Top 5 headcanons you have for #Vanity
This may very well have been the best ask I got in this game, because I have spent so much time coming up with some very in-depth answers. Thus, I saved it for last. Brace yourself for the incoming long post!
There are a lot of amazing headcanons shared within this fandom, but these are some of my own personal ones that I haven’t discussed at length publicly.
1. They couldn’t pry themselves apart following that kiss in the street on 30th January 2018. My reasoning: The only time we’ve seen Charity’s hair straight (while working) in more than two years, was the 1st and 2nd of February. (On the 31st January, she was calling Vanessa about Tracy drinking too much in the pub, after doing a stride of pride from Tug Ghyll that morning.) My belief is that for a couple days there, they were so enraptured with each other that Charity skipped styling her hair to spend longer (in the shower) with Vanessa.
2. Charity isn’t one for photos, but Vanessa is. My reasoning: There are (sadly) very, very few pictures of Moses and Ryan up in Jacob’s Fold, nor any recent ones of Charity with her other kids, despite the magnitude of photos on display within the cottage. I believe Charity has to be reminded to document moments, whereas Vanessa is constantly snapping away (there are hoards of photos of Johnny, Tracy, and Frank). I also believe Vanessa is the mastermind behind the many, many framed images. (Side note: there are a lot of pictures of Sarah up, which was maybe her way of making Sarah feel just as at home with them all moved in? Cute.) This one has been touched on in a few fics by others, but often as a result of the number of photos Vanessa had up in Tug Ghyll. I mean, she had a framed photo of Johnny on a shelf in the pantry.
3. It was Charity who curled Vanessa’s hair before the inspection at the vets. My reasoning: Vanessa very rarely has her hair styled any other way than down straight or in a ponytail (or professionally styled in some fancy ‘do for more lavish events - ie. Isaac’s christening, Aaron & Robert’s wedding, Zak & Lisa’s wedding, etc.), but on two occasions she’s had her hair done in very distinct curls - the day of the inspection at the vet’s, and then a few weeks later at Chas’ baby shower. I believe that Charity curled Vanessa’s hair before the inspection to calm her down or distract her (and then rushed off to work at the pub), then perhaps offered to do it again when they were getting ready for the baby shower together.
4. Their love languages. I could talk about my theories surrounding their love languages for an eternity because I have given it a lot of thought. I’m going to attempt to summarize my thoughts here, but they filled two pages of my notebook when I wrote them all out. The 5 Love Languages come from a book by Gary Chapman, and you can read more about them or take the quiz to find out your own here. > Vanessa’s love languages: Acts of Service (giving) and Quality Time (receiving). My reasoning: (Giving) Early on in her relationship with Charity, Vanessa was established as very tactile with her affection. At first, I thought this was how she showcased her love for others, but if you look at her interactions with anyone else she cares about, she’s more prone to doing things for them (to the point of her own destruction) than reaching out and touching them as constantly as she does with Charity. You can see it in how she handles the Rhona drugs storyline, how she is when Tracy wakes up on the couch in Tug Ghyll sad or hungover or both, and even how she approaches finding Moira post-drinking spree when Isaac is sick. (Receiving) Vanessa seems to be at her best emotionally when she’s spent ample time propping up the bar or hanging with Rhona, and you’ll notice she flaunts to being around people she cares about (even when she has other obligations). She basks in the affections of others time, but pulls away from it completely when she’s sad, often blaming others for the isolation she feels in those moments. I don’t think she recognizes this trait in herself because of that fact, but I know when she finally decided to let Charity flock to her side following her dad’s death, she perked back up. > Charity’s love languages: Touch (receiving), Gift Giving (giving), and Words of Affirmation (giving). My reasoning: (Receiving) I think Vanessa recognized quite quickly in their relationship that Charity responds better to touch than words and chose to be so tactile with her as an act of service. You can see it clearly in the way Charity visibly relaxes or softens when Vanessa’s making physical contact with her, but also in how she tenses for a moment when Noah goes to hug her out of the blue. If you watch for it, you’ll notice she leans into the people she cares about when talking to them, especially in the pub. (Giving, early on) At the start of their relationship, Charity was content to flood her children with presents at every opportunity, and even attempted to do the same for Vanessa on the odd occasion. She seemed to believe still that love was something to be bought, or came as a result of pleasing others, which she appears to have grown out of (mostly) as her relationship with Vanessa got more serious. (Giving, now) Charity is often the first you’ll hear declaring her love or gratitude for the people around her. She did it with Debbie as she was leaving for Scotland, with Marlon when he visited Noah in hospital, with Noah when he was home safe following the drugs incident, with Chas following everything regarding baby Grace, and at every opportunity with Vanessa. She’s not good at a lot of the other stuff, but I think she’s learning the power her words have.
5. Everything thegirl20 has written (that matches up with the show timeline) is canon. Is it even a question, though, really? We are so incredibly lucky as fandom whole to have a creator here who knows the characters so well and has been a viewer of the show for such a long time. When she tells me the younger boys are obsessed with Paw Patrol, or that Moses grows up to be a vet like Vanessa, I believe her - end of.
