MERIDA
COURT Seelie, neutral
INFLUENCE ★ ★ ★
TITLE Friend of the Dead, Hartslayer, Brave Heart, Lady Lioness of DunDealgan
OCCUPATION Lady of DunDealgan. archer, huntress, swordswoman
AGE 20
ABLE TO FAST-TRAVEL
- wings given to Angus via a boon in December 2,700
- as of September 2,701 will have a ring that can teleport her to places she's been before in Seelie territory
COMMUNICATION METHODS
- compass, given by Korra (
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png) sangilak) and made by Hermione (brainiest) that will give network access and point to 'home' (place/person/etc)
- capable of sending correspondence via bird, mainly ravens
RESIDENCE IN 2,701 DunDealgan, south of Daonna
RESIDENCE IN 2,702 DunDealgan, south of Daonna
MAJOR EVENTS
BEAST MASTER
Due to being the only one able to get close to Cu Chulainn and calm him down while in werewolf form, locals around the area of DunDealgan start to regard Merida as a beast master of sorts. Considering how she feels about his warp spasms, she doesn't exactly like this apparent appointment but if it's to protect him from any sort of torches-and-pitchforks scenario, she'll take it on. [ ✖ ]
TRUST IN BLOOD
A search through Treun for the escaped convicts of Leathann turns into a dangerous situation. In a moment of desperation, Merida accidentally kills a convict who has the intent of doing something unsavory to her. Traumatized, it's Gilgamesh of all people who pulls her through and reassures her that she did nothing wrong. The golden king, unwittingly, earns himself her trust and loyalty.
[ ✖ ]
LADY LIONESS
The year had seen to a great deal of change in Merida. Not just in something deciding that her fate lay within the other court, but in herself and the actions that she took, in the thoughts that she processed. Some part of her became...less idealistic, as it were, more open to the idea that this was war. It had taken her just near a year in the Drabwurld to accept that as fact, that she'd only be seeing home in her dreams, and half a year later to find it in herself to move on. This land of the fae was her reality now. These were her people. And that was why she needed to protect them. [ ✖ ]
MAJOR CHANGES
SORCERESS
Merida has started to take her magical studies more seriously than before. By the end of the time skip, she should be appropriately trained in all the magics she has taken on, both fire and runic magic.
WARRIOR
Likewise, Merida has been honing her combat skills throughout the year. With a new sword from Diarmuid as of August and a new bow from Wan as of Yule, she'll feel as though she'll be better prepared for any of the future battles. Having killed her first human (accidentally), Merida starts accepting the idea that it's okay to kill people sometimes.
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PLANS
- co-parenting wolfhound pups with Lancer
- fire magic training
- shard training
- become known as some kind of beast master by the locals
- visit the new Barrel once a month
- bandit stomping along a trade route with Korra
- swan shooting competition with Gilgamesh in April
- Treun tourney
- Samhain
- White Hart Hunt II: the Hart's Revenge
SUMMARY OF KNOWN DETAILS
For the most of it, Merida will be working on training in both her fire magic and her shard, along with learning some runes from Lancer, when she's not taking part in any of the events happening. Gaining influence in the surrounding area. Strengthening and being able to control her magic will be one of her primary focuses. She'll also be helping out around DunDealgan since she'll feel partially responsible for everyone there, considering she's courting its Lord. Many of her efforts will be going towards building up better personal relations between DunDealgan and the natives surrounding the area.
Another thing that I have planned is for her to open up a combat school for women of either court and/or natives only, offering it as a place of refuge during times of battle, and once she's lost her idealism and become a little more war hardened, offer her students out as mercenaries. This will all take time, possibly over the course of two time skips, but ideally I'd like to start planning things out now.
TIMELINE OF EVENTS
| SPRING IN 2,701 (Mar, Apr, May) |
- EARLY MARCH - waking up in Caer Glaem
- EARLY MARCH - chat with Saber
- EARLY MARCH - chat with Mako
- MARCH - making the fortress warm and toasty
- MARCH - helping Diarmuid control his fire
- MARCH - being defrosted by Gilgamesh, telling stories of the fae in exchange
- MARCH - holy Lugh it's a lion
- MARCH - bandit stomping with Korra
- LATE MARCH - chat with Ben
- LATE MARCH - the Barrel
- MARCH - monthly summary
- APRIL - things get frisky thanks to the harp (NSFW)
- APRIL - Diarmuid's birthday at the Barrel
- APRIL - breaking the harp
- MAY - swan hunting competition with Gilgamesh. interruption by bandersnatch
- MAY - running into Ben
- MAY - monthly summary
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| SUMMER IN 2,701 (Jun, Jul, Aug) |
- TREUN - spectating post tournament
- TREUN - exploring the markets and drinking
- TREUN - shopping and talking with Saber
- TREUN - chat with Hiro
- TREUN - dancing with Alyosha
- JUNE - monthly summary
- JULY - talking with Gilgamesh during beachdraidh
- JULY - bar fight
- JULY - helping Diarmuid with CSI: Daonna
- JULY - reassuring Lancer and going home
- AUGUST - training and talk with Diarmuid
- AUGUST - to the Sunsoak Markets. Diarmuid asks an important question
- AUGUST - monthly summary
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| FALL IN 2,701 (Sept, Oct, Nov) |
- SEPTEMBER - visiting Alice
- SAMHAIN - relaxing with the bae
- SAMHAIN - talking with the Shuck
- SAMHAIN - dancing and talks with Diarmuid
- SAMHAIN - relaxing and talking with Sam
- SAMHAIN - adventures in Scima with Gilgamesh
- SAMHAIN - what happens in Samhain stays at Samhain
- NOVEMBER - team up with Wan in Daonna
- NOVEMBER - archery lessons with Wan
- NOVEMBER - trouble in Treun (cw: sensitive topics)
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| WINTER IN 2,701/2,702 (Dec, Jan, Feb) |
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| SPRING IN 2,702 (Mar, Apr, May) |
- MARCH - QUEST: skeleton zombies
- MARCH - post quest wind down. serious talks with Sam (cw: sensitive topics)
- APRIL - Station date with Hiro
- LATE APRIL - lone fox
- LATE APRIL - furry time at the Barrel
- MAY - stopping Alice from doing something stupid ಠ_ಠ
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But when has Hiro ever done what he's supposed to do? That's the difference and what separates Hiro from others. He busts through limits so often that he still hasn't quite figured out what his limits are beyond "unable to kill." But even that's changed. He might not be able to kill anything living, but he's able to take out and lay the dead to rest now.
Despite what she's telling him, there's still no judgment on his face. He's listening, and even though he's listening he's actively comparing the situation to his own and his gaze fixates on that ring one more time. He's getting answers without asking questions and that's his favorite. Subconsciously, his thumb spins the protection ring on his finger almost in time with the way Merida moves hers.
A Seelie. Merida…it's funny. They might understand each other more than he thought.
It's a heavy question and a heavy story and at first he doesn't respond. He gets exactly what she's saying. She, technically, betrayed her side for somebody she…
…not only saving herself but saving the people she cares about even at the risk of betraying her own "allies." It's an uncomfortable thought because it's one he's given thought to himself. If he had to choose between Nico and some of the Unseelie soldiers, choose between letting Nico die and sparing him…it's a hard choice. But not for the reasons one would think.
He looks at her then, quiet but completely sure of his conclusion.]
We do crazy, sometimes insane things for love, don't we?
[There's much, much more to say, more thoughts on what qualifies as being a traitor and what qualifies as survival and subconscious actions and thoughts, but he needs that answer, first. That confirmation. From there, he'll know how to proceed.]
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Merida still wonders if she made the right choice in leaving like that. Had she stayed, would someone have hauled her off the battlefield when she couldn't kill another? Most of everyone she knew had been fighting on the front lines of both sides. Would she still be Unseelie? These were some questions she had asked herself over and over even with Diarmuid's reassurance that she'd done the right thing.
She had never sworn an oath to the Unseelie, just like she never swore one before the Seelie. Her faith laid in those she cared about. At the moment, the only person she thinks she could swear loyalty to would be...well, Gilgamesh of all people, and that thought surprised her.
Hiro's question makes her smile softly, closing her eyes. We do crazy things for love sounded exactly like her situation had been. But then did he also have someone he loved on the other side? There was an inkling of thought there.]
Aye. I didn't even admit to myself that I loved him until Samhain last year. But I risked everythin'. All th' old tales of people riskin' their lives for love, I never thought I'd be one.
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(It doesn't hurt that his dagger's weighing down his pocket, too. Just in case.)
Hiro wonders the same thing, though it's more "would I be alive if Jason hadn't taken me out?" How different would his life be if he'd followed through with murdering the Seelie soldiers? He'd been so new to this world but he'd picked his loyalties earlier and it's what drove him to the field to try and protect the ones he cared about, never mind the fact he wasn't nearly skilled enough to do so. But he wasn't prepared to be a superhero either and that had happened.
Oaths and vows and all that old-time stuff confuses him. As far as Hiro's concerned, he'll fight for what he believes in and change as the tides change. His loyalties are unwavering though…hence his loyalty to Merida still, in a way. Despite being Seelie, she's still Merida and he can't change that.
The confirmation of her relationship with the Seelie doesn't surprise him, but there's something in his expression that wasn't there before. Something…maybe close to wonder? Or hope? Or maybe he's just so relieved to know that maybe it's not the worst idea ever. Except for the part where it is.
The thing with Nico di Angelo…even up until a few days ago he'd argued that it wasn't love because love is such a deep and powerful emotion that he's not sure he can even really tackle. And yet…he did some really stupid and dangerous things to follow Nico to the end of the world. Who the hell did that?]
Me either. [The admission is very soft, still uncertain even now that it's out there. There's also a fair amount of guilt on his face as he quickly drops his eyes.]
It's kind of funny, actually. You know, with the whole Seelie code being like "love conquers all" and then ours being like "passion before duty." How could they not see those two things conflicting with each other and causing stuff like this to happen? [There's a small laugh like he can't believe he's talking about this.] They either really didn't think this would happen, or they're using it to pit us against each other to destroy ourselves.
[…] I know if my older brother were here, he'd be Seelie. And I miss him a lot still, and I'd probably give anything to see him again but I'd never be able to fight him. And I thought it'd be that easy, that he'd be the only Seelie I'd ever really care about.
You can't plan for these things no matter how hard you try. [A shrug.] But I think I finally get it…other people? Love? Those are huge parts of survival, too.
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[She'd tried to tell people that before, but it had blown up in her face and cost Mako his abilities and titles when Korra confronted Solais on the issue. Then again, she wouldn't be surprised if he was right and they were trying to pit them against each other. That was the whole point of the war, wasn't it? Make people angry at one side like Hiro had been and they have a legion of fighters ready to risk their lives. Merida had studied war strategies and while her father had actually provided her with a lot of insight, it had been her mother who told her it was like Queen's Chess.
Funny how she'd said that to Waver all those months ago.
She looks at him when he says that about his brother, remembering when she'd first arrived that she knew Elinor would be on the Seelie side of things. Would her mother be proud of her if she knew the things she's done here? Would she be proud that she'd stepped up and started taking care of things around the fortress like she would the homestead back in DunBroch? She wanted to believe she would be.]
My mother would be too. That was one of th' things that made me not want to fight; that she could be over there at any point in time and I'd be fightin' her. It'd still be th' same if she was Unseelie.
[The corners of her lips quirk a bit, before she shakes her head.]
I've learned to stop plannin' things in th' Drabwurld. Most of th' time it sends surprises at you that you can't account for, like th' birds goin' missin' back last March. An' you certainly can't plan on who you fall in love with. I learned that, an' when I thought I felt somethin' for someone else, I knew it wasn't th' kind of love I feel for him.
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The whole war's a giant tactic and he's realizing he has to be a lot more careful than he's been. Though he's still certain that Morla's far more forgiving than Solais ever will be. He'd been so angry with the Seelie at first. He'd wanted to destroy them. He'd been too willing to let them all suffer and just focus on their side of the war…and then everything changed. He'd met some people, learned some things…he'll never be neutral. Ever. But there are some people worth the risk that he's going to protect. (And make sure they know what they're really, supposedly, fighting for.)
Every day he wonders what Tadashi would think. Every single day he wonders what Tadashi would think if he saw him now and sometimes it makes him laugh, sometimes it wears him down to tears, but overall he thinks he finally gets it and he's finally following the path he's happy with. And with that, it means being like Tadashi and being something his brother would be proud of. Baymax, too.]
The nice thing is that they're less likely to bring him here. [He's been comparing statistics of the living and the dead. It's not very high.] I'll fight but…doesn't mean I have to fight the way they want me to.
[He grins slightly, a slight flush spreading once it really sinks in.] I'm good and bad at planning. I know how to plan when I have time...I can plan strategy and everything. Sometimes I don't plan on doing things though, but I overplan how to justify everything. [Sorry guys. It's the polite way of saying he's impulsive when he wants to be.]
…I don't know if it's love, but I've definitely done a lot of really, really stupid things for somebody that I don't think I'd do for anybody else. I don't know what love feels like but this is probably close.
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She gives Hiro a look when he says they were less likely to bring his brother here. Why did he believe that? She doesn't ask, nor does she say that she knows people who were from after their deaths, even though those had been thousands of years ago apparently. It might be better if she doesn't, and she smiles when she hears that.]
Fightin' in your own way on your own terms sounds like a very Unseelie thing to me.
[Along with not planning things through...it seemed like that was an Unseelie trait as well, something they both shared. Merida tilts her head, threading her fingers together in her lap.]
Love is...love is complicated. When I asked my friends, one of them said if I want something, I should just go for it. I've done a lot of really stupid things both for him an' with him, an' I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else. [She shakes her head.] I never thought I could feel that way for someone, but it was my choice. It wasn't like th' suitors mum had picked out. I chose to feel that raw of an emotion for someone I chose to court.
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He notices the look though and he pauses, uncertain if he wants to share before he finally concedes.]
...Tadashi died a month and a half ago before I got here. I've been asking around, and I know the dead can come here but it's a lot more rare than people that are alive or people who're immortal. [It's all he's saying on the matter for now, but it says a lot about how much he's changed that he can explain himself.
There's a slight smirk though at the next sentence.] It's how things worked back home, too. We weren't exactly conventional superheroes but things worked out. A lot of improvising saved us.
[Annnnd then? And then he stops, all amusement leaving his face and his tone as he thinks on that. Raw emotion and choosing to feel something? Sounds about right. He tips his head back, rolling his eyes to the ceiling again.]
I kinda followed somebody on a task set by the Black Shuck that could get both of us killed because I didn't want them to do it on their own. Does that count?
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For now, Merida inclines her head, crossing one arm under her other and resting her elbow in that hand as she tapped her chin with the other as he unveils this new information on her..]
Who's to say what's conventional an' what's not? You did what you had to do to your own means an' nobody else's.
[Her smile turns into a smirk of her own when he tells her that last part, though she's curious as to what the Black Shuck would send them for.]
Aye. I believe it does.
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Good point, but I'm just saying that in my world when people talk about superheroes they usually think of people with powers. Magic, sort of, but on a whole other scale. We used science and tech that I built. And anyway maybe becoming a team of superheroes to catch Callaghan wasn't the right way to go but it seemed like a good idea at the time. Nobody else was helping, so...yeah. We did what we had to do by our own means.
[Of course it's a lot more complex than that, but let's not delve into that yet...he's pretending not to see that smirk because goddamnit. Fine. Fine! Maybe it really is love that's turned him into someone absolutely insane.]
Then...I guess I'm in love with a Seelie, too. [She can ask and he wouldn't mind. If he knew how deep her relationship with Shuck really ran he'd just tell her immediately. As it stands he's focused on this revelation.] It's almost not worth it though.
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Merida pauses when he says it's almost not worth it, having been about to go back to the superhero stuff but what was the point when she didn't understand half of it? A frown flicks across her face and she lowers her hands to her lap again.]
What makes you say it's not worth it?
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He's still not looking at her though through all of this. It's a pattern. Anything regarding Tadashi causes him to look away for a short period, along with anything regarding Nico. He slouches a little further in his seat, lifting a hand to wave it like what he's saying really doesn't matter.]
He doesn't have a clue and I'm definitely not going to be the one to tell him and ruin everything. [If you were expecting heroic words or a tragic tale, Mer, you are in for disappointment.]
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How do you know he doesn't already know but is afraid to tell you?
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Be...cause that would require him being interested in other guys? [He sounds slightly incredulous.] And he's not. We kinda already had that talk.
[More like Hiro made assumptions and Nico didn't bother to argue. If Hiro didn't just jump into whatever conclusions he felt like, it sure would save him a lot of headaches.] It's okay though. He trusts me, we're still working on Shuck's task and everything's fine beyond that. I can work with this.
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Maybe he was tryin' to save face? I don't know about your time, but back home, I'd only ever heard th' handmaidens' rumours about it. Which clansmen had been caught with th' other, that kind of thing, My friends here told me it's pretty common, an' I was worried about my crush on a girl I know.
[She doesn't say that she sorted things out with Korra, that she knew what she felt for her wasn't the same kind of love she felt for Lancer. Merida raises an eyebrow here, though she's not judging in any way, just understanding,]
Do you think maybe you should ask him again? That his feelings might have changed?
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I don't think--[…hold it. Hooooold it.
Nico's from the 1940s. People weren't exactly into that back then, were they? And he never flat-out said he wasn't interested in guys, he just didn't comment when Hiro made the assumption about him while trying to save his own skin.
…huh. That's a good theory, and though he raises an eyebrow about Merida having a crush on a girl he doesn't say anything. Whatever. People hook up with people all the time, that's really not a big deal to him. Even having a crush on a boy isn't something that bothers him. It's more just the fact of who that boy is.]
I don't know. [Flatly. Hollowly. Perplexedly.] …he doesn't trust people very easily. I worked really hard just to get him to trust me. I don't want to mess that up at all. And anyway we don't really…and with the war and being on opposite sides…and…[…yeah. Yeah, he's out of excuses. Hmph.]
Besides, I'm me. I'm not really the kind of person people have "feelings"--[Yes, the air quotes again]--for. I've gone fifteen years of my life without having feelings for somebody. I can wait a little longer. And anyway we're already putting each other in danger by doing what Shuck asks and being too close. If not telling him I want to kiss his stupid face off is keeping him alive, then I can deal with that.
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[Even if she is causing Hiro to think of all this, she's proud that he's actually thinking about it. She's not pressuring him into talking about it, just throwing questions at him that will make him rethink things. It was a tactic her mother had used during her lessons; forcing her to think about things at a new angle or in a different light. And it seemed like Hiro had hit the nail on the head, if the look on his face says anything. Though the raised eyebrow does get him one of his own. She inclines her head at that, shrugging.]
I never thought I'd fall in love either, yet I've been courtin' for a year an' a half. [Merida pauses here, biting her bottom lip.] As long as you're aware of what you feel, then I don't see th' harm in waitin' longer. If it was me...I'd be takin' my fate by th' reins an' kissin' that boy, because we don't know when this tentative peace will end.
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Yeah. Yeah...take fate by the reins. He slowly grins, lips twisting up into a slightly devious smile as that thought firmly settles in.]
Right. We don't. [Another laugh bubbles up in his chest but he squashes it back down, just nodding to himself.] Thank you, Merida.
[Something else occurs to him though.] When the tentative peace is over though...are we still gonna be friends?
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We might not be able to talk to each other but...I'd still like to think we're goin' to be.
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And who knows? Maybe he'll take her advice right now, go find Nico and kiss the boy stupid while he still can. He nods in response, showing that he agrees.]
Then promise me you'll stay safe no matter what happens. [A small grin.] You might be Seelie now, but I'm pretty sure the other parts of you haven't entirely gone away just yet. [That is to say? He has a feeling she might be a little reckless still, too.]
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[Which is to say, yes, she will be staying safe, but somehow she doubted that she'd be able to keep out of any future battles. The Jabberwock debacle had seen to that. Merida leans forward and reaches, tugging at one of his ears with a pinch of her fingers.]
You, on th' other hand, need to promise me that you'll keep your nose out of trouble. If you're anythin' like I was at your age, you'll get your head chopped off an' your shard taken here before you can blink.
[That said, she leans back in her seat, pulling her hand away. At the moment she looks like a very unamused mother.]
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Damn.]
...all right, all right, fine. I'll be careful. [Well that's only going to work for like a month, whoops.] I promise. I'm not going to let anybody take my shard away without a fight.
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Good. If I see you on any battlefield, I won't be hesitant to pick you up and drag you back to Dorchadas.