#kotlc vika heks

[doodle-do-wop]

Wild Raynes (Timkin and Vika)

I was originally just going to draw Timkin and Vika but then it became a whole story.

Happier summer days when life seemed so simple.

Image 1 from L to R: Tiergan, Timkin, Jurek (he's a Heks in my hc) and Wylie

Image 2 from L to R: Prentice, Cyrah, and Vika

Zoom In's under cut

I'm really really proud of how everyone turned out here, especially Cryah's full-body design, I'm really happy with her dress

But for the stars of the show, Timkin and Vika Heks

[frizzle-mcshizzle]

Vika and baby Stina

tag list under the cut ask to added or removed

@stopstealingtomatoes @kale-of-the-forbidden-cities @crymeariveronceagain @winterfireice @the-one-and-only-aroace @honey-the-dinosaur-ate-our-kid @xanadaus @art-isnt-arting @nyxpixels

[lucyshypemaster]

stop with the stina hate you guys 💔💔💔 that's pookie oh also she can totally bodyslam your favs

[incandescentbitch]

KotLC characters as things me or my friends have said (grown-ups edition)

Edaline: (Very enthusiastically) The baby was like 8 months old, it was the perfect age to put in a pumpkin!

Tinker: Would you play a video game where the only mechanics are Man, Woman, and Divorce?

Bronte: Lacrimosa? That's my jam.

Livvy: Anatomical diagrams always use man torsos because they're afraid of boobs.

Fintan: Come on, let the girl do a little arson. It's good for her.

Lady Cadence: It's kinda fun to make the kids do manual labor, though.

Forkle: Her name is not [Squall], her name is Your Mom.

Vika: I'm great at judging people!

Tiergan: ✨gay people✨ (unrelated to UK rock)

[sillyguy-supreme]

the heks as a family are so interesting to me especially when you compare them to the dizznees (under a read more bc it got long lmao).

for example, timkin and vika are aware of the unfairness of the matchmaking system, but rather than fighting the system that keeps them apart, they instead make it seem like they follow the system, rigging it in their favor and then maintaining the status quo. this is especially interesting when you look at vika’s treatment of kesler in the first book. despite being ready to marry a talentless man, she still sees kesler as below her. in fact, she even calls dex a bad match in the first book even though stina would not be that much different from dex if not for timkin having a brother in law at the matchmaking offices.

stina is also interesting in this regard, because she has never had her worldview challenged in the series. despite her own parents literally bribing the system to marry, stina constantly holds the status of dex’s parents above his head. and throughout the series, she never challenges her views on the match system. she never apologizes to dex for being actively bigoted to him. she just. stops being mean to that group specifically. when she and dex begin to work for the council, she just stops being mean to him. when she works with sophie, she does not face any of her views on the elven world, she just cooperates with the group. in fact, in the ninth book, she shows distaste for rayni’s parents rigging the system in their favor, despite her own parents literally doing the same thing. she knows her father is coiffe and expresses to sophie that she wants sophie to save the gnomes, but outside of that, she does not ever tackle her flawed views.

in conclusion: what do the heks stand for? what does the status quo hold for them?

[confessionsofkotlc]

ok the heks are NOT some radical family who fights for what’s right. vika literally called dex a slur in the first book.

[kale-of-the-forbidden-cities]

please reblog if you vote!

[purplesoup-lad-le]

Family! convos over tea <3

doodle under cut

[thatonesongyouretryingtoremember]

Vika and Timkin's physical appearances are both never described. They could both have badonkers and we wouldn't know.

[bookwyrminspiration]

Della was the one who got mad at Cassius

pt.2: Kesler is dead and Liora killed someone else so she is in trouble

Hope you don't mind me combining these as they're about the same thing, but hot damn does this alternate universe of keeper really shock you!

First of all, 100% support Della and her getting mad at Cassius at Alden's planting 2 electric boogaloo, and I really hope she decked him in the face for that hair gel monologue. I wonder how he even got to that topic...perhaps there was talk about the prestige of the Vacker Legacy and Cassius went...lmao they're so fancy but really it's all just faked and posed like his stupid hair. Alden's hair was gelled so stupidly to make him look better than he was, meanwhile he knows how to actually use hair gel like a smart person *get's punched in the face*

Also paying my respects to Kesler in the form of civil disobedience because I think he'd love that, I hope whatever got him killed wasn't too painful. Maybe it was the Neverseen, but maybe he finally reached his limit with that ugly yeti statue in the entryway and tried to destroy it but it fell on him and destroyed him instead. Many possibilities.

And then who on earth did Liora kill and how on earth did she end up in that position? Either she's a very different person than we know with a lot of secrets or she was in the wrong place at the very wrong time. Lot of questions there but I won't pry. She probably doesn't want people knowing based on what you've told me.

There's a lot going on in just a few sentences here, Nonsie!

[doodle-do-wop]

I wrote a Hekster fic, enjoy

[camelspit]

biggest milf in kotlc is actually vika heks sorry guys

[when-wax-wings-melt]

Roisin’s Reading Rumble: ROUND THREE @camelspit​ @arson-anarchy-death​

SO sorry for the big paragraphs my adhd brain can’t read them either. I also barely proofread and wrote this thing in two sittings. So. My bad if it sucks and also my bad if u can’t tell bc you can’t read it. I bolded to help but if it makes it worse. oops.

Final wordcount: 1612

Preview: Misattributing Dex’s drive to make a name for himself and prove people wrong to pure selflessness takes away these parts of his character that show the elves still have the “human” need to be wanted. It’s thematically important for the characterization of elves as “more” or “greater” than humans, but it’s also essential to Dex as an individual.

Without further ado:

DEXTER ALVIN DIZZNEE

From Dex’s introduction, where we learn he’s a prankster and the child of a bad match, to his most recent scene learning about Rex’s talentless status, he has been shown to have the flaws and complexities that fandoms love to skip over. The most populated form of content for Dex remains the “cinnamon roll” or “the boy who deserves a cover and more page time” rather than focusing on when he does appear—and most appearances add more evidence against the former portrayal. He lives as a living manifestation of the inequality and prejudice the Lost Cities hold beneath their polished veneer—the rest of the main cast serve to highlight this in different ways, but Dex was the first to rip the blindfold from Sophie’s awed eyes. Traits such as social awareness, intense jealousy, desperate ambition, and sullen anger make up Dex’s character right alongside all the sweet selflessness the fandom prefers, and erasing them is a huge discredit to his complex and hard-earned development as the series progresses.

The KOTLC wiki in particular tends to place Dex on a pedestal that little canon evidence backs. Even the description of his character, which supposedly is unbiased and moderated, reads “Dex Dizznee (Dex Diz-nee) is a deuteragonist in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series and a amazing, strong and intelligent friend to Sophie and the team always doing his best to help out.” While none of this description is inaccurate—Dex is, after all, very intelligent and strong in resolve and courage, consistently working behind the scenes to help his friends—it leaves out several key aspects of his character. Portraying Dex as simply a great helper and a wonderful friend erases his narrative importance and drops him into the role of one of the gnomes at Alluveterre—no less important to the battle, but far less important to the plot and themes of the work as a whole. Another description from the wiki reads: “He is considered a kind, intelligent ‘cinnamon roll’ by the fandom and is always trying to prove himself when it is unnecessary by pushing himself to create gadgets using his talent because of his selfless nature.” Once again, the description moves from complimentary to completely erasing key motivations and desires that highlight the importance of his character in the narrative as a whole. The fandom considering him a cinnamon roll motivated entirely by his selfless nature wipes away the combination of pride, ambition, and need for attention and acclaim that drives Dex to accept tasks and jobs from the Council he hates, form vendettas against the Vackers, and constantly succumb to an often selfish competitive streak.

Dex becomes Sophie’s friend because he’s a loner like she is, and to showcase the darker elements of the Lost Cities such as matchmaking and multiple birth prejudice. In his very first appearance in the series, Stina and Vika Heks accuse him of using a balding serum on Stina, claiming that “‘‘[they] won’t need to [prove anything]. They’d expect nothing less from a bad match!’” (KOTLC). Sophie goes from new caretakers on a fantastical animal sanctuary, new magic school, and crystal palaces straight to some of the worst the Lost Cities has to offer— and Dex carries this responsibility with him for the next few books. As Sophie makes friends with the Vackers and Keefe, the elves with seemingly perfect lives, Dex remains there as a glaring reminder of the ugliness of her new world. By erasing that, a fundamental part of his character that influences every single relationship he has is destroyed. Dex finds it hard to befriend Fitz, Biana, and Keefe not because he’s socially awkward (as other parts of the fandom suggest) but because they represent the success he craves, which his family has been systematically denied.

Another essential Dex Dizznee trademark that fanon interpretations constantly forget is his selfishness, his ambition, and his consequential jealousy. Fanon portrayals of Dex as selfless and endlessly kind erase his true need to be the best at everything, even though he doesn’t seem to have the natural talent that Fitz and Keefe have. In Everblaze, he drops his morals and overlooks his hatred of the Council in order to work for them making ability restrictors, a job that places him in a place of honor and prestige. The idea of being recognized for his natural talent blinds him to the true target of the restrictor: Sophie. “‘They wouldn’t be controlling everyone,’ Dex argued. ‘Just the people who need it.’ / ‘And who decides that?’ Fitz asked. / ‘The Council, obviously. What?’ Dex asked when Fitz cringed. ‘I thought your family was like, the Council’s number one fan club.’ (Everblaze). The Council’s praise for his abilities inflates both his ego and his inherent need for recognition or success. The concept that his motivation for endless creation and gadgets comes from his selflessness or self sacrifice isn’t true because his motivation is to gain acclaim, fame, and apologies for thinking less of him. He wants fame and acclaim that his family has been denied. He wants to prove the Hekses and everyone like them wrong.

Later, when he becomes one of the youngest Regents on Team Valiant, Dex accuses Stina of wanting to be a part of the team only for a title, and she throws the same accusation back. “Dex didn’t deny it. And the intensity in his eyes made Sophie realize how much this opportunity had to mean to him.” (Legacy). What Stina and Dex have in common in this moment is the need to prove that their talentless fathers, bad-match parents (since Vika and Timkin should have been a Bad Match) don’t define them, and more importantly were judged incorrectly and with prejudice. Dex’s understanding of inequality ties into his motivations for wanting success—both a positive, when he wants to prove his parents’ marriage didn’t harm anything, and a negative, when he overlooks that same inequality in order to prove the haters wrong.

This ambition moves into jealousy when someone achieves something he failed at— for example, when he meets Tinker for the first time. Tinker is an adult and far more experienced at the type of invention he wants to succeed in, but after so long of being told he’s a true prodigy of technopathy and being useful to Sophie and the team, it hits a sore spot. “‘Is this a better solution than what you were planning?’ Tinker asked Dex, with no bravado in her tone. Only curiosity. / But Dex still wouldn’t look at her as he nodded. And his sigh was somewhere between a grumble and a harrumph. / ‘You have a competitive streak, don’t you?’ Tinker noted. / Sophie and Mr. Forkle both said ‘yes’ while Dex said ‘no.’ / ‘I’m not being competitive,’ he argued. ‘I’m allowed to be annoyed that I got replaced’ (Flashback). Effortless success rubs him the wrong way because he has had to work so hard to overcome stigma, discrimination, and his own doubt to succeed, while people like Tinker appear to have to have the same natural talent that bothered him about the Vackers. Misattributing his drive to make a name for himself and prove people wrong to pure selflessness takes away these parts of his character that show the elves still have the “human” need to be wanted. It’s thematically important for the characterization of elves as “more” or “greater” than humans, but it’s also essential to Dex as an individual. Why does he want this? Because he wants to help Sophie, or because he wants to prove to the world and himself that he can have this?

While all these flaws (jealousy, selfishness, sullen competetiveness) make Dex who he is, they don’t make him a mean person, and certainly not a bad character. He was the first friend Sophie ever had (Fitz truly does not count) and also the one to help her acclimate. He grew from his jealousy, selflessly staying behind the scenes to develop new gadgets to help his friends in their battles. He took steps back and learned how to place blame: not on Keefe for sensing Rex would be talentless, but on society for the way his brother would be treated. But viewing these positive things as the whole of his personality and ignoring any flaws he might have is a huge disservice—these flaws are what makes him interesting, a developed character. There is no such thing as a “sweet cinnamon roll” character in KOTLC, because making a character only good and never flawed is objectively bad writing, and makes for uninteresting dynamics.

Readers wouldn’t be interested in Dex if he never lashed out, never reacted negatively to Sophie, never had his own wants and desires that didn’t always correspond to what the narrative needs. He’s self punishing constantly over his mistakes, not forgiving himself for Fitz’s stabbing in Neverseen or for the ability restrictor. He’s jealous over Fitz, Biana, Keefe, Stina, Tinker, and Sophie’s success and power. He wants to succeed and is (or used to be) willing to place that need above the needs of his family and friends. And he also learns that Fitz and Biana are not their legacy. He cries over his brother’s future, and assures Keefe he would never blame him. He works with Stina and explores new methods of technopathy with Tinker and encourages Sophie to step into an official leadership role. Erasing any of these traits or experiences steals part of who he is and where he fits into, an unfair and inaccurate reading of the series as a whole.

In conclusion: The Dex wiki page is an atrocity, and someone who isn’t me (because I don’t have the energy 💖) needs to fix it.

Bonus:

[id: a post by A Fandom User on 7/2/2021 reading “Whoa. Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa. I come on to check my cinnamon rolls age, and I see this TREASON. Who - who called him a pussy? How is he always constipated? Someone, someone who truly DEEPLY loves this cinnamon rolls need to revise this. I would, except 1) I don't know how and 2) I wouldn't do it properly. Please fix this. Please. ~Humble Follower of The Cinnamon Roll King“.

 A reply by SaladmanOfSokeefe5 on 8/8/2021 reads “I have fixed this mistake -Humble Follower of The Cinnamon Roll King“ /end id]

[crymeariveronceagain]

i had this idea a long while ago but forgot about it until just now,

what if Veka where to get pregnant with twins? or TRIPLETS? just as a karma thing

Stinas getting a redemption Arc but her parents aren’t, i don’t think they’d react like the Songs did. i think they’d love their kids but would need to a full 180 on their view on multiples.

omg that's amazing and i'm completely here for it

.

Vika Heks, in abject horror, watching the ultrasound.

There's no running away from this.

Her husband clutches her hand tight.

She can't feel it.

Three children.

Three.

For a grand total of four.

Three too many.

Three too much.

Three was a number that was worse than two, and two was infinitely worse than one.

And now, here she was, sitting in a chair at the doctor's, listening to the man tell her he was sorry that she was going to have three too many. Like he could control it, like the stars frowned on him like they frowned on her, like he could do anything about it.

There were three people that belonged to her now, three new ones she'd never met.

The world would hate them, would spit in their face, would call them as they were, the multiples of a bad match, destined to ruin the gene pool.

It was all her fault.

There wasn't anything she could do.

Rumors can't be silenced after they've been proven, and if she had triplets, then stars, she could never expect the lies of matchmaking to cover the very reality she lived in.

So what could she do?

What could she change? What could she fix? This didn't belong to her, anymore.

This belonged to her children.

Her three children.

Her responsibility.

She had always prided herself upon being a good mother, and just because the stars had whispered something wrong for her, because they'd been frowning down on her, meant nothing.

This was out of her hands, and she would not stop being a good mother simply because a challenge had been dealt her.

It would take uprooting, changing, declaring, accepting.

The thought was horrifying. Terror piled in her chest, hot and fast, and this was out of her control.

Her heart was pounding in her ears, she couldn't breathe, the doctor's looking at her with disdain, his demeanor completely shifted from what it had been mere moments ago.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am. You're carrying triplets."

Vika shut her eyes tight, her hands clenching into fists.

Then she took a deep, steadying breath.

And before she could think about it any more.

She just said.

"Okay."

Her husband's grip loosened on her hand, and he looked at her with a sort of pride that made her soul feel like it could crush the world if it wanted.

The doctor blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

"Okay," Vika said. "I'm having triplets. What's your point?"

The doctor raised his eyebrows. "Usually parents are more distressed by the news, and want to see our options for sending kids to Exilium right away--"

"Out of the question," Vika snapped, her voice fierce. "And you should know, sir, that we are not most parents."

The doctor snorted, turning back to the monitor. "You certainly are not."

Vika stepped into the foyer of Sterling Gables later that day and turned to her husband. "Tim," she said, softly, "Are we going to be okay?"

Timkin Heks smiled, gently, looking at his wife. "I think, Love, we have to be."

"They're not going to like this," Vika said, "No one is."

"No one has a choice," Timkin answered, fiercely. "These are our children, and they cannot make us feel ashamed of them."

Vika sighed, softly, and reached for her husband's hand. "What do you think Stina will think?"

"I think she'll be appalled, but she'll get over it."

"Good," Vika answered. "We raised her right, then."

"Well," Timkin said, "Like everybody else, she doesn't have much of a choice."

That night, when Stina had finally went to bed, Vika sat on the couch next to her husband.

"I just realized something," she said, quietly, into the silence, broken only with page-flipping.

"What?"

"We need more than one baby name."

"Oh. Rats."

[girlofmanyfandoms]

The Awesome Saucers Pt 6

A/n: I finally did it! Let me know if you like the idea of me making a poor attempt to write a song for the Awesome Saucers. I think it would be cool, we’ll see how it goes! Anyways, enjoy!

Word count: 1,305

Warnings: Chaos. That’s it.

“Stina, where do you think you’re going?” Vika confronted. Upon realizing what Stina was holding, her eyes widened in disgust and fear. “And what is THAT?”

Stina froze, eyes shut, cursing herself under her breath. She should’ve known her mother would be in this part of the house. Where else would she get supplies for the unicorns?

“I can explain,” she started, trying to hide her guitar behind her thin, tall frame. Vika loomed over her menacingly as much as she could without falling, awaiting a response.

“Forkle got it for Sophie, and Team Valiant voted that I should be the one to hold onto it. I was just about to return it to Forkle, he asked to have it today,” Stina fibbed.

“A human guitar? For the Black Swan? With you leaving the house through the back?”

“I don’t know why they want it either. And I was leaving through the back gateway because I didn’t want to alert you. I didn’t want you to be worried about me since I’m expecting to be back within an hour or so.”

“And where are you to meet Forkle,” Vika demanded, crossing her arms. She was suspicious, but not overwhelmingly so. 

Stina had already gone this far, there was no turning back. “Our first meetup is at Foxfire, I don’t know where he’s taking us from there. I really need to go now, I might be late.”

Stina ran without a word, rushing to her Leapmaster and travelling to Foxfire. She sprinted into the building, and when she bursted into the pastel classroom of Sir Astin with her hair giving off the impression that she got electrocuted, heaving for breath and slamming her acoustic guitar onto the table near Jensi’s keyboard, everyone was full of questions. A death glare from her shut them all up. 

Biana was quite used to occurrences such as these. A secret band that only the leader of the Black Swan, a genetically-modified super elf, and a family of flying sparkly horses know about causes close calls and desperate measures. As the elected leader of the group, she’d grown indifferent to this type of behaviour, though she had to admit, seeing Stina look miserable was great payback. Glancing at Dex, she could tell he agreed.

This was their 30th group practice. Everyone had practiced on their own, of course, usually in secluded areas. Dex and Jensi had taken to practicing with each other via Imparter calls, as their instruments often complemented each other in songs Sophie played. Biana, quite proud of the progress the group had made, decided to enter into the next two phases of her master plan. 

Brushing her hair off of her shoulders, she cleared her throat and called for the band’s attention. “Awesome Saucers! You’ve all come a long way since the beginning of this band. You have each grown in your own ways, not only in musical talent, but as a person. You bonded with music in a way no elves ever had. And we did this all without piquing negative interest from any authority figures. Heck, Leto even supports it!”

“Why do I feel like this inspirational speech is leading to you pitching a horrible idea,” Tam asked, sighing exhaustedly.

“It’s not a horrible idea,” Biana assured, not losing any momentum from the interruption. “It’s the next step of our musical careers.”

“Careers,” Jensi scoffed in disbelief, reclining in Sir Astin’s vacant chair. “At most, this is a side gig, and that’s stretching it really far.”

“That’s all it is right now,” Biana corrected, “And the next step for us will take it farther.”

Marella stopped braiding Linh’s hair for a moment to pay attention. “And what would that next step look like?”

“Producing songs.”

Maruca laughed bitterly. “Are you kidding me right now? Actual songs? We can barely play at the same time without Leto rushing in to see what exploded.”

“Hey, we’ve gotten better at instrumentals,” Dex defended, frowning slightly at Maruca’s underestimation of the band.

“Sure,” she rolled her eyes. “We should probably get an audience to judge that. And besides, who would even write the songs?”

“I’ll take the lead with that,” Biana reasoned. “Dex and Linh can help, and you guys will have to approve of it before we finalize.”

“While I’m open to writing the songs, I think I’d get nervous in front of an audience,” Linh added quietly. “And Maruca’s right. We can’t dive in headfirst without any coordination.”

“Looks like you’ve been overruled, Princess,” Stina smirked.

“Stina, let’s hear her out. Besides, an audience doesn’t mean the entire elven race, it could be just one person.”

“Oh, good, we’ll only have to ruin one person’s ear drums,” Tam remarked grimly. Arguments filled the room, each snarky comment making Biana exceedingly more hopeless. Dex pulled out his Imparter and walked out into the hall, leaning against the wall in a relaxed position. He talked quietly into the device, and no one noticed him walk out.

“Hello?” Keefe called from the other end of the line. “Is something wrong, Dex?”

“I guess you could say that,” Dex mumbled, his frown tilted. “Do you know of anyone who wouldn’t mind a group of very loud teenagers practicing music by them so they can get feedback?”

“My dad could do it?”

Dex was dumbfounded. “Why would you want Cassius with us? Why would WE want Cassius with us?”

Keefe wrinkled his nose. “Not HIM. Elwin. He gets pretty lonely in the Healing Center, and I’m not always around.”

Dex sighed in relief, his dimples finally resurfacing. “That’s perfect. I’ll tell the others. Thanks, Keefe.”

“No problem, Dexinator.”

________

Dex returned to the room and instantly had an urge to run away as fast as he could. You know, survival’s instinct. Maruca was on top of Sir Astin’s table, yelling at Biana, with Stina backing her up. Jensi had taken Biana’s side, and Tam was trying to get the two sides to calm down. Marella made occasional retorts towards Stina, but mostly kept to making tiny braids in Linh’s hair. And the music sheets. They were all over the floor, and had seemingly been used as weapons. Dex knew he was treading on dangerous grounds, and handled the situation accordingly.

“EVERYONE SHUT UP!”

Ah, yes, the classical route when trying to diffuse an argument. But everyone did stop, though more out of shock that Dex could reach those volumes than out of obedience and civility. 

“We’re relocating to the empty room by the Healing Center. Elwin will be there, for constructive criticism and so that he can get some entertainment and company. Keefe might drop by from time to time.”

Biana blew out a breath of relief. She knew she could always count on Dex. Maruca and Stina looked at each other, really wanting to say something, but even they couldn’t deny Elwin. 

Jensi, however, wasn’t in the loop. “Why would Keefe suggest Elwin? Wouldn’t he tell us to go to Sophie’s parents or something?”

Dex and Biana shared a look. “Should we-”

“Nah, that’s Keefe’s story to tell,” Dex said nonchalantly. 

The comment just made Jensi even more confused, but Biana saved Dex the effort to explain by clapping her hands together loudly. “Alright, everyone, you heard Dex. Relocation time.”

“And what about the instrumental issues and the song writing,” Maruca inquired, still on the fence with this whole issue. “We don’t even have the inspiration for a song.”

“Sure we do, and if not, we’ll make a cover for a song,” Biana encouraged. “But we’ll handle that once we’re in our new location. Plus, it should be safe to leave our instruments in that room. No classes take place there.”

Everyone, no matter how reluctant, shuffled out of the room with their instruments and began the trek to Elwin’s Healing Center.

Taglist: @imaramennoodle @bookwyrminspiration @holesinmyfalseconfidence @an-absolute-travesty @a-lonely-tatertot @linhammon-roll-bromance101 @linhamon-roll @loverofallthingssmart