potentially lovely, perpetually human

“A girl, hmm?”

           Life never changed that way, at least. Maybe the players and the details   (  a girl talking about a girl, and Lily as a single mother )    but emotions and whatever shade of love which was the plague of the week, those things were thoroughly reliable. 

“What’s her name?”

"A girl.”

     It’s a confirmation; Daphne watches her mother for a moment, as if to try and discern if there’s any discomfort there, and when it becomes clear that there isn’t any, she nods once.

↺ ██████  ——

                            SCORPIUS adored his cousin. He was a ball of fun and energy who                             never seemed to lack anything but smiles and laughter. But tonight,                             oh it had been chaos. He didn’t know if it was because of the food or                             the day or– whatever, but Orion was a brat.

         ❝ Oh, you sure you want to hear it? ❞

"He was that bad?” 

     Daphne cocks an eyebrow, amused -- far more amused than she should be. Damon is her son through and through, which means that she’s got a pretty good idea of what he’ll do when he’s not pleased with something.

"This is hateful.”

     She sighs, hands resting on the swell of her belly and sighing. She’s too warm. She’s too achy. She’s physically exhausted beyond reason. Pregnancy is not all it’s cracked up to be.

"You’re Elena Gilbert.”

     It’s not a question so much as it is an observation; she looks Elena over and raises an eyebrow, before shrugging. She’s definitely hot, for an eighteen-year-old. She’s had worse babysitting details.

meme

"Forty. I told you, I’m not covering your bill. But it’scute that you think I would forget that. Pay up, or Iswear, I’ll tell Astoria about the time I caught youcrying after I told you the plot of that Disney film.”

meme

                                 "You’re a monster.” 

It’s an accusation that Daphne isn’t expecting -- but then again, what else could she want? She’s made a point of establishing herself as something to be FEARED that it would be odd if she wasn’t -- she is tenacious, and her tenacity usually sees her through. 

     But she never wanted this. She never wanted PANSY to look at her and see a monster. No; she wanted her sister safe, she wanted herself safe, she didn’t want this aching, clawing sensation in her chest, like someone is trying to hollow out her rib cage and carve out what’s left of her heart, damaged as it is.

     She lifts her chin, looking deliberately away from her arm -- though she makes no attempt to hide the Mark there.

                                                            “And you’re a C O W A R D.                                                At least one of us had the nerve to actually                                                       do something, Pansy. Try harder.”

     ( She does not feel. She does not ache. She does not feel the sting and burn of tears in her eyes -- she does not feel the weight of a wand made evil by curses -- she does not bite her tongue to keep herself from crying out for Pansy to stay, to forgive her, to understand that she doesn’t have another option, that it’s her or her sister, that the torture and the torment is an easy price to pay when they have threatened to put Pansy in front of her if she cannot follow through. ) 

     ( She is STEEL. And steel does not suffer. ) 

meme

daphne is obsessed with order. she is neat, organized -- she thrives on having a space that she knows and can navigate. she does, however, have an appreciation for a bit of chaos -- she’s got a rebellious streak and she loves causing trouble when she thinks it’s necessary. 

meme

17. Did they travel? Where? Why? When?

     Daphne traveled extensively in the first years after the war, especially after her father’s death. This was all in search of her mother -- and when her mother couldn’t be found, then Daphne only looked harder. Her travels brought her everywhere, but most frequently to Greece, Italy, and Germany. 

26. What does your character’s home look like? Personal taste? Clothing? Hair? Appearance?

     After her father dies, Daphne lives permanently in Greengrass Manor -- huge, gothic, dark, with vines creeping up the sides and cavernous halls and stained glass. The inside of the manor is much warmer than you might guess from standing outside, or in the foyer; she takes great pains to make it as livable as humanly possible, and to inject some life into the space after it’s spent so long filled by grief and death. She has her stepmother help her decorate, and so the house has a lot of French influence. Her study is massive, filled with book after book after book, and that’s where she spends her most time.

meme

“That implies you were ugly to begin with, kid.”

     Her voice is softer than usual -- but doesn’t Astoria always have that effect on her? Isn’t that how she always makes Daphne, softer and kinder and sweeter? One arm snakes around Astoria’s waist as her chin comes to rest on her shoulder, and Daphne turns just enough to press a kiss to her sister’s cheek. 

     ( The most beautiful thing about her is her smile, and it makes Daphne’s breath catch. If only Astoria had always seen herself clearly, had always thought the world of herself -- the way Daphne thinks of her. ) 

     They’re veering too close to the emotional, and so Daphne clears her throat and grins. “You look like me. You’ve always been a swan.”

meme

She wants someone strong, not necessarily kind. She is not bored by kindness, as her sister is, but she is too harsh even to feign gentleness when isn’t there, too harsh and too blunt. She is honest to a fault -- and so she would want someone equally so. Someone who would challenge her when she crossed lines, but someone who would stand by her when she truly believed in something she did.

     Someone who can laugh when she can’t, someone with enough light to balance out the exhaustion and the darkness she battles day in, day out. Someone who won’t challenge her when she doesn’t know how to charm or seduce, someone who will love her because of rather than in spite of. Someone she doesn’t have to protect, someone who won’t expect anything but exactly what she is.

She wears long sleeves and a sorrowful smile, and neither seem to be absent for long these days.

     The dark circles beneath Daphne’s eyes have grown more pronounced in recent days, her olive skin pale and her face drawn. There is nothing, nothing she can do besides wait, and commit all manner of unforgivable sins in the hopes that she can keep her sister from standing in her place -- but it doesn’t make it much easier to SLEEP. She shouldn’t have to do this, none of them should, but should doesn’t do anything when you’re in the middle of a war, and should doesn’t save you if you can’t save yourself.

     At least they have the Hogsmeade trips still, the semblance of normality that allows them to play at childhood. As if they have any right. As if they have any reason. What does she have left to tie her to childhood besides her shaking hands and the taste of bile at the back of her throat whenever she has to follow orders?