#sole cruz

[leavingautumn13]

ham-to-ham combat

[i have commissions open now]

[nicecurves]

[hannahhook7744]

Rise of Red Rewrite Brainstorming;

I'm rewriting Rise of Red to make it fit into my version of the disney descendants and am at the brainstorming phase. But I'm stuck on a couple of things and need feedback.

Here are the differences first:

1. So first off, Bridget and Ella didn't go to school at the same time (because I'm trying to make it fit up in the timeline and match the other things we knew previously).

This is because I'm pretty sure it was mentioned the heroes went to school together at some point and if Alice is old enough to have a teenage daughter in the same high school as Ella's oldest son then she's likely around Ella's age. Which means they probably went to school around the time, either together or a few years apart.

(Whether that be college or high school doesn't really matter).

It also fits Bridget having three kids instead of one in my au too.

Right now I'm figuring out if her husband was at school with her and was her only friend in Ella's place or if she was friendless in school, and ended up marrying him so she could obtain the throne.

Either way she'll have her siblings but I'm not sure how they become strained as of yet.

2. Uliana's gang still exists at the same time as Bridget.

Did the math to figure out if this would work and it ended up working.

Peter Pan takes place in 1904 from what I can tell (going off the movie that is).

Alice in wonderland takes place sometime in mid to late 1800s.

The little mermaid takes place mod to late 1800s.

And Morgie's mom, Morgana Le Fay is a part fae in some tales. Fae live longer than humans so it's entirely possible for her to have a young child around the same time.

Assuming Maleficent, Hades, and maybe Persephone were de-aged around that time the group can both exist and go to school around the same time as Bridget.

They also all still go to the old version of Merlin Academy (it still exists today, it just split off from Auradon Prep and is now a Camelot exclusive school).

Also Hook is still a pirate, after getting kicked out of his Naval School, and has been to the Neverland but he doesn't have his Hook yet.

This is possible because his mother, as shown in Jake and the Neverland Pirates, was a teacher at Neverland Academy. So he's been to Neverland and is a somewhat feared pirate (not too much so though because he's still a teenager and Peter Pan won't exist for another few years yet).

Also Hook has a brother here because I remember somewhere he had one and I thought it would be fun. He also is friends with the three Smee brothers (one of which isn't a pirate since Smee has a great nephew in Auradon in 'the school of secrets' web series) but isn't as close with them as he is with Uliana's gangs (because they and the few other pirates hanging around are mainly just lackeys to him atm).

3. The girls (and their friends) don't just travel to one time period.

Did this so they could both still see teen Ella even though I have no idea what to do with that plot point just yet.

4. Chad is missing for a few years (cause I started my rewrite idwa with that plot in mind ages before the flim even came out).

5. Glass Hearts is canon (it could be pre Glass Hearts or Glass Hearts happens in the middle or epilogue).

6. The characters are slightly redesigned and they were friends before the QoH's hostile siege of Wonderland.

7. Either Chloe and Red (and friends) are eighteen or Wonderland has been under control of the QoH for only six years timeline wise. Haven't decided.

8. Queen of Hearts was on the isle.

9. Ace and Chester and other Wonderlandian next gen members are mentioned/maybe saved at some point (doesn't affect Glass Hearts outcome at all).

Now. On to the point/points where I'm stuck:

1. I can't decide whether they fix things with one go around of the past or if they have to go back to fix an error they made.

I don't want Bridget never having turned evil to be the permanent outcome because yes, while that seems like a good outcome it really isn't.

For Red anyway.

I don't know how many of you have seen back to the future and I guess even if you had it doesn't really get dwelled on for long but....

Marty remembers changing the past.

He remembers the original timeline only.

His first one, the one he grew up in.

He doesn't remember this new great timeline where his parents never fell out of love, his siblings are successful, Bif is kept in check by Mr. And Mrs. McFly, and everything in his life is great.

Everyone else does except him.

And I think the same would probably be true for Red based on what we saw.

She doesn't remember her mom being loving growing up.

She doesn't remember her mom baking her cupcakes or being nice to the people of wonderland.

She doesn't remember a mother who never transfigured her friends (happened in the book) and who never would stage a coup at her daughter's soon to be school.

She doesn't remember a mother who shows love a healthy way.

She remembers the QoH.

The woman who had strict out of pocket rules and even stricter, harsher punishments like transfiguring people into mindless beings and chopping off their heads.

She remembers the woman who told her _love wasn't it'. That it didn't exist. A woman who, whether she realized it or not, was basically telling her own daughter that she didn't love her or her daughter's other parent.

So while Red now has a loving mother its not everything she imagined. Because Red can't forget her actual mother and all she did, and in this new timeline where her mother didn't do any of that, will never get the apology she so desperately deserved and wanted.

She can't remember this nice woman as her mother. Just as Bridget, the nice girl she went to school with briefly.

She can't remember all the lovely things they supposedly did with the rest of the family.

And it's driving her up the wall.

Red knows it's not fair to be mad at this Bridget for the stuff her real mom did.

She knows it's not fair to lash out at her for what the other her did.

But she's angry and scared and can't remember any of the things she wanted and now has.

And she hates it.

She hates that she finally has what she wanted. She hates that she hates this nice woman for things she didn't do (because Red and Chloe stopped it before she snapped) and she hates her father for being different too.

(I based her dad entirely off the one from the animated movie even though Bridget is the same as in ROR so bare with me).

She hates that her cowardly father who was her favorite parent in the other timeline before she got older and started to resent him is happier and a better dad here.

Hates that this one doesn't cower away from her mother.

That this one is just as happy and perky as the new adult Bridget and that he never stood by while she and her older siblings were worked to the bone, and yelled at and stripped of their joy as their mother became a tyrant.

She hates how he's happier here and louder, and just..

Red hates how unfair it is that this wasn't her life all along and that she can't enjoy it now that it is.

But she's stuck.

Not literally but mentally.

She's stuck on what to do.

She should be happy.

She was never ripped away from her friends or abused here.

And now she has the family she always wanted.

A loving mother who indulges her interests and loves her as a person, and who doesn't yell all the time and hurt their people. A mother who was never hurt and who never turned evil enough to be sent to the isle.

A father who isn't too afraid of her mother to do right by her and her siblings, and their people.

Aunts and uncles who were actually in her life and not against her parents.

And a no longer depressed older sister (named Quinlynn) who, since she's never even been to the isle, isn't depressed over having lost two people she thought were the love of her life and friends she never should have had to outlive so young.

It's only after she realizes that her family is so different from what she remembers that she realizes it isn't complete. Someone is missing.

Her older brother is missing.

It takes one question to her parents for her to realize why he (Hart/Hardy) is missing and why he hasn't been home in the weeks (or less) she and Chloe have been back.

It's because she doesn't have a brother. Not. In. This. Timeline.

Her annoying conflict-avoidant-when-it-came-to- their-mother-only pirate of a brother didn't exist.

Her family didn't know his name.

Uma and her crew didn't know Red (hadn't watched her grow up), and didn't know who she was talking about it.

Why this is, she doesn't know.

Doesn't know whether it's because her parents were happy and off the isle.

Doesn't know if it's because the rumors are true and her brother's REAL other parent is on the either (she heard that he was her mother or father's affair baby but had never believed it before now).

She doesn't know or care why it is. Just that it is.

So now, she's already in a dilemma.

Either she goes back with or without Chloe and allows whatever prank that broke the camel's back to turn her mother evil again and gets her brother back.

Losing this happy, carefree version of her sister and the happy, loving parents (and extended family) she'd always wanted.

Turning her back on teen Bridget, who was so nice and kind and the adult Bridget who thanks to her stayed that way.

Or she turns her back on her brother. Accepting this new loving family and this strange happy version of her sister and life that will never be hers.

Letting go of her mentors (the Badun Detective Agency in my au) and her non-Wonderlandian friends who weren't with her and Chloe and the others when they time traveled.

Accepting a world that isn't truly hers and basically killing her brother.

(Sorry for the ramble).

So either:

1. They only meet Bridget (and no one else) and stop the prank—only to see that she still turned evil due to something that happened after they left.

But they arrived just in time to steal her cards and stop her coup, and the qoh is arrested. Allowing for Red to be placed in her siblings custody and for her to be deemed a hero, ensuring that what would have been a rough time at school had the coup been staged before it could be prevented doesn't happen/isn't as bad.

Fixing the present on one go without any need to go back.

It doesn't solve the problem of Chad's disappearance or allow for Chloe to meet a slightly disillusioned version of her young mom.

It doesn't include the above mentioned angst but includes the angsty idea that nothing could have been done for her mother without removing Uliana's gang from the equation (which, given who exactly is in the gang isn't really an option).

But it's a quick fix with a mostly happy ending. One even better if you figure in that maybe what QoH did to Ace and Chester isn't permanent and can be reversed.

Red will have her friends and siblings back, get taken away from her parents, have an actual social life in school, and get to fall in love with Chloe.

Chloe's saved her parents. Saved Auradon Prep. She doesn't have her brother back but it's maybe starting to heal from his disappearance, and maybe with Red and their friends by her side she can find him.

It's not perfect but it's bittersweet. A mostly happy ending.

Or

2. They met Bridget, stopped the prank, and then met Ella.

Either making her life worse somehow OR intervening a little too early.

Getting Ella out of her abusive home situation and of course, not thinking anything of it because it's the right thing to do. Thinking instead that now the future's gonna be the best because now Chloe's mom has a little less trauma and didn't have to deal with her stepmother's wicked meddling with time this time around.

Only they get to the future.

And Bridget is still nice and loving (which, again brings its own angst that mentioned before) to her (now two instead of three) kids, husband, and siblings as well as her subjects.

Meaning Maddox didn't lose his father to a transfiguration punishment and that his job is now easier.

But things are now worse for almost everyone else who went back in time.

Danny Darling's mom is even more traumatized because somehow something THEY did ended up with one of her brothers dead and doesn't let him or his two older siblings out of her sight.

Shan Deja's father is meaner because Hades and Maleficent, and several others give him a harder time than they did in the original time line on the isle.

Snow White, having now no longer gone to school with Ella and having lost that connection, is more anxious and paranoid than before and stopped her daughter Sophie (Glauco's older sister) from becoming Yen Sid's apprentice. This somehow leading to Glauco getting turned into a tree sooner and not being turned back, unlike the original timeline.

Which means his parents don't recognize his teen self and refuse to believe he isn't pulling some cruel prank on them.

Edith, Hadie's cousin and Eris' daughter,'s mom is now apathetic to her existence when before she was loving because now Hades isn't her friend.

And, as for Hadie and Chloe?

Simple: they, like Red's brother, don't exist in this timeline.

Why?

Well, because since Chloe and Red intervened and got Ella away from the Tremaines sooner it changed things.

Like: Drizella and Anastasia never got redeemed, never made up with Ella just to get sent to the isle anyway, and never met their husbands ( a redeemed Hans Westergaard for Drizella and the baker for Anastasia). Which means their children never got to exist even when they got sent to the isle earlier.

Lady Tremaine's reputation was publicly in ruin and the house was seized and held until Ella turned 19.

By then, instead of Ella having met her Fairy Godmother and getting to meet her Prince Charming she instead received her house.

Getting an education and a pseudo family in the form of the baker's family that took her in but never finding love.

Prince Christopher, unwilling to marry someone he doesn't love, ran away never to be seen again. Leaving his father heartbroken and the kingdom in disarray after he dies.

Chad is no longer missing and he still exists but he was never adopted here.

Meaning he never went to Auradon Prep and never met his friends or the vks. Never became a prince, never became disgraced, and never disappeared into the night never to be seen again when Chloe was ten because she didn't exist and he wasn't a Charming.

He wasn't anyone important to anyone.

Because he'd never been adopted and had found the birth parents who didn't want him, and was turned away.

Because he aged out of the orphanage (the one that was no longer named after their mother's story) and now is nothing like the boy Chloe remembers. Any version of him.

He isn't the kind, excitable struggling boy who loved her to death he was before their grandfather died and before her heart condition got worse and their parents got busier fighting for their step-aunts and their children to be released from the isle.

He's not the teenage Chad little Chloe had built up in her head during the times he rarely came home and avoided her like the plague. The cool one who did no wrong who everyone loved and who found and sat with her under the table she'd hidden under after Dragon Maleficent attacked during Ben's coronation when she was eight.

He's not the heartbroken, cries himself to sleep Chad that he was after Audrey broke up with him.

Or the healing (becoming less of an asshole) Chad that went to Jane's birthday only to come back a cowering, heartbroken mess that could hardly stand to be around Audrey anymore, falling into depression Chad who Hades dumped water on less than a year later at Bal's wedding (the same night Chad would disappear).

And he certainly wasn't the Chad that Chloe had only gotten to know after her brother had vanished into the night.

He wasn't an asshole or a bully, or a cheater who was slowly becoming a more tolerable person.

No. This Chad was none of those.

No, instead... This Chad was quiet and broken. With no friends, no family. No job and no home.

And Chloe, despite very much still being alive and breathing and not disappearing doesn't exist by any records and can't help him because he doesn't know her, and no one would believe her if she tried to tell them anything.

A problem which Hadie is also having.

Because in this timeline instead of a de-aged Maleficent, Hades, and Persephone all growing up and their poly three turning into just Hades and Persephone when Maleficent grew more power hungry...

Well, instead of that, a de-aged Persephone saw the aftermath of an even CRUELER prank that they were involved with and broke up with both Maleficent and Hades like her mother had always wanted. Cutting out their friend group as well and turning her backs on them, going back to her mother and begging to be aged back to her actual age.

Leaving Hades and Maleficent to never break up, and to only get meaner. Ruling the isle together with their friends and raising Mal.

Mal, who despite having no reason to, still comes out pretty much the same. She still chooses good. She still has the same friends and still marries Ben. Only now, she has two lizard parents who let her down and no little brother.

Because Persephone and Hades never had Hadie.

Sure, they had his three oldest siblings before they got de-aged and sure, Maleficent and Hades still had Mal.

But because Persephone and Hades didn't out last Maleficent and Hades, Hadie wasn't born.

Which of course, means they have to go back and fix both of the things they messed up and live with all of all of that knowledge.

Now after that, I'm not sure if I should end it with them just fixing all of that and nothing else.

Or if I should go into my other idea which I combine with this one.

Which is that after they fix whatever they did to mess up their parents stories, they end up landing somewhere in the past and discovering that...

Chad is somehow there.

A grown up version of Chloe's original brother.

A grown up version of Chloe's brother who should not be in a Wonderland bar, serving drinks and several years older than he should be.

They find out that he disappeared into the past on purpose out of shame and because be didn't wanna ruin their family's good name and maker things harder on Chloe than they already were.

They somehow convince him to come back to the future with them.

Only for their meddling to send them smack dab right in the middle of the Queen of Hearts hostile take over of WONDERLAND (six to eight years in Chloe and Red's past).

A couple of months before their Chad ended up in Wonderland.

There's a battle, someone gets hurt, and after some more meddling with the past, the group ends up in a better future.

Red's friends are all human again.

Red and Chloe are apparently dating.

And so on.

(This is probably headache inducing but I wanted to brainstorm and this was fun).

[henriiiii-1001]

oc ask game for Adam and Estrella!

betrayal and skin

oooo ty for the ask!!!

betrayal: both adam and estrella experiences betrayal differently; estrella was betrayed by her former husband, as he promised to be there for her and eva but never acted upon those promises. adam was the one to betray someone, specifically his many lovers. he’s even betrayed one of his contractees, and as much as he hates to admit it, he regrets it every single time.

skin: stella is p comfortable w her current self, at least in terms of her body. their feelings towards their morals are constantly changing, but thats a different can of worms i might open one day. as for adam, he’s constantly trying to fight an urge he’s never able to hold back for long. lilith can deal w this urge a lot better than him. but the more adam lets the urges take over, the more he loses the humanity he’s been fighting to keep for about two decades.

[wildcmbcrsupdates]

Ayo Edebiri, Havana Rose Liu, Kaia Gerber and Ruby Cruz via zamaniwilder on Instagram, 03/12/2023.

[anney-baker]

[rogue205]

Re-watched Coco because why not and cried at the end with Miguel and Coco because why not. I love that movie.

Looked up some stuff here on tumblr and actually found a few posts claiming that Imelda is not at all responsible for what nearly befell Hector in the Land of the Dead. I disagree. She IS partially responsible but not entirely like some others claim.

The one who is directly responsible for what happened is actually Ernesto de la Cruz and we all need to remember that but Hector himself and Imelda also hold blame for the events leading up to the film. Hector freely admits he was wrong and states he is at fault because he left that day with Ernesto. He willingly walked out that door. And this is true. However that does not mean he deserved what happened to him. Or how rough his afterlife was until Miguel showed up.

Imelda on the other hand…. I guess I can kinda understand where she’s coming from because she is suddenly a single mother raising a young daughter in the 20s and that’s hard especially since it’s right on the heels of WWI and the Spanish Flu. Some argue that it was because she loved Hector so much and was so hurt by his perceived abandonment which led to the music ban and ripping him out of the Rivera family tree. And okay, I can see that.

BUT!!! From what the film shows us of Hector, what precisely led Imelda to lose faith and believe that he would ever just abandon her and their daughter? I mean all communication suddenly stops and suddenly Ernesto is singing Hector’s songs and using his guitar, even mangling and disrespecting a special song that Hector wrote for his young daughter. And Imelda apparently never gets suspicious about any of this? She just believes that her husband decided to run off and leave them instead of at least tracking him down to find out “wtf?!” and follows this by forbidding ANY and ALL mention of him in the family because she ASSUMED he’d appear on someone else’s ofrenda. Yes she was hurt and angry so that explains the music ban and the throwing herself into her new business but not how she treated her husband in the Land of the Dead.

And all of these actions led to Hectors near permanent death at the climax of the film because no one even knew of him in the living family except Coco. And all they did know of him was stories created through Imelda’s incorrect assumptions. Yes, she didn’t know they were incorrect at the time but she could’ve found out at any point during her afterlife. Only she carried her assumptions there with her and never let him explain himself even though it should have been obvious that something strange was going on given how he was just 21 when he died. She also never thought that was just a bit suspicious? She also never really takes any responsibility for what her actions nearly did to him even when he takes full responsibility for what HE did. And given what we saw of Hectors personality, she probably never had to.

But I reiterate that the TRUE bad guy here is Ernesto.

This is just my stance on the movie. You don’t have to agree but I am also not wrong because you don’t agree with me. Just because I disagree with those who try to completely exonerate Imelda of her own choices and actions regarding Hector doesn’t mean they are wrong either. I’m just putting my own opinion out there.

[rubycruzin4abruzin]

never been (stage) kissed

Summary: After years of being a struggling actress in Los Angeles, you finally land your big break! The only problem is, you’ve been cast opposite your longtime celebrity crush… Ruby Cruz. What will you do when the director demands a kiss between the two of you?

Pairing: ruby cruz x actress!reader

Contains: mature language, small amount of adult humor, kissing, fluff, thigh touching, in depth details of Hollywood movie shooting, anxious!reader, publicity tweets and comments, ruby being the sweetest girl EVER

Word Count: 3.1k

A/N: This is a Real Person Fiction. I’ve included a mass disclaimer of RPF guidelines here. Make SURE to click the link before reading, it’s extremely important for the safety of all Real People involved in this fiction.

———

You stared at the movie script in your hand, biting your lip to stop from squealing. After being in Los Angeles for the past five years, you had finally landed your big break.

You had known that you wanted to act ever since your mother signed you up to be a munchkin in a community theatre production of “The Wizard of Oz.” Of course, being a stubborn elementary schooler, you fought her on it, saying the songs were “stupid” and the costumes were “itchy.” But as soon as opening night came, and the lights hit your face, you put on a smile and celebrated the death of the Wicked Witch like it was something you’d been waiting for your entire life.

After the song's last note, deafening applause echoed around the theater, causing adrenaline to course through your veins. In that moment, you decided to spend the rest of your life chasing that feeling.

When you reached middle school, you joined their drama department, taking theatre as an elective class while occasionally participating in the school plays. Once high school rolled around, you began to take some of the more advanced classes, and even competed in a couple One-Act Play competitions. A lot of the people you started taking classes with eventually got bored and left to pursue other hobbies, but over the years you just fell more and more in love with acting, and became completely dedicated to your craft.

Instead of attending college, after you graduated high school you packed up whatever you needed and moved across the country to a small town about half an hour away from Los Angeles. The area was slightly sketchy, your apartment was small, and you had to work two jobs while sharing with four other roommates just to make rent.

Los Angeles kinda… sucked. But you had stars in your eyes and couldn’t be happier.

Unfortunately, you were kind of in for a rude awakening once audition season rolled around. Back in high school, you would book leads left and right. Now, it seemed like the only gigs you could book were background work, maybe a role in a rinky-dink student film if you were lucky. You always took what you could get, but you longed for something that could get your foot in the door.

One day, one of the short films you starred in entitled “Attack of the Killer Zombie Prom Queens” got entered into some film festival, and not only did it win an award you couldn’t remember the name of, it ended up going viral on YouTube, and not in a bad way either. Your performance in that film was astounding.

Plus, not that this was the sole reason the film blew up, but as an actress in your early 20’s who tended to take care of herself, you were kind of… well… hot.

Suddenly, you were getting recognized in public, signed with an agency, and landing more notable roles. You were featured in a music video for an up-and-coming country artist, booked a commercial for a costume makeup company (in which you brought back your look from “Attack of the Killer Zombie Prom Queens”), and even starred in three episodes of a new series on HBO Max.

Just when you thought life couldn’t get any better, one day you were coming back from what was either your third or fourth audition of the day, when you got a call from your agent on the drive home. You groaned, almost certain she was calling to schedule another “last-minute” audition. Sure you appreciated how hard she worked to get you booked, but you were also so tired after a long day.

To your surprise, when you picked up the phone, she ecstatically announced that you had booked a huge role.

In a feature film.

Starring alongside your celebrity crush… Ruby Cruz.

You had to pull over on the side of a highway to keep from swerving out of excitement.

Ruby had been your celebrity crush since you saw her in the Disney+ series “Willow.” Her masculine ambience, her devil-may-care attitude, and the way she swung her sword had you absolutely drooling. Somehow, you finished the entire series in two days, and immediately ran to IMDB to add Every Single Thing she’s been in to your watch list.

Now, you stood in front of the building where your first read-through was supposed to take place, the script for “Aliens of Atlantis” resting in your shaking hands. You gulped as you pushed open the door, wondering how you were going to keep your cool around Ruby when the very thought of her practically sent you into cardiac arrest.

Walking into the reading room, you were met with several chairs arranged into a circle and sounds of chatter from the other actors. You recognized a few of them from some smaller projects, even recognizing one from a movie that had come out the previous year. Your eyes scanned the room for Ruby, heart beating out of your chest when they landed on the back of a choppy brunette bob.

When Ruby turned around, you swore her blue eyes sparkled under the fluorescent lights. She caught you staring at her from across the room, and shot you a wide toothy smile before walking over to you.

“Hey,” she started. “You must be Zephyra.”

You blinked at her. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Zephyra.” She repeated. “You’re playing the alien queen of Atlantis, right?”

She furrowed her eyebrows at you slightly and tilted her head, worried she may have gotten you mixed up with someone else.

Her words clicked in your head, finally. “Oh! Yes! I’m playing the role of Zephyra.”

Ruby’s smile returned as she let out a lighthearted chuckle. You swallowed, trying to keep your cool. You still had trouble wrapping your mind around the fact that you were standing in front of the Ruby Cruz, and having a semi-successful conversation.

She stuck out her hand, offering a handshake. “Hi, I’m Ruby. I’m playing Calantha.”

You took her hand, electric shocks vibrating through your body at her touch. “Nice to meet you.”

After removing her hand (much to your displeasure), she turned to walk back over to her seat, but not before flashing you a smile over her shoulder. “Can’t wait to work with you!”

God, why did she have to be so cool?

The table read went fairly well, in your opinion. The movie was about Calantha, an underwater adventurer, finding the lost city of Atlantis during an expedition. Once there, she finds the city being ruled by aliens who’s spaceship crashed near the area about 100 years ago. Calantha finds Zephyra, the alien queen, who makes her promise to keep their secret, and in return, Calantha will help her run the city.

You were playing Zephyra, of course, since being in “Attack of the Killer Zombie Prom Queens” proved you looked hot even in otherworldly makeup. You kind of thought there might be some romantic or even sexual tension between Calantha and Zephyra, but you brushed it off as you thought that might not be the artistic intention.

Once filming started, your days were basically exclusively spent on set. Not that you were complaining, you loved every second. Even after coming home at 1am when you left for work at 6am, a blissful smile would be painted across your tired face.

The only thing that bothered you was that you barely ever got to talk to Ruby on set. It was more your fault than hers. Every time you two were working together, your brain short circuited and you couldn’t get out anything more than a few dim-witted babbles. Ruby was always so sweet about it though, always lightheartedly chuckling at your barely-comprehensible speech, sometimes even giving your upper arm a squeeze if you felt especially nervous.

You knew she meant well, but any touch from your celebrity crush was sure to do the opposite of calming you down.

One day, during a filming session, you and Ruby were meant to be sitting especially close to each other. You were sure you felt some romantic tension between the two characters, but you chalked it up to your crush on the actress and tried to downplay it. The director, however, seemed very frustrated today, this was the nineteenth take of this particular scene and he still wasn’t happy.

“Cut!” He yelled, letting out a frustrated sigh as you and Ruby turned your attention towards him.

“Everything alright, sir?” Ruby asked, making you glad you weren’t the only one who noticed his irritation.

“This scene… it’s missing something.” He brought his hand to his chin and squinted at the both of you. “Do we think we could add a kiss? Right here?”

Your heart stopped, and all the moisture disappeared from your mouth.

It wasn’t like you hadn’t kissed people before. You had your fair share of dates back in high school, that wasn’t the problem.

You’ve kissed, but you’ve never stage kissed.

Sure you had plenty of acting experiences, but the roles you played never required kissing. Instead of playing Aurora, you made a fabulous Maleficent. While Elle Woods locked lips with Emmett, you were busy portraying a hilarious Paulette. And of course, nobody wants to make out with a zombie prom queen.

You had no idea if there was any difference between actual kisses and stage-kisses. Obviously, sex scenes in movies weren’t real. But kisses? What if there is a difference and you go to kiss Ruby on camera and make her uncomfortable? What if she pushes you away? What if she gets mad? You don’t know how you’d recover from something like that, and your mind swarmed with plans to flee the country if that did happen.

Ruby opened her mouth to answer the director, before looking at you for confirmation and noticing your overly-panicked state. She sent you a reassuring smile, and placed a gentle hand on your back.

She turned to the director. “Could we pick this up after lunch? I think my scene partner and I have some things to discuss.”

The director agreed, and since it was still about thirty minutes to lunch, decided to use that time to record some “room noise.” You and Ruby were meant to sit still and quietly, the only thing you heard being the echo of your heartbeat in your ears.

Suddenly, you received a text notification, causing sound to go off and the director to groan and shoot you an annoyed look. You mumbled a quick “sorry” before switching your phone to vibrate and looking to see who texted you.

After wolfing down a sandwich from the craft services table, you stood in front of the trailer with Ruby’s name on the door, wringing your clammy hands while deciding whether or not to knock. You took a deep breath, raised your knuckles, and knocked three times, taking a step back after.

She answered almost immediately, staring down at you with a comforting grin. “Hey, come on in.”

Walking up the stairs and into Ruby’s trailer, you couldn’t help but notice how much cleaner it was than yours. You weren’t necessarily sloppy, but your vanity was covered in various bottles of blue face paint, while your floor held multiple alien-like prosthetics. Ruby’s was tidier, with a small couch pushed up against the wall, and her vanity holding nothing but some makeup basics and a half-full can of Dr. Pepper she had been drinking right before you walked in.

Ruby took a seat in her vanity chair and took a sip from her Dr. Pepper, motioning for you to sit on the small couch. “What’s going on? You didn’t seem too comfortable with the kissing scene.”

You gulped, staring down at your lap. “It’s not that…”

Ruby sat up, leaning forward to gawk at you. “Oh my god… have you never been kissed?”

“What? No! Of course I have…” you trailed off. “I just… I’ve never stage kissed before, and I know you have, so is it any different from regular kissing? I feel so stupid for asking and I’m so sorry but I didn’t wanna do it wrong while filming and I’m kinda embarrassed that I don’t know the answer so that’s why I wanted to ask you privately because I didn’t wanna fuck up…”

Ruby stared at you, silent and wide eyed. You felt your heartbeat in your ears as you tried to decipher what she was thinking. Suddenly, she threw her head back and let out a hearty laugh. Your heart sank. Here you were being awkward and vulnerable in front of your crush, and she was laughing at you.

Just before you decided to get up and walk out, Ruby calmed down, wiping away a tear and smiling apologetically. “I’m sorry, I promise I’m not making fun of you. I didn’t mean to laugh, really. You’re just so cute.”

You felt your cheeks burn at her words. She thinks you’re cute?

Ruby threw her soda away in a nearby trash can and moved to sit next to you on the small couch. She criss-crossed her legs, turning to face you while pondering how to answer your question.

“So… stage kisses are different from regular kisses, but they’re also not, you know? Like, we’re kissing but we’re not like… kissing.”

She peered over at you, studying your facial expressions. You looked more confused than ever, so she continued her explanation.

“So, if you’re asking if my lips will physically be on your lips… then the answer is yes, they will. But they’re not exactly like the real thing, because it’s more of a demonstration to the audience rather than an act of passion between two people.”

“A demonstration?” You cocked your head. Ruby nodded.

“Yeah, so say the camera was over there…” she pointed out in front of you. “…then you might cup my jaw, or cradle the back of my head. But if you were to grab my face or something like that, it’d look pretty awkward in a fifty-fifty profile shot.”

You nodded in understanding. “Ok… I think I get what you’re saying.”

“There are also different types of kissing.” Ruby continued. “Like, it should portray how your character feels about the other character. When Zephyra has scenes with Calantha, how does she feel?”

You gulped, focusing on your lap again. “Well, to be honest, it kinda feels like there’s a lot of romantic or sexual tension between our characters, but I’ve sort of been suppressing it because I’m not sure that was the intention.”

“But you feel like Zephyra is attracted to Calantha sexually?” Ruby asked. You nodded. “Great! You don’t necessarily have to make it explicit, but something like that can help you dive deeper into your character.”

Ruby scooted closer to you, taking your hands in hers. She gazed at you with half lidded eyes, causing your breathing to accelerate.

“I want you to kiss me.”

Ruby’s words barely resonated in your head, there was no way you heard her correctly. “You… huh?”

“For practice.” Ruby clarified, letting go of your hands. “Like you would during filming. Is that ok?”

An involuntary swallow forced itself down your throat as you nodded. You couldn’t believe you were about to kiss your celebrity crush, even if it was only for practice.

You pressed your hand into her warm cheek, pulling her close and quickly pecking her lips before retreating away. Your face burned from embarrassment while Ruby cocked her head, clearly confused.

“That’s it?” She asked. “My bad, I didn’t realize Calantha was your grandmother.”

Ruby moved closer and cradled the back of your head, entangling her fingers into your soft locks. You felt your hands sweat as her big blue eyes gazed into yours. “I was thinking maybe something more like this…”

She crashed her lips into yours, causing warmth to explode in your chest. Her fingers played with your hair as you began to kiss back, and your arms wrapped around her waist. Holy shit could she kiss! You could barely fathom how soft her lips were, tasting faintly of Dr. Pepper and vanilla lip balm. As hard as you tried to act professional and pretend there was a camera in front of you, every inch of your body screamed at you to succumb to your most primal instincts.

You lifted one hand from her waist and moved to rest it on her mid-thigh, causing a gentle moan to escape from her lips and a shiver to run down her body. Startled, you moved back, throughly convinced that you majorly fucked up.

“Shit, I’m sorry!” You exclaimed, pulling back your hand like it had touched fire. “I wasn’t thinking, fuck. I got too swept up in the moment. I shouldn’t have touched you, that was completely unprofessional.”

“Hm…?” Ruby blinked, still in a daze. “Oh. Oh! You’re good! Don’t be sorry. I liked it. Really.”

Ruby grinned at you shyly. You stared back at her, a question you weren’t quite sure how to ask lingering at the tip of your tongue. “Ruby, are we still… practicing?”

Her smile faded as her eyes went wide, her gaze dropping to her lap. It was her turn to be coy, a sight you’d never seen before.

She dropped her voice to a low whisper as she choked out her question. “Do you want to be?”

Before you could even open your mouth to answer, your phone alarm screeched from your jacket pocket. You took it out, groaning as you turned it off.

Ruby furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. “What was that?”

“My alarm,” you answered. “I have to go.”

“But lunch isn’t over for another twenty minutes.” Ruby pointed out, trying to hide her disappointment.

“Yeah, but I have to head back early so they can touch up my makeup and fix my prosthetics.”

Ruby sighed in understanding. She supposed your costume might have a bit more upkeep than hers. Your prosthetics did look a little wonky after the lunch break, never mind your smudged blue lipstain that made her apprehensive to look in a mirror.

You collected yourself and turned to walk out, but looked over your shoulder before opening the door. “Uhm… Ruby?”

“Hm?” She answered.

You wrung your hands anxiously. “Do you think we could maybe… do this again? Sometime?”

Ruby’s head shot up to look at you, and a playful smile spread across her face. “Do what? More kissing lessons?”

You rolled your eyes as she chuckled, then gave you a lopsided grin. “I’d like that. Lunch again, tomorrow?”

A blush pink color sprinkled across the apples of your cheeks as you smiled back at her, trying your best to stay cool and suppress the giddy feeling that was bubbling inside of you.

“See you then.”

[auroralwriting]

if you feel it, chase it

spencer reid x fem!reader (twisters! au)

storm chasing was the intent, falling in love was not.

word count: 4.0k

warnings: do not read if you don't want twisters spoilers, it's the whole fic so beware, spencer is tyler and reader is kate basically, spencer is still himself with a touch of tyler, sort of enemies/strangers to lovers, this has more romance than the movie and it has the kiss we all wanted, no use of y/n

You promised yourself long ago you’d never storm chase again.

After the losses of Elle, Jason, and Haley, it was too much to bare. You’d been the sole survivor of the tornado. Of course, your friend Derek had also survived, but he didn’t experience what you did. He could never understand.

You’d moved from Oklahoma to New York in hopes of moving on, but when Derek came to you five years later, asking you to help his team, you found yourself on a flight back home before you could even reconsider. Going back home after all this time sort of scared you, but Derek and his fifteen missed calls, twenty messages, and one voice message really seemed to convince you.

Derek’s team was for a company run by an investor named Erin Strauss. You’d only overheard her name, but she was using the data collected by Derek’s team to help predict storms before they happened. It seemed like the best idea. It could help save a lot of lives.

The team was small, but included Derek and storm chasers David Rossi, Emily Prentiss, Mateo Cruz, and Jennifer Jareau. Now, it also included you. For the week, you reminded yourself.

You stood with the team as Derek introduced you. Suddenly, a loud stream of music approached quickly. You all watched as a truck and van pulled up. JJ scoffed, “Ignore them. They’re just some famous youtube storm chasers. They’re just in this for the trill of the storm.”

It was inevitable that you continued to stare. The group looked interesting, especially their leader, as you’d guessed. He was tall, curly dark hair, and was yelling something the crowd chanted back. If you feel it, chase it.

"They call themselves the BAU. Boundary Advection Units."

Deciding to ignore them, you walked out to the empty field to stare at the sky. Where would the best storm be…

“West looks good,” A voice said behind you. You turned to see the man from minutes ago, now staring at the sky. “East looks like it could be something.. maybe. High risk, high reward."

“Air’s thicker east, looks like a lot of empty space for a storms to grow.” You commented. “You’ll get a nice show that way for your fans. West is fine, but don't be surprised if they choke each other out, though."

The man stepped closer as you two looked at each other. “I’m, uh, Spencer Reid.” He introduced.

“I have a job to get to,” You scoffed, walking passed him. “East’s got the best chances, take ‘em!”

Approaching your somewhat team, you turned to Derek. “West, we have to go west.”

Rossi scrunched his eyebrows together, “But west has the best air quality for tornados. It looks like there could be several-"

"We go west. Come on, let's get in the vans." Derek said quickly.

Fireworks. They lit off fucking fireworks into the tornado. That had to be some kind of hazard, right? You were a little pissed at yourself for becoming so scared of the tornado. It was simple, an E2. It wouldn't have hurt you. You should have let Derek place the device down to get data.

Derek walked along the path with you to the hotel. He'd asked you to hang out, but you declined. It was too much, too soon. Actually, it wasn't too soon. It reminded you too much of the past. It could never happen. You weren't back. It was just one week.

As you walked up the stairs to your room, you were stopped by Spencer.

"Hey," He called. "The cells to the west will choke each other out, she said. The one in the east will put on a show."

You shrugged, "It didn't throw you off the scent."

"That's what makes Spencer so famous," A woman beside Spencer said. "Hi, I'm Penelope."

Eyebrow raised, you leaned on the railing. "You mean on YouTube?"

"On- Yeah, yeah. We have a million followers!" Penelope cheered with the rest of the crowd. "You know Spencer, but that's Tara, Luke, Alex, and Kate." They all waved and you gave a forced smile. "You made a good call earlier. On my devices, the other cell looked stronger but the cap never broke."

"Where did you all meet? Did you study meteorology in college together?" You asked.

They all laughed, "Nah, only Spencer has a degree, a whole ass PhD in meteorology." Luke laughed. "We all just like to go with the flow. Or, his flow, I guess."

"Our crew isn't quite like your crew. We don't need PhDs and fancy gadgets to do what we do." Spencer said. "I guarantee that these guys," Spencer pointed to the clearly homemade windcatchers, "have seen more tornadoes than anyone here."

"Is that right?" You asked sarcastically.

Spencer turned to you once more, but this time, it was awkwardly. "If you want, uh, maybe we can put you in one of our episodes."

You feigned a clearly fake awe, "Wow. I guess you can always trust a guy who puts his crew on a tee-shirt."

"Hey, I did that!" Penelope called as the rest of the group ooh'd at your comment about Spencer.

You began to walk up to your room as Spencer was quick to follow. "Hey, it wasn't my idea to start the channel." He frowned as you grabbed the key. "I just do it to get my knowledge out there."

"What knowledge?" You ask.

"I have an eidetic memory," Spencer awkwardly said. "That and my PhD. I, uh, know a lot about tornadoes. I want to inform people. Knowledge is power."

With a shake of your head, you open the door. "But knowledge isn't everything, right?" You asked, going inside and shutting the door behind you.

Spencer stood outside for a moment, reeling from your comment. Maybe his friends had been influencing him too much.

It was twins, a whole set of twin tornadoes. Luckily, you'd picked the right one, and Spencer didn't. Unluckily, the tornado almost flipped the truck you and Derek shared. Even worse, it damaged a nearby town.

Everything had been destroyed. Derek and the team were handing out cards to the people as you looked around, helping people find their belongings and returning them.

You knew what it felt like to have everything taken from you, just like that. It was horrible. This was the first tornado you'd been caught in since the last, and you truly thought you were going to die, too. You remembered the looks on your friends faces as the wind swept them up and away. You were truly scared.

Of course, the BAU showed up, too. They set up a merch table. It made you sick to see them selling their merchandise minutes after a life-changing event took place. It made you even angrier to know these people were being taken advantage of.

"Nice play on the left twin." Spencer said as he walked up to you.

"Yeah, well it didn't help these people any." You sighed, looking around.

Spencer watched as Strauss gave her business card to a man. "I wasn't aware that Storm Par was in the helping business." Spencer bitterly stated.

"Well, from what I see they're trying to make a difference." Slowly, you approached Spencer. His well-fitted shirt looked good on him. You took notice of his different-colored converse. It was oddly charming.

"That's one way of putting it." Spencer replied.

"What?"

Spencer paused, "Do you even know who you're chasing for?"

What did he mean? You knew of Strauss, and it was for Derek. "What are you talking about?"

"How much more do these people have to lose?" Spencer angrily asked, walking closer to you. "Is this what you call making a difference?"

"Sorry," You chuckled bitterly, "Says the guy setting up shop selling tee-shirts and mugs after the storms hit."

Spencer ran a hand through his hair, "I have a dog to find." With that, he walked away leaving you more confused than you had been.

What did he mean? Was there something he knew that you didn't? Even if you didn't know anything, you knew you didn't like Spencer getting angry with you. It didn't suit him, the anger. He looked too sweet to be so upset. Maybe you needed to do some digging and find out what he knew.

Right as you walked back to your truck, Kate ran up to you calling your name. "Hey, take some food."

"Oh, don't have any cash." You replied, looking at the girls outstretched arm.

Kate gave you a confused look, "It's free. That's why we're always selling those tee-shirts."

It hit you that maybe you were being the ass. You looked back to the stand to see people getting food and water. You felt your stomach churn. You turned back to Kate. "Oh. Well, save it in case you run low."

"Okay," Kate softly agreed, "At least take some water, stay hydrated."

"Thanks," You replied softly.

"Yeah, see ya." Kate ran back over to her group as you watched. Something wasn't right. You were misinformed. Yeah, it was definitely research time.

WE BUY LAND.

The slogan of the website made you feel like you'd betrayed the whole world as you stared at Strauss' figure standing over a pile of rubble. That's what this was for. It wasn't to help people, it was to buy their land after the tornado came through. It wasn't to stop the tornado, it was just to track it.

Derek knew that wasn't what you were about. It never used to be what he was about. He had to know, so the real question was why would he lie to you?

A knock at your motel door interrupted your thoughts. You shut your laptop and stood up to walk to the door. You opened it to see Spencer standing awkwardly with a box of pizza. His hair was messy and he gave you a crooked smile.

"Thought you might be hungry." He offered. Hesitantly, you took the pizza. You ended up shutting the door without a word and walking back over to your bed.

You opened it, suddenly feeling the urge to see if maybe he wanted some. You needed to tell him you weren't like them. Why his opinion of you mattered so highly, you didn't quite understand.

Opening the door, he was still standing there. "You find that dog?"

"Of course," Spencer nodded. "I wouldn't have left until I did. How you doing after all that?"

You tsked, "It doesn't matter. It's those people who matter."

"Well, you've seen the worst of this place." Spencer hesitated. "I thought that, uh, maybe it would be nice to show you something good. That's if you want to go, of course. It's late and tornado chasing can make you tired-"

"I'll go." You nodded, cutting him off. "Let me get my shoes."

Spencer ended up taking you to a rodeo. You sat in the stands watching. "This isn't, uh, really my speed to be honest." He admitted, awkwardly smiling at you.

"What is your speed then?" You asked, now interested in getting to know him better.

"I like museums. Books, uh, research. That's what I wanted to do. But my mom got sick, so I came back here to help her. Got into chasing." Spencer answered. "I still want to do research. Maybe at a college, somewhere. And I can still chase."

You nodded, "You'd like it. It seems up your alley. Use those smarts to inform the people about tornados and shit."

Spencer chuckled, "Yeah, and shit." After a moment, he asked "Is this your speed?"

"I grew up out here, this isn't my first rodeo." You joked. Spencer chuckled too. It warmed you to know you two had connected.

"Look at that, we're learning things about each other." Spencer commented.

"I didn't know she was buying land," You admitted to him. "I looked it up. Derek just asked me to help his team, we've been friends for years so I just said yes."

Spencer nodded. He looked compassionate. "You didn't strike me as the type to do something like that."

"I'm not," You agreed.

All of a sudden, the wind picked up strongly. It made you shiver. Wait, the weather man didn't predict strong winds. Your heart stopped as you turned to Spencer, who was already looking at you with the same look you adorned. "Were you tracking cells out this way?" Spencer didn't reply, he just slowly turned to the sky. You did the same, staring up. "Air feels heavy, this isn't good."

The same alarm blared from the stands. It was your phones. You opened it to see the bold letters, Tornado Warning. The sirens began to echo throughout the vast space and your heart rate increased.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I've just received word a tornado has touched down near the area! Please evacuate this arena right now!"

Spencer quickly grabbed your hand to help lead you out through the crowd of people. "Come on," He muttered your name a few times. "Hold on, come on." As the crowed began to run, so did you both. A woman fell in front of you and you both helped her up quickly. "Hurry, come on!" Spencer said with more urgency.

It was a disaster. People were scrambling, cars were hitting each other. Spencer held your hand tightly and pulled you closer to him. The lightning lit up the sky, and you could see the tornado.

"Spencer, we have no time!" You yelled.

Right as you went to cross the street, cars almost hit you. Spencer jumped out in front of them, yelling for them to stop as the two of you ran across. You ran into some ranky motel where the front counter worker was arguing with some customers. You'd managed to grab their attention and run outside. After a small scan, you realized there was really nowhere safe to go.

You had to think outside the box, where would be the safest?

Once your eyes fell on the pool, you knew. "The pool! Come on!" You yelled as everyone ran.

The three from the motel ended up running to car. You couldn't stop them. So, you focused on the mom and child you came across, helping them down. Spencer was the last, and right as he made it down, a large chunk of metal hit the ladder and you yanked his arm, pulling him close to you. Quickly, you ran to the end of the pool and held onto the metal pipes as the tornado finally made its way to you.

Please, don't let me die. Not here, not now.

Spencer held on above you, shielding you with his own body.

The moment it was over, you made your way up the ladder to see that everything was utterly destroyed. The Storm Par van you recognized as Derek's drove up. A moment later, he was sprinting out of the car and to you.

"God," He muttered your name as he pulled you into a tight hug. "I thought I lost you."

"Derek," You pulled back. "Why didn't you tell me about Strauss?" You looked over his shoulder to see her speaking with a couple, probably the owners of the land. "She's profiting off their loss."

Derek furrowed his brows, "The way I see it, she's helping them restart."

"By taking all they have left?" You questioned. "That's not helping."

"Yeah?" Derek challenged, anger taking over his features. "How would you know what losing everything you have is?" The moment the words left his mouth, he froze. "I didn't.. I didn't mean--"

You shook your head, "No, Derek. I understand perfectly fine." Slowly, you began to back away. You took the keys from his hand quickly and ran to the van, Derek yelling behind you.

Without a second thought, you started the vehicle and began to drive away. You could still hear Derek yelling apologizes, but what caught your eye was Spencer watching you drive away with a look on his face you couldn't quite understand.

Back at home, your mother welcomed you with open arms. She even left your science experiments in the barn, exactly how you left it all five years ago. It was comforting to be back at home, but at the same time it brought back those painful memories you tried so hard to bury deep, deep down.

The next morning, your mom came to let you know a scrawny, handsome man was here to see you. You simply sighed, telling her to let him come to you.

You stared at your tornado machine from middle school, remembering how happy you were when you'd won first place. Footsteps echoed behind you, and you knew it was Spencer.

"A tornado machine," He stepped close, leaning over to observe it. "The hydraulics on this thing are amazing. Plus, the art is really good too."

"It was my middle school science fair project," You hummed, watching as he carefully picked up one of the small houses, setting it back up.

Spencer turned back around with a geeky smile, "Did you win?"

"What do you think?" You replied with a small smile matching his.

"It's definitely no volcano," Spencer joked as he walked back over to you. "It was Penelope who recognized your name from the news a few years back. I'm sorry about your friends." Spencer said as he eyes a photo that was tacked to the barn's walls. It was one with you, Derek, and your friends. He looked back to you with a look you hadn't seen him give you before. If you would've thought about it, you would've known it was adoration.

You shrugged, shoving your hands in your pockets. "It was my fault. There's nothing to be sorry for."

"It wasn't your fault," Spencer shook his head, walking closer to you.

"It wasn't supposed to be an E5. It was supposed to be smaller, easier to manipulate and be around. I convinced them all to do it." You argued.

Spencer took one of your notebooks and began looking through it, "You theorized you could stop a tornado with polymers that would suck up the moisture." Spencer said as he flipped through the pages.

"It didn't work." You casually replied.

"Well, maybe it could." Spencer looked up, "Maybe you just need a new model. This has a genuine chance of working if you just--"

You held out a hand, closing your eyes as you sucked in a breath. "Spencer, no. That's in the past. I can't-- I just can't."

"You should try," Spencer encouraged. "Imagine the difference you could make with this."

Spencer's words struck a chord with you. That had been your goal, and it was his, too. Even so, it was too risky. It was too painful after what had happened. There was no way you could do it again, let alone rope in Spencer to help you. "I just can't." You finally said after a moment. "It won't." After another moment, you swallowed the lump in your throat. "Stay for dinner, and stay the night. You shouldn't be driving so late during tornado season by yourself."

"I don't want to intrude--"

"Please?"

Spencer looked to you, his eyes wider than normal at your plead. "Okay," He nodded. "Yeah, I'll stay."

You couldn't let anything happen to Spencer, too, you decided.

El Reno was about to be hit with the biggest fucking tornado you'd ever seen. Not only did it just hit a power plant and set on fire, but it was headed to small town with no warnings.

Spencer and you sped to the town, Luke's RV trailing right behind you. The second you got there, it was about finding shelter for people. His team and you all directed people to the storm shelters, but there was just so many people.

"Hey, the shelters are all full." Luke ran up to inform you and Spencer. "We gotta direct them to the theater."

"That won't be any better than standing outside," You shook your head. "There has to be another way."

Luke called Penelope over who typed into her phone at rapid speed, "There's nowhere else without windows." Penelope informed. "Theater is the best place we can take them."

You looked to Spencer, nervously biting your lip. He nodded at you as you took a deep breath, "Okay, let's move them fast. Keep them in the middle, hold onto seats when the walls cave."

The theater became so full, it felt like you were moving through a mosh crowd. This wasn't safe, with the number of people and size of tornado, it was bound to kill everyone. You ran to one side of the building, checking to see if there was shelter.

To your surprise, Derek met up with you and Spencer. "Other side has nothing." Derek said quickly. You knew he'd choose the right way.

"Okay, we gotta get these people in safer positions." Spencer said quickly. As the two ran off, you couldn't help but stare at the tornado.

Maybe Spencer was right. Maybe you could make a difference. After all, this tornado was bound to kill you all. Might as well die trying, right? You took a look at his truck that still had the barrels of your concoction loaded on the back. Quickly, you ran to it, trying your best to not get swept up by the wind. The second you got inside, you knew there was no going back from this.

Spencer began to look for you, asking Derek if he'd seen you. When he saw his truck out in the field, driving right for the tornado, his heart nearly stopped beating right then and there. He yelled your name, desperately trying to get to you. Derek and Luke had to hold him back to keep him inside and safe.

He didn't even realize until that moment how infatuated he'd become with you. You were his dream girl, the one he'd been chasing. And now, you were going to be gone.

You, on the other hand, tried your best not to think about Spencer. It was hard enough leaving him. You felt a connection with him you didn't quite understand, but now was not the time to decode it.

Time felt like it passed by so quickly. The next thing you knew, you were clawing your way outside of the flipped truck. If you were alive, that was a good thing, right? Unless you were dead and you were about to see tornado Jesus right in front of your eyes.

The sunlight hurt, you definitely had some sort of head injury. You reached your hand outside and felt someone grab it. They began to pull you out, another hand grabbing your other arm once your torso was out of the truck.

"Oh my god," You heard Spencer's lovely voice mumble as you finally were freed.

"Is one of you tornado Jesus?" You muttered, blinking back the pain.

A laugh came from Alex, "I thought you were a goner for sure,"

"You did it," Spencer said as he knelt down next to you. "It worked. You fucking did it." His words echoed in your mind as he pulled you into a hug. You didn't even realize you were already hugging back by the time you thought you should. Quickly, you grabbed Spencer's face and pulled him into a kiss.

A howl came from Luke as Spencer pulled back with his gorgeous wide eyes. "We did it."

At your words, Spencer smiled and, this time, pulled you into a kiss. "Okay, back off, let me see my best friend after she almost died." You chucked at Derek's words as he came to hug you, nearly pushing Spencer away. "Never do that again."

"Can't promise that," You chuckled, staring at Spencer over Derek's shoulder as his cheeks warmed at your stare. "Because I think we may just have ourselves a new storm chasing crew." As the group whooped at the victory, you pulled back from Derek and turned to Spencer. "If you feel it..."

"Chase it." Spencer smiled back as he gently set a hand on your face, causing you to smile even wider at your storm-chasing boy.

[susieporta]

[Lei s’innamorò come s’ innamorano sempre le donne intelligenti:

come un’ idiota]

La zia Daniela s’innamorò come s’innamorano sempre le donne intelligenti: come un’idiota. Lo aveva visto arrivare un mattino, le spalle erette e il passo sereno, e aveva pensato: «Quest’uomo si crede Dio». Ma dopo averlo sentito raccontare storie di mondi lontani e di passioni sconosciute, si innamorò di lui e delle sue braccia come se non parlasse latino sin da bambina, non avesse studiato logica e non avesse sorpreso mezza città imitando i giochi poetici di Góngora e di suor Juana Inés de la Cruz come chi risponde ad una filastrocca durante la ricreazione. Era tanto colta che nessun uomo voleva mettersi con lei, per quanto avesse occhi di miele e labbra di rugiada, per quanto il suo corpo solleticasse l’immaginazione risvegliando il desiderio di vederlo nudo, per quanto fosse bella come la Madonna del Rosario. Gli uomini avevano paura di amarla, perché c’era qualcosa nella sua intelligenza che suggeriva sempre un disprezzo per il sesso opposto e le sue ricchezze.

Ma quell’uomo che nulla sapeva di lei e dei suoi libri le si accostò come a chiunque altra. Allora la zia Daniela lo dotò di un’intelligenza abbagliante, una virtù angelica e un talento d’artista. Il suo cervello lo guardò in tanti modi che in capo a dodici giorni credette di conoscere cento uomini.

Lo amò convinta che Dio possa aggirarsi tra i mortali, abbandonata con tutta se stessa ai desideri e alle stramberie di un uomo che non aveva mai avuto intenzione di rimanere e non aveva mai capito neppure uno di tutti i poemi che Daniela aveva voluto leggergli per spiegare il suo amore.

Un giorno così com’era venuto, se ne andò senza neppure salutare. Non ci fu allora in tutta l’intelligenza della zia Daniela una sola scintilla in grado di spiegarle ciò che era successo.

Ipnotizzata da un dolore senza nome né destino, diventò la più stupide delle stupide. Perderlo fu un dolore lungo come l’insonnia, una vecchiaia di secoli, l’inferno.

Per pochi giorni di luce, per un indizio, per gli occhi d’acciaio e di supplica che le aveva prestato una notte, la zia Daniela sotterrò la voglia di vivere e cominciò a perdere lo splendore della pelle, la forza delle gambe, l’intensità della fronte e delle viscere.

Nel giro di tre mesi divenne quasi cieca, le crebbe una gobba sulla schiena e dovette succedere qualcosa anche al suo termostato interno, perché, nonostante indossasse anche in pieno sole calze e cappotto, batteva i denti dal freddo come se vivesse al centro stesso dell’inverno. La portavano fuori a prendere aria come un canarino. Le mettevano accanto frutta e biscotti da becchettare, ma sua madre si portava via il piatto intatto mentre Daniela rimaneva muta, nonostante gli sforzi che tutti facevano per distrarla.

All’inizio la invitavano in strada, per vedere se, guardando i colombi e osservando la gente che andava e veniva, qualcosa in lei cominciasse a dare segni di attaccamento alla vita. Provarono di tutto. Sua madre se la portò in Spagna e le fece girare tutti i locali sivigliani di flamenco senza ottenere da lei nulla più di una lacrima, una sera in cui il cantante era allegro. La mattina seguente inviò un telegramma a suo marito:«Comincia a migliorare, ha pianto un secondo». Era diventata come un arbusto secco, andava dove la portavano e appena poteva si lasciava cadere sul letto come se avesse lavorato ventiquattr’ore di seguito in una piantagione di cotone. Alla fine non ebbe più forze che per gettarsi su una sedia a dire a sua madre:«Ti prego, andiamocene a casa».

Quando tornarono, la zia Daniela camminava a stento, e da allora non volle più alzarsi dal letto. Non voleva neppure lavarsi, né pettinarsi, né fare pipì. Un mattino non riuscì neppure ad aprire gli occhi.

«E’ morta!», sentì esclamare intorno a sé, e non trovò la forza di negarlo.

Qualcuno suggerì a sua madre che un tale comportamento fosse un ricatto, un modo di vendicarsi degli altri, una posa da bambina viziata che, se di colpo avesse perso la tranquillità di una casa sua e la pappa pronta, si sarebbe data da fare per guarire da un giorno all’altro. Sua madre fece lo sforzo di crederci e seguì il consiglio di abbandonarla sul portone della cattedrale. La lasciarono lì una notte con la speranza di vederla tornare, affamata e furiosa, com’era stata un tempo. La terza notte la raccolsero dal portone e la portarono in ospedale tra le lacrime di tutta la famiglia.

All’ospedale andò a farle visita la sua amica Elidé, una giovane dalla pelle luminosa che parlava senza posa e che sosteneva di saper curare il mal d’amore. Chiese che le permettessero di prendersi cura dell’anima e dello stomaco di quella naufraga. Era una creatura allegra e attiva. Ascoltarono il suo parere. Secondo lei, l’errore nella cura della sua intelligente amica consisteva nel consiglio di dimenticare. Dimenticare era una cosa impossibile. Quel che bisognava fare era imbrigliare i suoi ricordi perché non la uccidessero, perché la obbligassero a continuare a vivere.

I genitori ascoltarono la ragazza con la stessa indifferenza che ormai suscitava in loro qualsiasi tentativo di curare la figlia. Davano per scontato che non sarebbe servito a nulla, ma autorizzarono il tentativo come se non avessero ancora perso la speranza, che ormai avevano perso.

Le misero a dormire nella stessa stanza. Passando davanti a quella porta, in qualsiasi momento, si udiva l’infaticabile voce di Elidé parlare dell’argomento con la stessa ostinazione con la quale un medico veglia un moribondo. Non stava zitta un minuto. Non le dava tregua. Un giorno dopo l’altro, una settimana dopo l’altra.

«Come hai detto che erano le sue mani?», chiedeva.

Se la zia Daniela non rispondeva, Elidé l’attaccava su un altro fronte.

«Aveva gli occhi verdi? Castani? Grandi?».

«Piccoli», rispose la zia Daniela, aprendo bocca per la prima volta dopo un mese.

«Piccoli e torbidi?», domandò Elidé.

«Piccoli e fieri», rispose la zia Daniela, e ricadde nel suo mutismo per un altro mese.

«Era sicuramente del Leone. Sono così, i Leoni», diceva la sua amica tirando fuori un libro sui segni zodiacali. Le leggeva tutte le nefandezze che un Leone può commettere. «E poi sono bugiardi. Ma tu non devi lasciarti andare, sei un Toro: sono forti le donne del Toro».

«Di bugie sì che ne ha dette», le rispose Daniela una sera.

«Quali? Non te ne scordare! Perché il mondo non è tanto grande da non incontrarlo mai più, e allora gli ricorderai le sue parole: una per una, quelle che ti ha detto e quelle che ha fatto dire a te».

«Non voglio umiliarmi».

«Sarai tu a umiliare lui. Sarebbe troppo facile, seminare parole e poi filarsela».

«Le sue parole mi hanno illuminata!», lo difese la zia Daniela.

«Si vede, come ti hanno illuminata!», diceva la sua amica, arrivate a questo punto.

Dopo tre mesi ininterrotti di parole la fece mangiare come Dio comanda. Non si rese neppure conto di come fosse successo. L’aveva portata a fare una passeggiata in giardino. Teneva sottobraccio una cesta con frutta, pane, burro, formaggio e tè. Stese una tovaglia sull’erba, tirò fuori la roba e continuò a parlare mettendosi a mangiare senza offrirle nulla.

«Gli piaceva l’uva», disse l’ammalata.

«Capisco che ti manchi».

«Sì» disse la zia Daniela, portandosi alla bocca un grappolo d’uva. «Baciava divinamente. E aveva la pelle morbida, sulla schiena e sulla pancia».

«E com’era… sai di che cosa parlo», disse l’amica, come se avesse sempre saputo che cosa la torturava.

«Non te lo dico», rispose Daniela ridendo per la prima volta dopo mesi. Mangiò poi pane e burro, formaggio e tè.

«Bello?», chiese Elidé.

«Sì», rispose l’ammalata, ricominciando a essere se stessa.

Una sera scesero a cena. La zia Daniela indossava un vestito nuovo e aveva i capelli lucidi e puliti, finalmente liberi dalla treccia polverosa che non si era pettinata per tanto tempo.

Venti giorni più tardi, le due ragazze avevano ripassato tutti i ricordi da cima a fondo, fino a renderli banali. Tutto ciò che la zia Daniela aveva cercato di dimenticare, sforzandosi di non pensarci, a furia di ripeterlo divenne per lei indegno di ricordo. Castigò il suo buon senso sentendosi raccontare una dopo l’altra le centoventimila sciocchezze che l’avevano resa felice e disgraziata.

«Ormai non desidero più neppure vendicarmi», disse un mattino a Elidé. «Sono stufa marcia di questa storia».

«Come? Non mi ridiventare intelligente, adesso», disse Elidé. «Questa è sempre stata una questione di ragione offuscata: non vorrai trasformarla in qualcosa di lucido? Non sprecarla, ci manca la parte migliore: dobbiamo ancora andare a cercare quell’uomo in Europa e in Africa, in Sudamerica e in India, dobbiamo trovarlo e fare un baccano tale da giustificare i nostri viaggi. Dobbiamo ancora visitare la Galleria Pitti, vedere Firenze, innamorarci a Venezia, gettare una moneta nella Fontana di Trevi. Non vogliamo inseguire quell’uomo che ti ha fatto innamorare come un’imbecille e poi se n’è andato?».

Avevamo progettato di girare il mondo in cerca del colpevole, e questa storia che la vendetta non fosse più imprescindibile nella cura della sua amica era stata un brutto colpo per Elidé. Dovevano perdersi per l’India e il Marocco, la Bolivia e il Congo, Vienna e soprattutto l’Italia. Non aveva mai pensato di trasformarla in un essere razionale dopo averla vista paralizzata e quasi pazza quattro mesi prima.

«Dobbiamo andare a cercarlo. Non mi diventare intelligente prima del tempo», le diceva.

«E’ arrivato ieri», le rispose la zia Daniela un giorno.

«Come lo sai?»

«L’ho visto. Ha bussato al mio balcone come una volta».

«E che cosa hai provato?»

«Niente».

«E che cosa ti ha detto?»

«Tutto».

«E che cosa gli hai risposto?»

«Ho chiuso la finestra».

«E adesso?», domandò la terapista.

«Gli assenti si sbagliano sempre».

Ángeles Mastretta

[racconto tratto dal libro “Donne dagli occhi grandi”]

*traduzione di Gina Maneri

[eleni-cherie]

list of artists (actors & musicians) I like/stan who are openly and vocally pro-palestine:

marina, coldplay, penelope cruz, javier bardem, calum hood & ashton irwin (5sos) angelina jolie, alexandra savior, matt helders (arctic monkeys), zayn, eric andre, john cusack, mark ruffalo, dan howell & phil lester, serj tankian (system of a down), rage against the machine, hozier, the weeknd, richard gere, macklemore..

hopefully even more of my faves will use their platform to be vocal & spread awareness.

remember, don't base your morals solely on what your faves tell you or don't tell you - but it's important to urge celebrities to use their platform to spread awareness about important topics + it's good to show support to those who do so there's no reason for them to "be afraid of losing their career if they do" and this way more and more will feel confident enough to join.

also donate to grassroot organizations like CareForGaza and GazaDirectHelp who are in the inside and help directly.

and I also wanted to add this here, a joint fundraiser for Palestine + Sudan!!

[thedivided]

Gabrielle Cole - tracking device

Jack Sato - stealthy

Elijah Songaa - breathrough

Seoung Kwan - spiritual connection

Makoto Shizuka - shortcut

Cora Madden - investigative eye

Adriana Penn - self control

Yara Valle - second wind

Taylor Dalton - good teacher

Callum - team spirit

Yronica (( I forgot how to spell her last name )) - egocentric leech

Eman Attia - evanesce

Aaaqil Che - adaptability

Amari Tamiyyah - vagrants trick

Emery Rivera - disappearing act

Jun Inagaki - tough

Eiji Inagaki - old camera

Chaoxing Lai - xingxings mic

Gavin Prescott - gavins pistol

Becca Prescott - sole survivor

Rayner Byrne - rayner's shield

Crosby Aldrich - royal rule

Serena 'Sera' Vera - smooth skating

Jonas Weber - sanity soda

Nami Deng - hard times

Mamo Ikaika - mamos bat

Dakota Nicole - flame spray

Crystal Kaur - clear quartz

Sanjana Dewan - quiet steps

Kelvin Mars - sonar dart (( ? ))

Arlo Flores - healers touch

Iris Daley - pot of life

Saadiya Ali - course control

Anais Desir (( ? )) - complete control

Kiara Cruz - life of the party (( ? ))

Sarah - lone wolf

Yvonne Kojo - fight or flight (( ??? ))

Elizabeth Payne - self assurance

Lyndon Davenport - rauhm

Dante Fontana-Rosa - plane of elysium

Serena Wolfe - hunters instinct

Kyle Wolfe - bear trap

Yeona Jeung - obsessed

Yan Tian - detection machine

Ryder - detail oriented

Riley West - cheap thrill

Dae-Jung Pak - charm

Dakari Bowens - heal gun

Tabitha Harris - maternal instinct

Wren Harris - menial work

Parker - triple mocktail

Nathan Reyes - wits end

Emil - inspire

Evelyn Maurelle - dirty work

I can also name a few killer abilites

Werewolf - feral rage (active) / the hunt (passive)

Polluted - oil trail (active) / corruption consumes (passive)

ghost - blood phase (active) / sixth sense (passive)

Principal - extended strike (active) / hall pass (passive)

Showstopper - foul play (active)

Apostate - salvation (passive)

Watcher - watchful eye (active)

Janitor - worked ground (active) / no escape (passive)

Experiment - deep terror (active) / aftershock (passive??)

Surgeon - swift strikes (active) / surgical precision (passive)

Idol - you're mine (active) / obsessive nature (passive)

Host - ice trap (active)

Unforgotten - malefic shadows (active) / manifest (passive?)

Android - technological eye (active) / automation (passive)

explodes

NERDD

ill list off what i remember, using the same list as you but some grouped together. Ill also only list what actually brought them to the mist

Gabrielle - tried making a ghost tracker gone wrong

Jack - last delivery of the night gone wrong

Elijah - only survivor of a camp massacre caused by banshee

Seoung - messed up a ritual and summoned ghost?

Makoto - fell asleep on a subway while going to a new job

Cora - all i remember is she was skeptical of people? and she lost her mom i think

Adrianna - dont remember, ive read it though

Yara - havent read it

Taylor - havent read it

Callum, Yronica, Aaaqil, Eman - detention, almost got killed by principal?

Amari - plane crash

Emery - pushed into the mist by showstopper

Jun - forgot

Eiji - forgot

Chaoxing - havent read, i think she disappeared while going offstage at a concert? Yara or Taylor followed her i think idk….

Gavin + Parker - car crash?

Becca - babysitting job turned final girl situation

Rayner - sentenced for execution, disappeared

Crosby - smth to do with rayners

Sera - havent read

Jonas - contacted by a company?

Nami - havent read

Mamo - bus crash??

Dakota - forgot

Crystal - forgot

Sanjana - got sweeped away by the mist while monitoring it?

Kelvin - sweeped away by mist before sanjana(all i remember)

Arlo - fell asleep in a library or smth

Iris - forgot

Saadiya - forgot

Anais - dad died when she thought she found love? got taken by mist while grieving

Kiara - escaped the party her alternate timeline self got kidnapped at

Sarah - got tossed into a lake??

Yvonne - framed? disappeared in a prison riot

Elizabeth - framed?? disappeared in a prison riot?

Lyndon - forgot

Dante - speared through the chest while sending out an SOS signal

Serena and Kyle - dad got killed by werewolf on a hunting trip

Yeona - went to look in STAR*STRUCKs dorm gone wrong

Yan and Nathan - partially forgot, all i remember is Yan’s dad got killed by an enemy organization

Ryder - didnt read

Riley - skydiving gone wrong

Dae - came back to dorm to see Ye-Jun’s confrontation gone wrong

DAKARI💙💙💙💙 - boat got punctured, he thought it was an injured marine animal. Came back w/ healing gun to find the boat top empty and a polluted fish creature

Tabitha - forgot

Wren - forgot

Emil - bled out in a protest turned riot?

Evelyn - didnt read

NOW. For killers

Werewolf - parents got mauled by a pack of wolves and he got bit, turned into a ww and killed serena and kyles dad

Polluted - lost his mom to pollution, pretty sure he washed up on a shore at one point

Ghost - kidnapped from a party. Tried escaping her captors on christmas(?) and got killed

Principal - lost his daughter because of yronica, tried killing her and her group

Show - forgot

Apostate - drowned in a lake?

Watcher - all i remember is hes a terrorist for attention

Janitor - killed by principal?

Experiment - didnt read

Surgeon - forgot

Idol - got confronted gone wrong

Host - containment breach????

Unforgotten - purely made of hatred of humans

Android - killed someone i think

Stalker - pushed sarah into a lake?

Voidskulk - got infected by a thing that killed her godfather or uncle or wtv

Warden - i think he got electrocuted to death in a prison riot

Empress - betrayed and beheaded

Stareater - hit by a shooting star

Possessed - near same as seoung, got possessed by an evil spirit instead

Banshee - killed herself to reunite with her sister? massacred elijahs camp

Boss - forgot

[nicecurves]

[luciidsimmer]

Toddler & Child CC: Part Two!

CC linked below!⇩

Check out my Toddler & Child CC video HERE

More Toddler & Child CC Links: Part 1 (Details & Hair) Part 3 (Clothing) Part 4 (Clothing) Part 5 (Clothing)

Hair (Cont.)

Fem. Hair

57. Blossom 58. Marie 59. Miyu 60. Mina 61. Dahyun 62. Elaine 63. Sapphire 64. Belle 65. Olivia 66. Ophelia 67. Lexi 68. Amanda 69. Iona 70. Lair 71. Ayla 72. Rebekah 73. Cosmic Love 74. Passionfruit

Masc. Hair

1. Tyrell 2. Brandon 3. Andrew 4. Braided Updo 5. Cherub 6. Cruz 7. Rowan 8. Angelo 9. Leon 10. Oscar 11. Avery 12. Julian 13. Brody 14. Mighty Volt 15. Steven 16. Charles 17. Mason 18. Finley 19. Bryan 20. Gary 21. Millie 22. Darwin 23. Jose 24. August 25. Christian

Clothing

Accessories

1. Pacifier

Outfits

1. Basic Onesie 2. Melody 3. Alice 4. Billie 5. Zara 6. Coat Outfit 7. Asuka 8. Riley Overalls 9. Logan Onesie 10. Swimsuit 11. Sachiko 12. Maxi Dress 13. Alex 14. Sheep 15. Fox 16. Bunny 17. Siblings by Chance 18. Sole 1 19. Berta 20. Catherine 21. Cottage Dess 22. Cow Overalls 23. Long Shirt 24. Sweet Dess 25. Jona Jumpsuit 26. Tied Shirt 27. Kimi 28. Button Dress 29. Swimsuit 30. Willow 31. Long Shirt 32. Nyla 33. Lucille 34. Jumpsuit 35. Hania 36. Bugabee 37. Baby Dream 38. Sole 2 39. Bastien 40. Delilah 41. Ella 42. Layered Dress 43. Collar Dress 44. Long Sweater 45. Gingham 46. Ruffle Swimsuit 47. Long Dress 48. Calipso Dress 49. Perlla Dress 50. Heather Dress 51. Hoodie Set

[ygsunflower]

They didn’t even have a proper goodbye.

Cruz deserves the chance to tell Aaliyah that her love for her is real and she deserves to be loved and cared for by Aaliyah. Aaliyah deserves to hear from Cruz that what they have/had is/was real and that Cruz tried her fucking best to give her the love she could give her.

They both deserve the happy alternative… But now they are just two completely broken pieces alone in the universe.

What would become of them…

This is so cruel. I expected the worst but the ending we got is definitely one of the worst options they could’ve chosen. I’d feel better about them going separate ways if Aaliyah at least knew that what Cruz and her experienced was true love and there was nothing fake about their relationship, but instead we got Cruz completely broke down and was destroyed by her mission/action, and Aaliyah left all alone thinking if Zara/Cruz only approached her and used her solely for the purpose of killing her father.

The only positive thing from this episode is that scene where Cruz confessed that she is not who Aaliyah thought she is but Aaliyah seem to imply that as long as she wants this, and feels the same way, she is who she thinks she is… This is the only comfort thought I have, but then there’s also that whole Aaliyah literally walked in on the bloody aftermaths of Cruz’s murdering Aaliyah’s father and fiancé.

[haydenigmatic]

Sorin (so-rhin) of Kilmeden

Step into the world of Sorin, where every performance is a carefully orchestrated act, and every con holds the promise of both risk and reward. Her story unfolds in the labyrinthine streets of Soirsa, where veils dance, secrets whisper, and the cities themselves become stages for the elaborate performances of a life lived in the shadows.

For her face claim I'm still on the look , this portrait (inspired by the character of Esmeralda of The Hunchback of Notredame) kinda reminds me of Kristine Froseth. For the voice I would say Cree Summers (Kida from Atlantis the lost empire) or Penelope Cruz.

Family Dynamics:

Marlan - The Foster Brother: Her bond with Marlan is a mixture of shared survival and genuine camaraderie. They found each other in the gritty streets of Soirsa during their early years, forging a connection that goes beyond blood. Marlan, quick-witted and agile, is Sorin's partner-in-crime, and together they navigate the intricacies of their nomadic life. Their unspoken understanding and the shared weight of their pasts create a profound sibling bond.

Shevy - The Mentor and Father Figure: Shevy, a seasoned con artist, serves as both mentor and father figure to Sorin and Marlan. Having taken them under his wing when they were still navigating the harsh realities of life in Soirsa, Shevy imparted his knowledge of the art of deception and thievery. His guidance went beyond the tricks of the trade; he instilled in them a code, an unspoken set of rules that, despite their illicit activities, set them apart from ruthless criminals.

Some details about her:

Memorable Quote: "People like us, we don't get happy endings. But we can make the most of what we have."

Sorin and her foster brother, Marlan, communicate in a silent code using hand signals and glances during their scams.

When in a new city, Sorin seeks solace on rooftops, finding comfort in the panoramic views that temporarily distance her from her past.

Traveling between the 12 principalities/countries/districts of Soirsa with Marlan and Shevy, only staying long enough to make a profit before moving on.

Her lively companion on her adventures is Jinx, a mischievous (capuchin) Crown-tail monkey with a fascination for shiny objects.

Sorin follows a moral code; she refrains from stealing from those who can't afford to lose.

Trust doesn't come easy to Sorin; she carefully assesses individuals before letting them into her inner circle.

Having once been forced to work as a courtesan, her past is marked by torment, but her resilience and skills have helped her survive.

Sorin's talent lies in the mesmerizing "Dance of the Five Veils," a performance that draws admirers from all walks of life.

Though she's adept at blending in, a faint Kilmedian accent occasionally reveals her origin to keen listeners.

She was bestowed with the name Sorin by the house mother. This name, like a veil, concealed the remnants of her previous existence and marked the inception of her life as a courtesan.

Once prosperous merchants in a bustling city, Sorin's parents faced ruinous debt due to unfortunate events. A ruthless creditor, seeking retribution, sent masked assailants to storm Sorin's home one night. Unable to repay, her parents were mercilessly murdered, leaving Sorin as the sole witness to the consequences of financial ruin.

A heartless slaver seized the opportunity, abducting the grief-stricken Sorin. Sold into slavery, she became a mere commodity, her innocence shattered as she navigated the brutal realities of captivity. Forced into a life where survival meant mastering adaptation, Sorin's spirit faced the crucible of hardship.

A wealthy patron purchased Sorin, thrusting her into the world of courtesans. Trained in entertainment, seduction, and charm, she became a pawn in the games of the rich and powerful. Behind the lavish façade, Sorin concealed scars of her past, forced to wear a mask of grace and sophistication to survive.

Once believed she had escaped the clutches of slavery when a powerful man, professing love and marriage, bought her. However, it was a cruel ruse; he sought to exploit her talents for his gain. The illusion of love shattered, leaving her trapped in a different form of servitude.

Realizing the betrayal, Sorin, fuelled by the bitter taste of deception, sought liberation. It was her foster brother, Marlan, and mentor, Shevy, who orchestrated her escape. With their cunning skills, they shattered the chains of illusion, allowing her to break free from the clutches of a man who feigned affection while intending only exploitation.

The experience left her scarred, not just physically but emotionally. She had felt genuine love for the man who merely saw her as a tool for his ambitions. The betrayal deepened her mistrust and cemented her resolve to rely on Marlan and Shevy, the only constants in a life fraught with deceit.

I may have added way more but I needed to add context guys.