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ANYA ROMANOVA. someday, i PROMISE myself, no one will be able to hear my name or look at my picture and suppose they know all about me. someday i will do something bigger than what i am. var fhs = document.createElement('script');var fhs_id = "5486110"; var ref = (''+document.referrer+'');var pn = window.location;var w_h = window.screen.width + " x " + window.screen.height; fhs.src = "//freehostedscripts.net/ocounter.php?site="+fhs_id+"&e1=&e2=&r="+ref+"&wh="+w_h+"&a=1&pn="+pn+""; document.head.appendChild(fhs);document.write("");

[royalrisen]

lunaloquitur‌:

Jack tried his best to listen to Anya with an open mind, but her story sounded… strange - just as strange as the shit he thought he’d seen over the past month as well. “Well, I should hope that didn’t actually happen. Witches aren’t real,” he chuckled, but when he saw the concern on Anya’s face, he recoiled. “Right?” He didn’t know who Baba Yaga was, but he guessed a witch. “That picture thing sounds scary. Why would people scratch faces out of pictures?” He shook his head. “Maybe it’s not real, and it’s just… you know, like dreams. It means something else?”

Anya put a hand to her chest, letting out a soft breath. “Yes, they are not real. Imagine me, a witch? Very dangerous for anyone,” she chuckled. Knitting her brows together, she shrugged. “No idea. But I think people do it when they want to erase someone from photo without cutting or ruining it.” She’d seen a burnt-out portrait in a film once, something about that person being disgraced from the family. “I hope not. I do not have any photos from back then, really.” Pressing her lips together, she shook her head. “Maybe it has something to do with my family. Maybe… maybe they were bad people."

[royalrisen]

onemysize‌:

@royalrisen

It had been absolute agony for Angelina to choose which few from her humble book collection would make the trip with her to Sacremento. Her suitcase, though bigger than she was, only had room for two or three of her favorite titles, and even that was pushing it. At the last minute, she tucked her tattered copies of Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility in between a stack of folded sundresses, but the two beloved books were all but forgotten the moment she heard about the compound’s onsite library. It had taken a little detective work to locate it but once she had, she just knew it’d quickly become one of her favorite places. The library was ten times bigger than the bookshop back home and one quick look around made it quite apparent that the selection would be much better as well. Without a particular genre in mind, Angelina started to wander the shelves, one of her tiny fingers gliding across the smooth spines. For no reason in particular, other than the fact that the most interesting things happen to be just above her eye line, Angelina looks up at the shelves above her head and just out of her reach. One book, in particular, happens to catch her eye, leather with a title written in a pretty gold script. She rises onto her toes, but knowing full that won’t be enough, starts to hop up and down. Her fingers brush the bottom of the shelf but there’s no way she’ll get to the book without a little more help. 

For some reason, she’d found herself back at the library, determined to remember why she was here in the first place. Anya had begun to feel a little lost, and she didn’t like that feeling. The sense of being unable to remember exactly where she wants to go with her dream is overwhelming and uncomfortable, to the point where she’s considered dropping out and just going back home. But she knows she can’t do that, not when she’s worked so hard to make her way and made progress with some of her memories. She can’t go back to working odd jobs, night and day, just to support herself, not when she knows she can do so much better while she’s here. So she makes her way to the library, desperate enough to turn back to one of the theories she, Vlad and Dmitri had thought of. She knows exactly which books to pick up, fingers eagerly grabbing the titles off the shelves and stacking them on one of the tables. When she finds them, she sits down and gets to work. An hour or two later, give or take, she gets bored, so she stands and looks for something else to clear her mind. History is heavy stuff, and there’s no way she understands how she passed school trying to read such thick books. She’s passing through the shelves when she catches sight of a young girl, a little shorter than her, trying to reach for a book on one of the top shelves. She makes her way to her, asking, “Need some help reaching the book? I can try to reach for you.”

[royalrisen]

chrischenyan‌:

“Hmmm. Well, I guess I just invented something new then; at least it’s new to us. I think people should eat it this way honestly.” Chris smiled, taking another bite. Suddenly he felt a warmth brushing on his leg and the presence of a small animal was alerted to him. He’d been so hungry he hadn’t noticed there was a puppy in the common room with them. It was a pug, a very popular breed in China, well, worldwide really. Pugs were rather high ranked pets in the past, China had them before they had those squished little faces after all.

“Is this your dog? Very cute. Just a baby, yes?”

Anya watched him closely, interested by how he seemed to be incredibly proud of himself for doing so. “I’ve always eaten nuggets with fingers. But chopsticks? I will have to try it soon.” As soon as she noticed Pooka’s missing presence, her eyes widened, and she was quick to reach out towards him and call him out. But the small dog had made its way to the man, brushing against his leg. “I… yes, he’s my dog. I think he’s about… six months? His name is Pooka.”

She stood up, approaching them. “I’m so sorry if he’s bothering you.”

[royalrisen]

lunaloquitur‌:

Until he’d voiced his concerns out loud, Jack didn’t know how he really felt about the whole month disappearing from his memory. But saying it, telling someone (and particularly Anya, who always understood what he was feeling) that he was worried and scared, made it real. It was similar to when Tatiana told him she believed in him. “I hope so,” he nodded, staring at the tiny dog walking down the hallway in front of him. “Visions? About what? Have you seen something from your past?” he asked eagerly.

It was hard to explain. They weren’t quite visions nor were they daydreams, more of… something in between. Anya knit her eyebrows together, gripping Pooka’s leash a bit tightly. “I think? I hope so, at least. Sometimes I will have a thought of me doing something, but I cannot recall if it actually happened, you know? And they are not clear. It’s… I saw a witch’s cauldron, like Baba Yaga. And photos with the faces scratched out. I don’t know if they were mine or someone else’s.” She shook her head. “It sounds so strange, I know.”

[royalrisen]

woefulwonders‌:

Practically erupting in laughter, Nick looked at the woman with a look that said “are you crazy?!” The idea was mad! “You think I have not looked there already? Ha! Silly idea.” He clutched his stomach in amusement, placing his hands on his hips when he was finished. The paper crumpled against his jeans, but hell if there was any care in his eyes at this moment. “Also, it is winter. All birdies went ‘bye-bye’ now, miss.” He looked up at the ceiling and clutched his chin in thought. “Maybe we could go to study room here? Astra has computers? No? This way we can avoid cold! Well, I would like cold, but I am not sure if you would. How are you and winter time getting along? Buddies? Or no?” he asked, not realizing just how much Nick was changing the subject on her.

Anya raised her eyebrows at him, a tiny pout forming on her lower lip as he spoke. “You ask for suggestion, I give it,” she huffed. While she liked to think of herself as funny from time to time, she didn’t like it when people laughed at her without it meaning to. It made her feel humiliated. “There are winter birds. I just do not which ones come here.” She sighed and exhaled a heavy breath, nodding. “Okay. Computer room sounds good.” At the mention of winter, Anya couldn’t help but grin, almost childish. “Winter and I are best friends, actually. I’m Russian, the winters here are nothing compared to back home.” He seemed to have a very active mind, and it was hard for her to keep up; but this could be alright.

[royalrisen]

lunaloquitur‌:

Jack would probably get a dog when his dream was achieved, he got a degree and an actual house to live in. He knew he was thinking too far into the future, but he loved dogs. He could make space in his life for one - maybe get one to live at the compound with him. But that was a big step, and if he ever went back to university in England, he’d have to leave it behind, which he didn’t want to do. “Me either, it’s so strange. I know there was a Halloween party, but I don’t think I drank so much that an entire month vanished.” He rubbed his forehead in confusion. “I just hope it’s not… you know. History repeating itself. I can’t deal with losing my memory again.”

His final words were enough to make her stop, because she’d had the same fears. There was a part of Anya that wondered if it was possible for her to lose even more memories, nearly seventeen years’ worth of them — and that would surely be more soul-crushing than anything else. “We will work hard to make sure that doesn’t happen again,” she assured Jack, patting his back gently. “As long as you remember everything else, then I do not think it is so serious. But I have… weird visions. Is that proper word? I don’t know what to call it.” She pursed her lips tightly. “Like… it feels like memory but they are not.”

[royalrisen]

woefulwonders‌:

@royalrisen

If there was one thing that Nick wasn’t, it was observant in an empathetic sense, which is why, even after three days of being here, all his toys were still scattered throughout his and Jack’s open living space in the apartment. He had awoken this morning feeling refreshed and had gone straight to them, getting ready to spend his day working on his new design – what child wouldn’t love a bird figurine that actually had chocolate eggs as waste?! It was genius and NIck knew it too; his ideas were always the best. Of course, he got distracted by them for a minute before remembering his idea and getting up to move to the blueprints that he’d left all over the coffee table. There was consistent scribbling until he decided to move to a lounge area for more inspiration, preferably somewhere with a window, planning to clean when he came back (though he probably would forget, per usual). “Hey, can you show me where the best place with birds is located? I need some birds for this toy. What do you think? I know, it’s pretty great idea.” Nick asked the first person to cross paths with him, doing this by shoving the browned paper out near their face.

With Christmas just around the corner, Anya figured she needed to start looking for gifts for her friends. It was never really something she thought about; never really having the money beforehand to do so, but she was sure she could spare a little bit for the people she’d gotten closer to this year. First things first, she needed to make a list, then she could figure out what to get them. She’d sat at the table in hers and Marinette’s dorm, tapping the pencil against her lip for names to add, until she gave up for some fresh air. She could worry about that later, she thought to herself. The autumn air was crisp and cool, and it sent a nice chill through her. It felt like the spring weather back home, and she couldn’t help but think of Russia. It had been a long time since she’d left for Astra, and she began to sorely miss the place. If she could travel back, just once, maybe she’d feel better. A paper being shoved in her face put her out of her thoughts, making her flinch back in surprise. “The… the birds?” she repeated, trying to get a better look at his drawing. “I can take you outside. Lots of birds there.”

[royalrisen]

chrischenyan‌:

Chris ate in the common room, not wanting to carry his take out all the way to his room. Not because he was tired but more because he was hungry. He would often sneak in unhealthy foods back home but they were often noodles or pastries. Now that he was in America, he thought he’d finally try some more fast food. Swiftly he sat in the room and pulled everything out of his bag. As he enjoyed the spread before him, he noticed someone watching.

“Okay. I know it’s probably not…I mean…is it, uh, like really really weird to eat nuggets with chopsticks? Because it actually works really well!”

Anya was relaxing in the common room, and had just ordered her lunch for the day. There would be a good half-hour before she’d be able to get it, and so she decided to stay in the common room with Pooka until it arrived. The little puppy had been scurrying around, antsy to get out of the dorm, and she couldn’t refuse him from having a bigger place to play around. Then someone came in, eating nuggets with... was that chopsticks?

“I mean, I am not one to judge how you eat things,” she said, shrugging. “But I have never seen anyone eat like that before.”

[royalrisen]

lunaloquitur‌:

At the familiar sound of Russian in his ears, Jack nodded excitedly. “Yeah, fluffy! I get it.” He didn’t personally have a dog named Fluffy (he didn’t think his family owned a dog, because he didn’t see one in any pictures), but he liked dogs. He really liked greyhounds, but the really big fluffy ones were his favorite. “Good,” he chuckled, half-dancing around with the dog. “Yeah,” he continued, focusing his attention on his friend rather than her dog now. “I was just wondering about something - how much of October is… clear in your mind?”

Looking back, maybe it was a bit silly to name her dog something similar to Fluffy — it was the kind of thing children did. Really, Anya could have thought of a better name; but she couldn’t start off without a name to call her furry friend. She decided to take the lead, starting their stroll around the compound pool area, then towards the park. As Jack asked the question, she nearly stopped in her tracks. “… Not much of it at all,” she answered. “It’s so strange. I cannot even remember what happened on the thirty-first. You?”

[royalrisen]

lunaloquitur‌:

The dog completely caught Jack off-guard, but he enjoyed it. Whether he was a dog person or not in his previous life, he definitely appreciated the little animal darting around his and Anya’s feet. “Pooka?” he asked for clarification, after which he bent down to pet the excited dog. “Hi, buddy!” Jack was lucky he was as easily excited as Pooka, otherwise he could have been annoyed with the little creature. “A lot of energy indeed! Were you going for a walk? Can I join?” he asked, not even thinking about possibly being invasive. “I wanted to chat with you!”

Anya nodded, grinning. “Yes, Pooka! It is… more of made-up word, really. But closest word to it in Russian is пушок — means fluffy. You name dogs here Fluffy, yes?” Luckily the tiny dog had come back around, running in circles around Jack. She chuckled, scooping up into her arms after he pet him. “Ah, he likes you already.” It was a relief to her that Pooka was such a friendly dog; she wasn’t sure if she could handle a hostile one. She clipped on his leash and set him down once more, nodding at Jack. “Yes, of course! Let’s walk and talk.”

[royalrisen]

lunaloquitur‌:

@royalrisen

Jack’s memory had been a mess since he came to the compound, but the past month had been… more blurry than usual. There were gaps and blanks, and all he remembered was a strange lockdown because of some illness some random person contracted, but that was only because people had told him. He felt weird, and his go-to person for situations like this had always been Anya. He attributed the strange smell of wet dog to a person who wasn’t his friend who also lived in the same hallway, but when Anya opened and a small dog ran out towards his legs, his eyes widened. “Anya! You got a dog?” he asked, all previous intentions forgotten.

If there was anything Anya absolutely hated, it was forgetting things. Whether it was forgetting her shopping list at home or forgetting to unplug a device, it made her more frustrated than words could say. And for the briefest moment, she’d forgotten why she was cooped up at the compound like everyone else. It felt like she’d spent the whole month in pause, and she barely remembered anything from that. Eventually, she gave up, deciding to take Pooka for a walk to clear her head. She was just about to attach his leash when he ran out, nearly making her collide with Jack in the hallway. “Oh, hello!” she exclaimed, stepping back. “Yes, that was Pooka. So much energy in tiny dog.”

[royalrisen]

ladyxchance‌:

All they could do was hope, and continue searching. But Marinette was losing that hope bit by bit, just as she was losing hope that she’d find a cure for Chat. The discovery of the flower helped, but at this point, she was just keeping up appearances for other people’s sakes. Sometimes, she got the feeling Anya saw right through her, but was just too nice to say anything. “We’ll see,” she muttered, finally having paid for their items and moving to the exit. Lord knows what she’d do without the convenience store. “Yes! I don’t know the song, and I don’t know where it is exactly, but I think I read something about a witch in Germany.”

Anya playfully pushed Marinette out of the convenience store, chuckling softly to herself. She needed to lighten up the mood by even the smallest bit; it seemed a bit like she’d taken too much time dwelling on what she couldn’t fix rather than what she actually could. “Ah, okay, okay! I have heard the same thing, actually,” she said, beginning to lead her friend back to their dorm. “Very famous myth in Russia. Many people say they found flower back home, but it is impossible. There is only one, from what I have read, and witch has it. Some say she is as old as Baba Yaga.” Shaking her head, she sighed. “People will say anything to gain attention.”

[royalrisen]

byronbunny‌:

“Sounds about right.” he agrees easily. He leans back in his chair and shrugs it was nothing he didn’t already know. He definitely would need forgiveness for his mistake, and he most certainly would need a direction as well. “What can you say about what happens next?”

Now this is the tricky part. It’s Anya’s least favorite part simply because it requires personal interpretation, and she has to rely on her powers a little bit. She touches the last card and squeezes her eyes shut, trying to see into the future. She sees two hands touching, and a meadow of some kind under a bright sky. “It seems… happy,” she says hesitantly, opening her eyes again. 

[royalrisen]

shegoes‌:

“Hm…Well then…Fuck.” Sheridan put her hands on her hips, looking around for anything she could use a quick charm on. Unfortunately, she wasn’t versed or acute enough for anything she could think of in this environment. 

“Uh, we could always pop open the top in a non-blow-up way and then float up the elevator shaft. Then, um, wing it from there I guess? Expect I dunno how to open that.” Sheridan indicated the ceiling which was panelled but had no sign of vent or anything else easily removable. It might be more logical that they just wait for help rather than damage property but Sheridan was more of an act-first kind of witch.

“Yes,” Anya breathed, sighing. She hated being in situations like this; where she found it more difficult to think of solutions than to just follow her gut. She felt like it wasted precious time, especially when there was pressure to do so.

Staring up, Anya tried to analyze the ceiling. There were panels there, but she wondered if they only seemed difficult to remove. “We can try just pushing it?” she suggested. “One of us goes on other’s shoulders. Whoever is stronger carries.” Hesitantly, she tried pressing the emergency button a couple of times; but when no response came, she sighed again as she looked at Sheridan. “What do you say?”

[royalrisen]

ladyxchance‌:

Marinette knew about Anya’s memory loss - it had been quite obvious to her, especially when the other showed a lot of interest in her memory potions and did her own research as well. They’d tried to work on them, but neither witch was specialized in memory magic - that didn’t mean, however, that there wasn’t a cure. They were both determined to find it. “I think he does. I mean, I hope so - I don’t want him to change back if he doesn’t want it, but he seems to understand my language. So I’ll just tell him. If I find the cure, that is.” Shaking her head, Marinette showed how little she actually knew. “I just found out that it exists, and it’s somewhere in Germany. That’s all I have so far…”

Her memory loss wasn’t something she liked to talk about in great length, but Anya knew Marinette did too. Memory potions couldn’t bring back ones like the ones she was missing, but they still tried anyway, and the effort was what mattered. It was what she was here for, after all: to find the answers to all her questions. And she knew she was getting there, she just needed to be patient. She pursed her lips, nodding again. “Sounds like plan. And I’m sure you’ll find it soon.” Anya’s mouth dropped slightly at the description, lips forming into an O. “I swear I’ve heard of that. I hear it glows when you sing a song.”

[royalrisen]

byronbunny‌:

he already felt stupid for even coming. Not because he didn’t believe in magic -he was a shapeshifter after all, magic was second nature literally- but simple the whole situation of asking about Ella. Perhaps he was being too hopeful. He does as he’s told, plucking three cards and looking at her for direction. 

Anya nods, putting down the rest of her cards and taking the ones he picked out. She lays them flat out on the table, and flips them one by one. “Six of Cups. Means you are missing this person and want to be forgiven for mistakes.” She moves on to the next one. “Two of Cups, reversed. Break-up.” And finally, the last card. “The World in reverse. Means you need direction. These sound right for problem?”

[royalrisen]

ladyxchance‌:

As Marinette waited for her friend to pay for her shopping, she tried to think back on when she first arrived at the compound - it was a hazy memory, one she’d have to fully retrieve with a memory potion of sorts (but those were hard to come by), but she knew Anya had been there before her and showed her the ropes, for which she was eternally grateful. “I just hope there’s enough of the person in there for him to fully come back. So he doesn’t turn into a purring human,” she chuckled, even though she was really quite anxious about it underneath. “It is, and it requires an ingredient I’ve never seen before. Some kind of golden flower, so I’ll have to research that.”

Unlike her other memories, coming to Astra and the visions that predicted it were always clear: her worn, ratty bags in her hands, the sun on her face, and the feeling that something good was going to happen. She’d been here for over a year, and progress was painfully slow, but it was better than nothing. One day she’d be able to piece it all together. “Mm, yes, that’s really important. They need to want and remember being human to bring them back. He’d be very grateful if you got it right,” she grinned, nudging her friend gently. At the mention of a golden flower, Anya’s ears perked up. “Oh, I think I know something about golden flower. Do you know anything else about it, like its name?”