy workspaces to other beds in other properties under Laches’ operations.

Maera never really had a place she could call her own until she purchased the home in the Noble Quarter of Ark.

What hobby or pastime of theirs do they consider most important to them and why?

Answered here.

Would they become a mentor figure for anyone?

Answered here.