Some blazing arrows yesterday

Anthea "Thea" Jaspersen. Rogue - "I am looking for friends," said the little prince. "What does that mean--'tame'?" -"It is an act too often neglected," said the fox. "It means to establish ties."

[anthea-on-fire]

And Thanatos may be the Greatest Good || Anthea, Anabel & Vivian

[redandruthless]

  Vivian felt a surge of pride when she saw Anabel reach for the throwing knives instead of her gun. Guns, she thought, were sell outs. If you were going to become an assassin, you needed to learn how to use everything available to you — but that didn’t mean you could stave out on the harder things. If you handled them well, they were more accurate and more deadly than any ricocheting bullet. Their weight held strength, power, a precision and a flashy appeal that gave Vivian a sick sort of pleasure. The sound of a knife against skin, the clang of steel —

Yet none of them hit the target. Frowning, the redhead placed her knives carefully on the floor, sliding them one by one to her trainee. If she didn’t get it the first time, she had to catch the intruder a second time. Vivian didn’t care if it was simply a nick or a scratch; the longer you let a person unharmed, the more chance they had to run away successfully. A knife to the heart was more effective than a knife to the leg, but then the target couldn’t move as freely as they could without. Therefore, you could finish them off in the nearest alleyway, wipe off the prints, and be done with the job. No need to tell the boss you actually hadn’t killed the post-human vigilante spreading rebellion, stirring chaos. 

The voice that assaulted them from the other room was strong, yet Vivian could detect a note of fright. Fight or flight — or freeze. She let out a long laugh, no longer feeling the need to conceal her sound now that the first knife had been thrown. “You’re asking too much, bitch,” she called, sliding up the wall into a standing position and motioning for Anabel to do the same. “especially since you’re the one who’s cornered.” 

If the intruder didn’t know there were two of them, they could have the element of surprise up their sleeves. Pretending Vivian’s voice came from Anabel’s lips was easy; they were different ages, but they were as fierce, as fiery as any. Watch for the flames, she mouthed to her trainee. If there are any. Get a good vantage point, and try to hit her hand instead of her heart. 

[alchemilia]

Anabel’s anger grew with each knife that missed. How did she fucking miss her? There was no reason for the blonde to have missed her. None. She was well-trained, and her anger burned through the air as the knife tore through it. She’d learned from the best, and now she was missing her target in front of her? Fuck this bitch was not getting out alive.

Her anger rose through her like a passion, urging her to do something reckless and impulsive that could get her killed. She was always ready to run into the line of fire because of her anger, and even though she had no plans to calm down, she knew, by the looks her foster mother gave her that she needed to take control. It was hard, she was about to take a step forward and toward the intruder’s voice once it boomed toward them; annoying and irritating as the person owning it, but stopped herself when Vivian spoke again. She knew what she was doing. Vivian, that is. She would follow her. Cause hell if she died because of this bitch… 

Anabel rose up when Vivian motioned for her to do as she, and nodded when the woman finished mouthing her instructions. The girl swallowed down her anger, or at least a bit of it so she would stop shaking with pure anger. Truth be told the bitch might have pyrokinesis, but Anabel’s fire grew hotter and lighter than any’s. She slid along the wall, trying to get a good view of the intruder’s hand as she prepared her fourth knife. She played with it a little as she moved in to find a good view of her target, then when she was ready, she let the new knife fly toward her target, hoping —knowing— that this time, she wouldn’t miss. It couldn’t.

[anthea-on-fire]

The flame burned in her palm to a point where Anthea could see little lights dancing in front of her eyes. She couldn't afford that, she'd need decent aim, even if fire had the unbeatable advantage that it spread like a bitch. She called the flame back and closed her palm again, waiting. It didn't matter. If they were the cowards she believed them to be, they would flee and her path would be wide open. And if they were as stupidly reckless as the stories made them out to be, they would dance into the flames' path just in time. 

From the left side of the door. 

Anthea shifted her body slightly, turning towards the voice. The insult made her angry, admittedly, but angry in just the right way. Burning. Spring in her steps, energy that longed to be used, so much more energy than the world would ever be able to take, and weirdly enough she couldn't but laugh about it all, standing and laughing at a feeling of defeat and superiority, about how it finally longed to be let out, that energy, about how it had carried her here through Becky's death and Damien's smugness and her parents who kept trying and who had never really understood because this was what it did, the right kind of energy, it carried you into places that whispered to you This is it. 

Something moved by the door. A sharp silver line etching its way towards her; the knife to cut the tension and the laughter with. Anthea raised her hand to melt it midway. 

Nothing. Nothing but vulnerable skin. Why. 

The sight made her jump. Then the firework of blinking lights returned. 

It was dazzling as it danced in front of her eyes, moving from a clear white over garish yellow to crimson. She drew a sharp breath, tickling like the first tattoo she had ever gotten Jesus who in the everloving fuck gets a tattoo with their boyfriend's name reckless cool people that's who heroes that's who, and the crimson wave shot through her, back to white, only now was she no longer able to keep her hand raised.

On its way downward, her hand hit the handle of the knife sticking out of her side. The pain turned the crimson black. 

Anthea staggered backwards until her back hit the cabinet door, hands pressed on the handle, and the firework still flicking the belief that if only she would keep on breathing, everything would be alright. Anthea closed her eyes. 

No one knows whether death may not be the greatest of all blessings for a man, yet men fear it as if they knew that it is the greatest of evils. And surely it is the most blameworthy ignorance to believe that one knows what one does not know.

Well now I know. But we've always known, Becky, right?

Right. 

You know what I still don't get though? Why "thanatos" is an Attic declension noun.

Never doubt Socrates, Thea.

I never would.

Had it not made her feel like throwing up, she would've laughed. 

-τέλος-

[lightsbokandaily]

[anthea-on-fire]

And Thanatos may be the Greatest Good || Anthea, Anabel & Vivian

[redandruthless]

  A dozen throwing knives. Two of her trusty daggers, strapped to each hip. A long, curved blade swinging from a belt at her hip. The occasional small dagger slid up her sleeve. And lastly, to finish it off, the contraption her sister had given her, which still worked like a charm. Vivian enjoyed pretending it wasn’t her sister who had spent hours toiling over something for her; it made more sense if she was out of the picture, forgotten along with the rest of the family. She was an assassin — or, at least, she used to be. Assassins didn’t have family, for both personal and strategic reasons. The more burdens, the less focused you were. 

Vivian had lost too many times in the past year. She blamed her loses on her family, on making her weak when she needed to be stronger. They had occupied too large a space in her mind. Now, her only thoughts were associated with her trainees, her work…her guilt. 

Motioning wordlessly for Anabel to follow her, Vivian pulled out one of her throwing knives and slid the stair door open. Quick and quiet as a fox, she flew down the steps to the second floor and opened the door without a sound. If there was one thing Vivian hoped her trainee had learned, it was the power of silence in situations like these. You never knew if the person you faced had super sonic hearing, or bat sonar. The less noticeable you made yourself, the less easy it would be to track you. And the job would then be easier. 

Halfway through the hall they passed the ruined remains, the hardening yet still molten metal doors the intruder had no doubt melted with her bare hands. Firethrower, Vivian mouthed to the small blonde. Long range. 

They found the sly pyromancer at the end of the hall, rifling through as many files as their grubby hands could get on. Kneeling onto the ground, her back against one of the small slabs of wall that bordered the door, Vivian once again motioned for Anabel to take her opposite position. Throw in three, she said wordlessly, sliding out her knives and pointing to them. She wanted to take the girl down herself, but deep down knew that if her protege was ever going to learn, she would need to complete her first kill by herself. 

[alchemilia]

Anabel wanted to get more weapons than the ones she’d strapped onto herself. She enjoyed the feel of a knife or a gun in her hand, the way it fit perfectly there always produced a somewhat good feeling. Like she couldn’t be hurt. And with all the training she was given she felt ready; with Vivian there especially.

She gave the redhead a quick nod when she motioned for her to follow, and hoped that her steps up the stairs were as quiet as Vivian’s. She was usually very loud, just like her anger. But now there was something else; a blood-lust. That made her more determined to succeed than anything else.

She’d kept her knives where they’d been, hoping to get a grip on the scum with her bare hands instead of a weapon. Anabel read her lips perfectly as she looked back at her before making her way to her own position opposite of Vivian’s. Her eyes were riveted on the intruder at the other end of the hallway before Vivian started moving again. Her eyes fell upon the knives in the girl’s hand before returning to her mouthed words. She nodded, and grabbed hold of the knives quietly. She stood up soundlessly, one knife in her right hand and back, just like Vivian had taught her, and let the knife zip through the air, just like the other, and let the two others fly the same way.

[anthea-on-fire]

Ironically, it might just have been hybris that saved Anthea's life the first time round. She'd stood imposing, generous with the space in the room, a fair distance away from the cabinet so she could reach out in a sweeping motion to grab files and throw them onto the table. Like this was all her space and she was meant to be here. Well, granted, she sort of was meant to be if you believed in such a thing as justice, and in spite of everything, Anthea sort of did. Her parents had fought relentlessly at a time when organizations such as the Rogues or even PROTECT were inconceivable in their advanced understanding of post-humans' role, and something in her had copied that spirit. If you kept on going until you no longer could, things would look up. Bigger picture. 

She liked to think that she wasn't easily startled, but maybe it was something about the episode with Becky that kept her alerted, the knowledge that, in the right context, even water could be fatal. And so could wind or birds, anything really. So could the most fleeting suspicion of no longer being on your own. Anthea couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from, she swiveled around, yielding some space - and saw the knife whizzing by, an inch from her body, aimed right at where she'd stood only fractions of a second before. 

Anthea drew a sharp breath and staggered backwards, still momentarily unable to pinpoint the door, but her hybris had opened room behind her back for her to retreat into, until she stood with her back against the cabinet. Would the fourth knife have been thrown right away, Anthea wouldn't have had any space left to back into, but as it stood, the moment it took for her to take another breath and to finally make out where the knives had come from found her still alive. 

Now what?

Of course it was preferable to make it out unscathed, but the door seemed the only escape route, so she'd have to face whoever was hiding there. A rush of hot and cold in unison of which Anthea didn't quite know whether it was fear or excitement. Throwing knives. Well she could deal with that. After all, her fire was very much alive. 

She held out her hand, palm upturned, and watched the flame dance in her palm. Ridiculously small, but she liked to have an element of surprise on her side. Next, she stepped closer to the table, still ready to duck any further throws, but she felt like she'd need to stand closer to the documents she'd already collected. 

"You cowards!", she finally called out, deciding not to listen to the quivering timbre that had etched its way into it. "At least show me your faces before I send you to hell!"

[anthea-on-fire]

And Thanatos may be the Greatest Good || Anthea, Anabel & Vivian

[redandruthless]

        ↳ New York City ; in the Nexus training center.  

"Kick, punch, punch, duck, kick, punch, uppercut! And again!”

When Nikolai and Mikhail had trained Vivian, they made her do repetitions until her fingernails cracked and her hands bled. It taught her the body’s sacrifice for power and strengthened her character, compacting and hardening the ice that had already begun to fester in her heart. Though she liked to accredit herself for her agility, stamina, and aggression, Vivian knew she would have been nothing if not for her teachers. They guided her arm to the target, pointed out the muscles in her core that needed strengthening, pushed her to be better than what she thought she could be. As a trainer, she now understood the importance of having someone more experienced in the room; her wizened eyes could pick out the smallest flaws in her trainee’s movements and snip them away to create a leaner, meaner fighting machine. 

But that didn’t mean she helped all her trainees the way she helped her favorite. All of the newbies, except for one, had been sent to her with powers. Even though the administration knew she abhorred their dirty blood, they had sent them to her. It must have been that bitch Ashe’s final decree before fucking off to God knows where. Good riddance — it kept Vivian with a clearer conscience, now that she didn’t have to be reminded of her missions fault every day. That, and she didn’t exactly want to be kicked out of a job she loved and needed just because she had ‘accidentally’ taken down another coworker. 

"Straighten your arm, Arquette! Tension gives you a fuckload more power," Vivian commanded stolidly, striding over to her favorite trainee and giving her an example of what she wanted. "and don’t forget to keep your arms at face level. We don’t want any of those postie bastards smacking you in the face and blinding you. Then you’d be out of a job and I’d be out of a fucking reason to teach."

Just then, an intern rushed into the training center, panting. “Ms. Maxwell!” he called, sweat beaded on his forehead. “We just got note from the security center that there’s been suspicious activity downstairs. They said, because most of the other agents aren’t around, that you should check it out. There are some pretty important files located around the area that was alerted, and —”

Vivian, who had grown tired of the intern’s ramble, grabbed a knife and threw it into the door behind his head. “Get out,” she spat. “and lock down the second floor when we get there. I don’t want whoever’s in here to be getting out so easily. Got it, asstwerp? You better do everything I say, or I’ll rip your balls out and feed them to one of my trainees. Not you, Arquette. Someone like Multi Douche.”

The intern, white faced yet still perspiring, nodded and dashed out of the room. Turning to Anabel, Vivian gave her trainee her most devilish smile. “Get yourself ready. We’re going post-human hunting.”

[alchemilia]

The first day she’d become a trainee, Anabel believed that she would hate her trainer. It was always her first thoughts when she met someone; they were someone to hate, or to not care about at all. It had been surprising that she actually liked Vivian after a while of training under her. She didn’t understand a lot of the things they did, due to Anabel’s recklessness, but Vivian was a damned good trainer.

She did as she was told and straightened her arms, and inched them up ever so slightly toward her face. She wanted to impress her trainer, become the best fucking agent under Vivian’s training Nexus had ever seen. Make her proud. So when Vivian told her to do something, she didn’t hesitate to do it.

The annoyance in her face was clear when she heard the rustle of unwelcome feet burst into the training center. She snapped her head toward the intern that had rushed in, and kept a close ear to what he was saying. He was annoying, and she was just about ready to punch him in the groin and shout at him to get out, but the knife that buried itself into the door kept her still, but ready. As Vivian continued speaking Anabel sneered at the intern before he ran out. The trainee looked up at Vivian and returned her smile as she straightened her back. Finally.

[anthea-on-fire]

The upside of pain was that it cleared your mind. At least Anthea liked to think so in those moments when she was stuck waiting and the world shifted in front of her: Shapes were clearer, smells more intense, even the dimmest of lights making outlines burn bright. It was in that moment that the hallway became clear, that the orientation set back in. Sitting up against the wall, Anthea listened for sounds; there were steps on other floors but why would there not be? Maybe somebody had already started an attack in another part of the building and agents were rushing there, but all the better. Kept the Nexus agents distracted. Still, she'd have to be quick. 

Walking dissipated the last of the tricks that your mind played on you when it so changed perception. On her way down the hallway, Anthea tried pushing open the doors, and those that she found locked were ridiculously easy to open once the metal was molten. It took her three tries to finally stumble upon a room that seemed promising, filing cabinets covering the walls. The mere sight made her heart beat faster with adrenaline. All the secrets those cabinets bore, all the crimes crying to be punished - sickening and empowering at the same time. Was that what the Soviets had felt like fighting their way into government buildings in 45's Berlin? Did historical moments feel historical as you lived them?

Hybris is a downfall. 

Anthea had liked to think of herself as immune to that. She had never thought of herself as special, in the grand scheme of things. But in that situation, she couldn't resist the allure of thoughts that painted her as a substantial part of a great victory. Therefore, it took a while for the hammering thought to press its way through: Get to work. 

She threw her backpack onto the table in the middle of the room and got to work on the cabinet closest to her. Informants' names was her primary goal now, people who'd need to be punished for the cowardice of enabling Nexus without entering the fight themselves. She picked up the first folder, flicked through it - anything with a name on it landed on the table next to the backpack. Faster and faster. 

[intergalacticboner]

Visit Original Link

[anthea-on-fire]

You were warned

Once I'm transformed

Once I'm reborn

You know I will rise like a phoenix

[anthea-on-fire]

And Thanatos may be the Greatest Good || Anthea, Anabel & Vivian

It was both a dream and a nightmare, the idea that tonight might be the night that would end Nexus' reign of terror. Well, "reign" might be a misplaced word, they'd certainly managed to build up their narratives, but Anthea was sure that Nexus couldn't exactly back them up. She trusted the Horsemen, had never had reason to think otherwise. So she didn't question it when she wasn't assigned a partner this time, an unusual occurence. Maybe they simply needed more people in other spots, the building was vast, and if the stories of support from other states were true, they'd need people to safeguard their way into NYC as well. Plus, her mission seemed tame enough: Grab the most incriminating files from the archives, and then make sure that Nexus wouldn't be able to remove any evidence themselves before their building would collapse into ashes. How she'd love to contribute to speeding up the latter process. 

On the other hand, that mission also meant that she'd need some time to herself to sort through the cabinets and computers. Maybe for some other people that would've meant trouble, but Anthea wasn't other people. Humans might have struggled with going undetected - animals certainly didn't. Did she still hate turning? In a sense, yes. But if there was one calling she was always ready to make sacrifices for, it was the Rogues. Even if those sacrifices involved the pain that came with turning. 

How quiet the world could be before it saw change. The pain was bearable this time, and the fox with human mind quickly found a ventilation shaft, and was just small enough to fit through the grille that covered it. The shaft ended in a hallway, badly lit and even animalistic tapetum lucidum was barely enough to make out doors that Anthea had no idea where they led to. Crouching in the dark, she had a choice now: Turn and risk being detected, or stay a fox and find herself unable to open doors - and other similar obstacles. Turning it was - the part of the building she found herself in looked deserted enough. She had become better at keeping herself from screaming in pain - a yelping still passed her lips. And as Anthea lay on the floor, waiting for the pain to subside, it occurred to her again how stupid it was to have left the house without a weapon. Well, stupid and heroic. Real heroes didn't need weapons. Real heroes fought fire with fire. 

[anthea-on-fire]

Vodka Orange, Caipiroshka | Thea & Vasya

[ofsybills]

Vasilisa stopped herself from chuckling at the other girl’s groan. It always seemed as if Vasilisa was the lighter person in the morning, in a better mood than anyone else she woke up with. She was definitely not a morning person, but she didn’t think that meant she couldn’t be happy. After all, her life was pretty good. “Thanks.” She called back after the girl as she left, going through the cupboard and taking out the tin full of coffee, and getting the milk out and made the coffee.

The older woman gave the girl a smile as she nudged her, acquiescing the gesture as acceptable so she didn’t seem cold or mean. She stayed by the coffee maker, waiting until it was ready so she could ready to cups for the two of them. “There’ll be other lectures.” She turns to the cupboards, exploring them so she could find the cups until she landed on the right one. “Well that depends,” She started after she reached up to take two cups and set them down on the counter before turning back. “Which day are we talking about?” She grins at the girl before closing the cupboards and going back to the coffee maker, and pouring the hot liquid into the cups.

[anthea-on-fire]

Anthea returned to massaging her temples, until a hot wave told her that the medecine was finally taking full effect. It was annoying, really, the way that alcohol made everything feel grand and exciting (which it usually was if you happened upon the right people) only to leave you in a state of slowed-down thinking the next day. Well, she was being realistic here, she wouldn't stop drinking either way, and if it weren't for the headaches, she wouldn't even have minded this sort of morning when everything was half-play and half-serious. Anthea rolled her eyes: "There'll always be other lectures. There'll be other lectures every single fucking day until they finally let me graduate, and that day can't come soon enough."

She watched Lizzy work with a flicker of excitement in her eyes in spite of the lingering fatigue, somewhat jealous, somewhat proud that yes, this woman was standing in her very own kitchen now. Anthea liked to believe that wasn't disparaging herself - life wasn't a zero sum equation. Afterwards, she held out her hands with an expectant grin, waiting for Lizzy to hand her the cup, letting some time pass before her answer. Two could play the game of being mysterious, right? "Any day. Was yesterday interesting?" She leant forward across the table and said in a playfully conspiratory voice: "Tell me about an exciting day. Tell me about the most exciting day you've ever had. And yesterday doesn't count." Bad joke but to hell with it.

[waywardastronaut]

Visit Original Link

Björk Guðmundsdóttir & tríó Guðmundar Ingólfssonar - My Funny Valentine (Live at the Hotel Börg, Reykjavík, Iceland) [August 30, 1990]

[anthea-on-fire]

Better Late Than Never || Thea [Apr. 29]

Rae: Fifteen billion? That sounds like a challenge which I gladly accept because I have unlimited messaging and the capability to blabber through texts. You're on.

Rae: Yeah, if only it was that easy... Uh, I might not have found your phone number until now?

Rae: If you want the short story, then I had a "rough" month and "couldn't find the time" to contact you and didn't know that you had deposited your contact info in my bag.

Rae: The long version is just as short, ironically, but more complex. Essentially, I am now homeless and less a few friends (of which I really only had a few to begin with) and single and possibly on surveillance courtesy of psychiatrists from Roosevelt Hospital.

Rae: Take your pick and I'll elaborate more.

Rae: Would it be too late to ask for a hot chocolate with whipped cream with a side of I'll pay you back?

Thea: There's not much of a way you can make sure I'm actually reading fifteen billion messages, is there?

Thea: Judging from those air quotes, you're really just looking for someone to tell the long story to.

Thea: Whatever. I'd have picked the long one either way.

Thea: I said never too late. Imma head to the Starbucks outside the NYU main building.

Thea: Make sure you're not getting trailed by psychiatrists please.

[anthea-on-fire]

Better Late Than Never || Thea [Apr. 29]

Rae: Uh, not really, no. I'm going through this brief period of avoiding as much people interaction as possible since everyone I phone or text wants to see me.

Rae: That's good. I'm in need of some change.

Rae: We can always meet at the place where you "Take Me To Your Leader" after you get coffee, instead.

Thea: Lol I know the mood.

Thea: It's not that easy. Why are you actually contacting me now?

Thea: You can just write me fifteen billion messages and convince me that I should take you. Don't know what phone plan you have so your call.

Thea: Imma go get coffee.

[anthea-on-fire]

Better Late Than Never || Thea [Apr. 29]

Rae: This is the number that belongs to the girl I met on the streets about a month ago, right?

Rae: It's Rae. I know it's been awhile, but I've had a tough... month. Unstable and hectic would be the right words to describe it.

Rae: If it's not too late, I'd like to take you up on that offer?

Thea: My name's still Thea, yeah.

Thea: Look, I really need a coffee rn. You wanna meet up?

Thea: It's never too late, no. Until it is, and, well, since you're asking it's obviously not.

[anthea-on-fire]

haha Break me + Quiet me.. (Combination? Mix? Two part? Idk go wild |: shh I know they haven't interacted much)

"Hey!" Thea's voice booms down the hallway even before she has entered the breakroom at HQ, but when she finally catches up with her voice, she aims to do it justice, standing with her arms stretching across the doorway, blocking the path to Rae who is sitting at the breakroom table leafing through a book, and who now looks up with an expression both tired and slightly confused. 

"They just hacked into some bullshit Nexus database, don't ask me what...", she crosses her arms now, leaning against the doorpost, "They found your name."

Thea has expected a reaction somewhat more spectacular, but Rae merely closes the book and looks up at her with an expression that Thea chooses to interpret as "bored". It's this expression alone that is sufficient to make her angry. 

"Why the fuck wouldn't you tell us that?" Her voice is raised now by her own standards, and that's saying something. 

"I did", Rae merely replies.

"Yeah, you know, when I picked you up in front of that club, and you played that innocent little victim, that was some horrible bullshit, because if you really think that this shit's gonna work, then....did you actually think we wouldn't figure this out? Like fuck, who do you think we are?"

Rae takes a moment to reply, but when she does, it's with determination, as Thea steps to stand in front of her, arms crossed. "That wasn't a lie. That's what happened. You don't...."

"Innocent victims aren't in Nexus!", Thea finds herself shouting, like the word has deprived her of any ability to think in between the lines. 

"You don't understand, okay", Rae throws up her arms, and of course Thea doesn't understand, she's never understood much except Nexus is bad and Rae, from what she's seen of her, really shouldn't be, but that's not enough to bridge the two truths. "Did you lie to me?", she shouts, and now she doesn't care if anybody hears it. 

"I didn't, okay?", and the fact that Rae's pitch matches hers is somewhat of a shock to Thea, who now steps up in front of the table and leans on it, staring at Rae. 

"So what else is there, hu?", she shouts, and afterwards she just glowers, staring at Rae, waiting for a reply to be shouted that never comes. Instead, she finds Rae lowering her head, Thea doesn't quite know how to react to that, at first the jittering that runs down Rae's back looks like the redhead is laughing, and Thea now stares at her with a confused expression, what the fuck would be funny about this, she stares and glowers for such a long time that when the realization hits that maybe, maybe Rae is crying, it's nearly embarassing for her to not have gotten it faster, and Thea still doesn't know what to do, what part of the story is true and which one isn't, or maybe it's time to say goodbye to the concept of true and false to begin with. 

Thea goes to grab the guitar case she has dropped in the hallway. 

When she returns to the kitchen, Rae looks like she might have cried. Might have. Thea slips into the chair next to her.

"You know what I did", she starts to say, unpacking the guitar. "When everything started changing. I wrote a song about it."

She hasn't played the song in a long time, because she hasn't needed to. Everyone she has met since she has wished into either the "bad" category, or onto her level where truths are unshakeable. But maybe this is one of those moments that require the song. The chords are tentative at first, but the words come easily, and the more the song progresses, the more Thea starts to understand that maybe, the process of change isn't over yet. 

Losing you is losing me somehow

I'm not the same woman now, am I?

I am a dead alive

[ahdeeyos-deactivated20200911]

LIGHTS in Timing is Everything

Please do not repost/remove credit, use in other edits [including icon gifs] or in gif hunts. Please do not remove this text either. Thank you.

[anthea-on-fire]

Zip Me

“Thea, it's an art society luncheon. Do you even own any dresses?“ That had been accompanied by a subtle eye roll, but had Vasilisa really been entirely opposed to the idea of taking Anthea up on her offer of dressing her up for the event, she surely would have made that opposition more explicit, Anthea decided. So she held out her hand with a slight grin: „In fact, I do“, and it was little of a surprise that Vasilisa reached for her hand and followed Anthea into the bedroom, where she stood leaning against the doorpost, watching Anthea sift through her (admittedly very chaotic, but one had to have priorities) wardrobe. A pile of dark jeans, most of them ripped, landed in a pile on the floor, followed by belts and tank tops and black leggings. Finally, Anthea managed to uncover the short black dress she had worn for her high school graduation - “timeless”, her mother had called it back then, and Anthea had found that hard to believe because really, when would she ever wear a dress again? God only knew why she had kept it. Maybe because dressing up other people had always been enjoyable to her, people needed to get out of their comfort zones more, everyone and at all times. And bonus points for the dress now getting to see a place so fancy she herself would never be admitted in. She stroked out some of the wrinkles in the fabric in between her palms, and then held the dress out, uttering with a playfully penitent expression “I don't think I even have an ironing board”, to which Vasilisa only reacted with a shrug. But she did like the dress, that much was visible, and Anthea felt a strange contentment in the face of the fact that she had managed to impress the older woman. She turned around with a grin and heard the whispering of fabric stroking over skin. Of course it fit, damn her parents and their constant complaints of how she was too skinny. Vasilisa was running her hands through her hair as Anthea turned around, tying it into a bun and inspecting her reflection in the bedroom mirror. “I suppose we all hide our secrets”, she said from under raised eyebrows, but the corners of her mouth were betraying an amusement pleasant to Anthea. Vasilisa stepped into the black pumps she had discarded next to the bed the night before, and Anthea took her in with a grin: “You bet. But you know what, I have just the thing you need.” It was ridiculous, actually, a piece of artificial fox fur on a cheap silver chain, but it was something that Anthea liked to believe went with anything, and made everything better. Particularly dressing up incredibly attractive people. She draped the necklace around the brunette's neck, putting into place the last pin Vasilisa handed her, and when Vasilisa turned around and the two of them exchanged a long glance, they both fell into laughter in unison.

“Why did you even buy this?”

“My secret.”

Maybe Vasilisa would still get changed on her way to the luncheon. Not that it would matter much. The most important thing was: Until it all was over, you damn well better have some fun.

[anthea-on-fire]

[Fan at Heroes panel] Your character seems to have quite the mouth on her, do you curse that much in your daily life or is it all just part of the acting?

Oh wow, no, I don't curse nearly as much! That's why I'm an actress, right? But on bad days, I have to say, I sometimes enjoy it, screaming at people in character, it's great stress therapy. For good days, I have this contract with my best friend where I'm allowed to call her before takes and basically just scream at her over the phone in whatever expletives I can come up with. That must be so weird to watch, though, for uninitiated people who don't know it's all in good fun. My friend also does this thing sometimes where she looks up creative insults and screams them right back at me, and I might or might not have used some of those on the show. But my standard sentence after takes is: "I didn't mean it, please believe me, I am so sorry!"

[anthea-on-fire]

Name: Anthea Jaspersen

On-screen personality: Reckless, impulsive, frank and passionate

Off-screen personality: She's a child star, and thus a little diva. Due to her experience, she does a decent job of remaining professional most of the time, but if things don't go her way, she has a tendency to leave in a huff and to threaten abandoning the project, because part of her thinks the world revolves around her, and she thinks showing that will get people to do things her way.

The role they originally auditioned for: Anabel

Favourite genre to act in: Action, comedy

Twitter name: @GreekFlowerGirl

Click here to read our interview with America's sweetheart:

You only joined the cast in Season Two. What was it like, joining a group that goes so far back that late into the show?

I was definitely more intimidated by it than I'd have had reason to. It's been a pretty amazing experience, finding out about all the intricacies of the plots that have happened before, all those subtle character ties, this network of things that my co-stars have managed to create in the year and a half before I joined the cast. But it's been a pleasant experience, mostly. I mean, it's work and you're not going to get along with everyone equally well, but overall, it's been a good experience. 

Does that mean there is a feud behind the scenes the fans might be dying to know about?

What? I didn't say that. Look, we have long days, and acting is hard work. It's what we get paid for. All I was saying was, you don't have to be best friends in order to make it to a successful wrap-up. 

That wasn't a very Thea thing to say...

-Winks- That's what they pay me for. 

The producers also pay you to curse a lot. What's it like to drop the f-bomb every other word? Was that something that took you a while to get used to?

It's great anger management, believe you me. Well it is, on hard days. If you've had a good day, it does feel unpleasant. But I have this agreement with my best friend, where if I've had a good day and I have to film one of those scenes where Thea is agitated, I can give her a call and basically just scream at her over the phone for five minutes. The first time I did that, people looked at me like I had lost my mind. And yes, it did feel strange to me as well. But I've grown into it by now. It's like I pick up the phone, shout the first expletive I can come up with, and then hang up again. And yes, my best friend still picks up the phone. 

Another thing I think everyone is curious about is the way Thea transforms into a fox. There are other characters on the show who can shapeshift, but she is the first character to turn into a full-blown animal. How did you prepare for this aspect? And what's it like to shoot the transformation scenes?

Ooooh...we're actually using real foxes, did you know that? I mean, for when Thea is a fox. They're a bit like dogs, pretty trainable if you're patient enough. But as much as Thea has made me fall in love with foxes, I still try and act out as much as I can myself. The transformation scenes are very intense, I get to express a sort of pain that my usual roles don't have me expressing. I try and picture it as all my bones breaking simultaneously....yeah, I know that sounds spooky. It still sort of is. But it's a challenge, very raw, very physical. We then use CGI to enhance the shots and to make the transformation more gradual. 

Thea is a tattoo fanatic. How many of her tattoos do you actually have, and how many are painted on?

-laughs- Thea has way more than I have. And her tattoos have a very strong symbolical meaning, so we couldn't just use mine. I actually only have one. It's...embarassing, really. I got a dolphin tattooed on my back when I was 17. That's horrible, right?

How is a dolphin horrible?

I don't know. It's not badass, is it?

Now that was a very Thea thing to say. 

That's what they pay me for. 

Okay, last question: Thea is an avid musician. Do you know how to play the guitar?

I wouldn't say I'm great at it, but I've learned to, yes. I've also had singing lessons and I know my basics on the piano, so the scenes with Andrew have been great in that regard. I suppose you could say that Thea and me have something in common after all. 

[tsukinosusagis]