![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
General purpose HMD post that I'll pretty up later, I promise... But for now, general HMD stuff of anon on, ip off, I screen all comments, etc etc
Also, this is just a general opt out! Vera's character may not be one you want to tag with at all, so if you'd prefer I not tag you, just let me know and no questions asked, that's respected.
Also, this is just a general opt out! Vera's character may not be one you want to tag with at all, so if you'd prefer I not tag you, just let me know and no questions asked, that's respected.
zhautas application
Oct. 1st, 2018 11:49 amPLAYER PROFILE
Player name: Christy
Age: 27
Contact:![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
yeezus
Characters currently in-game: N/A
Triggers/Fears/Squicks: None for me!
Character Motivation:
At Vera's canon point, she's currently in a period of self-improvement, but also self-loathing. After driving her daughter to run away (which she doesn't realize yet), it forced her to come to terms with her own anger at Pickering, her relationships, and herself. She's making an honest effort to improve herself, but. What led to this was also the realization of her desire to have maybe done more with her life than she has. Vera has a sense of wanderlust (and just... lust...), so thinking that her family might be better off without her for a while, she agreed to volunteer, albeit somewhat reluctantly. She would never admit that she agreed to anyone else.
VOLUNTEER PROFILE
(Mod Note: The application was written as a volunteer questionnaire to match the game thematically, characters have volunteered to be here! Players are expected to answer the questions truthfully from a player perspective as they would in any game application.
If a player would rather answer ICly to match the theme, they are more than welcome to! However, if you choose to do this please be aware all answers must be 100% true for your character, nothing can be submitted incorrectly or omitted because your character would refuse to provide the information asked.)
Name: Vera Tolman (née Brooker)
Age: 41
Physical Appearance: Here
Point in Timeline: Just before the end of Chapter 7, before Vera realizes that Alfie has left Pickering
World Description:
We don't know too much about the world of Alfie, but in general, it's a high-fantasy, no magic world. This shows a map of the world, which you can see is divided into various kingdoms roughly corresponding to the races of its inhabitants. The world is populated by various fantasy races, of which we've seen most of the standard ones you would expect. There are humans, elves, orcs, and Vera's race, halflings/havlins, and there's also a unique one called the Voch'kari, which you could think of as Tieflings, basically. These races have some biases against each other, but they generally correspond with what you would expect from a fantasy story. Elves are pretty and pretentious, orcs are dumb and muscle-heads, etc.
Travel between kingdoms seems to be unusual (and dangerous), and from what some characters have mentioned, leaving the immediate area you were born around is uncommon. It's a stylized medieval-esque world that you would picture in your standard high-fantasy adventure.
History/Background: Because of the nature of this canon (whoops), there's no wiki! You can find the canon here (which, note, the link itself may be very nsfw depending on the current page of the comic), and you can find my summary here. The main text of the entry is the "full" version for my reference!
Noteworthy Positive Characteristics:
SMART
Vera is far smarter than people tend to expect of her or give her credit for. She took an interest in learning at an early age and actively pursued literacy of her own accord, which seems to be slightly out of the norm for Pickering. We know that she can read Elvish and Dwarven other than whatever the "common" language is, which seems to be highly unusual in the world. She's well-read and still seems to enjoy reading quite a bit, and presumably is continuing to learn through the books she can manage to buy. She also educated Alfie herself, which gave her daughter a similar passion for learning. Otherwise, we do see that her leather-crafting involves drafting/design/and math, so it's safe to assume that she's far more educated than the average person, and it's entirely through her own pursuits and efforts.
CLEVER
Vera is book smart, but she's also quite traditionally clever as well. Vera has a sharp wit and is quite perceptive, at least when it comes to more factual things. She's not quite as perceptive when it comes to people and their emotions... However, she's quite good at telling when someone is lying to her, for example, and is quick-witted enough to hold her own in a contentious conversation easily. This can come to bite her at times, since her sharp tongue combined with her temper can lead her to saying quite sharp things, but it's quite clear that Vera isn't someone who's easy to make a fool of.
CARING
It absolutely may not seem like it because of her abrasive personality, but Vera is a caring person. Naturally, she cares for her family the most deeply, and this is where we see it in the story most. She loves Alfie with all her heart, and though she's not always successful, she's trying to raise her daughter in a way that helps her avoid the struggles and heartache that her mother has. However, we do see it in more subtle ways with other people. While she may have difficult relationships with the people in Pickering, she's still aware of their life situations and tries to be understanding, if in private. Though humorously, this is best seen in how she treats Alduin. Even though she doesn't respect him, when they're engaged in some pretty heavy S&M situations, she's still concerned about his comfort and not pushing him too far. Granted, we never see a situation where Alduin is pushed to a limit where he's uncomfortable because he's just Like That, there are moments where we can see how Vera cares for his general well-being (even if she thinks he's a selfish prick).
ADVENTUROUS
Vera has always been adventurous, though this is something about herself she's only recently re-discovered. As a younger woman, Vera's adventurous nature took a more literal form. She'd grown up in the small village of Pickering and only longed for more. She wanted to see the world outside her village, which even though that would be a prospect too frightening to undertake for most Havlins, she took it with a special zeal. It's implied that if she hadn't become pregnant, Vera likely would have stayed away from Pickering far longer. On the other hand, as an adult woman, this trait has reappeared in a different context. What Alduin asked her to make and do was nothing she'd ever explored before, yet there was little hesitation before she dove in. Though they're quite different, Vera takes in new experiences with enthusiasm despite taboos, and may even delight in subverting those taboos.
Noteworthy Negative Characteristics:
BITTER
The number one trait that comes to mind when it comes to Vera is absolutely "bitter." Vera has a huge chip on her shoulder because the way she's been treated her entire life. She's distrustful of people and their intentions, and she tends to assume the worst about people and be proven wrong rather than the opposite. It's a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy for Vera, because her bitterness makes her have an extremely cynical view of the world, which gives her a rather acerbic personality. However, that acerbic personality causes most people to not treat her well, which only feels like it's proving her point. While this is something she's actively working on improving because she's seen the harm it can do to people she loves, it's still a trait she's had ever since she was a child.
ANGRY
Largely because of the above, Vera also has a very fiery temper. She's hotheaded and brash, which sometimes leads her to more "good" things like throwing aside her fears to go "rescue" Alfie, but more often than not, it just gets her in trouble. Vera has a lot of deep-set issues, so when they're tugged at, she tends to respond with anger first, and her temper can be explosive. Vera is terrible at controlling her temper, so she's very likely to hurt people (whether physically or emotionally) when she's angry, and it's only once her anger has cooled that she realizes that she's done something stupid. Vera is very aware that her anger is a problem and that she has trouble controlling it, but she's not exactly sure how to help with that problem.
HYPOCRITICAL
Vera is a huge hypocrite, which out of the traits here, is the one that she would be least likely to admit. Sometimes her hypocrisy is unintentional and she just doesn't realize the double standards she's holding, but often times, she's fully aware, yet disregards it. For example, she was fully aware that her relationship with Alduin made her anger at Derik hugely hypocritical, but she still acted on it out of spite. It rarely falls into this category, but this still illustrates why this is such a big failing for her. Vera is slow to come to terms with accepting things about herself, which often presents itself as hypocrisy because of how she can often refuse to admit that she is like some thing she looks down on.
Powers/Abilities:
Vera has no powers whatsoever, but she's a highly skilled craftsman in leatherworking, and she knows how to use a crossbow (though how good she is, no idea yet).
Character Fears:
Personal Item: A set of leatherworking tools
VOLUNTEER SAMPLES
Network Sample: / Action Log Sample: Both are under her toplevel, but let me know if you want more and I'll write standalone stuff! I came to the tdm late...
Player name: Christy
Age: 27
Contact:
Characters currently in-game: N/A
Triggers/Fears/Squicks: None for me!
Character Motivation:
At Vera's canon point, she's currently in a period of self-improvement, but also self-loathing. After driving her daughter to run away (which she doesn't realize yet), it forced her to come to terms with her own anger at Pickering, her relationships, and herself. She's making an honest effort to improve herself, but. What led to this was also the realization of her desire to have maybe done more with her life than she has. Vera has a sense of wanderlust (and just... lust...), so thinking that her family might be better off without her for a while, she agreed to volunteer, albeit somewhat reluctantly. She would never admit that she agreed to anyone else.
VOLUNTEER PROFILE
(Mod Note: The application was written as a volunteer questionnaire to match the game thematically, characters have volunteered to be here! Players are expected to answer the questions truthfully from a player perspective as they would in any game application.
If a player would rather answer ICly to match the theme, they are more than welcome to! However, if you choose to do this please be aware all answers must be 100% true for your character, nothing can be submitted incorrectly or omitted because your character would refuse to provide the information asked.)
Name: Vera Tolman (née Brooker)
Age: 41
Physical Appearance: Here
Point in Timeline: Just before the end of Chapter 7, before Vera realizes that Alfie has left Pickering
World Description:
We don't know too much about the world of Alfie, but in general, it's a high-fantasy, no magic world. This shows a map of the world, which you can see is divided into various kingdoms roughly corresponding to the races of its inhabitants. The world is populated by various fantasy races, of which we've seen most of the standard ones you would expect. There are humans, elves, orcs, and Vera's race, halflings/havlins, and there's also a unique one called the Voch'kari, which you could think of as Tieflings, basically. These races have some biases against each other, but they generally correspond with what you would expect from a fantasy story. Elves are pretty and pretentious, orcs are dumb and muscle-heads, etc.
Travel between kingdoms seems to be unusual (and dangerous), and from what some characters have mentioned, leaving the immediate area you were born around is uncommon. It's a stylized medieval-esque world that you would picture in your standard high-fantasy adventure.
History/Background: Because of the nature of this canon (whoops), there's no wiki! You can find the canon here (which, note, the link itself may be very nsfw depending on the current page of the comic), and you can find my summary here. The main text of the entry is the "full" version for my reference!
Noteworthy Positive Characteristics:
SMART
Vera is far smarter than people tend to expect of her or give her credit for. She took an interest in learning at an early age and actively pursued literacy of her own accord, which seems to be slightly out of the norm for Pickering. We know that she can read Elvish and Dwarven other than whatever the "common" language is, which seems to be highly unusual in the world. She's well-read and still seems to enjoy reading quite a bit, and presumably is continuing to learn through the books she can manage to buy. She also educated Alfie herself, which gave her daughter a similar passion for learning. Otherwise, we do see that her leather-crafting involves drafting/design/and math, so it's safe to assume that she's far more educated than the average person, and it's entirely through her own pursuits and efforts.
CLEVER
Vera is book smart, but she's also quite traditionally clever as well. Vera has a sharp wit and is quite perceptive, at least when it comes to more factual things. She's not quite as perceptive when it comes to people and their emotions... However, she's quite good at telling when someone is lying to her, for example, and is quick-witted enough to hold her own in a contentious conversation easily. This can come to bite her at times, since her sharp tongue combined with her temper can lead her to saying quite sharp things, but it's quite clear that Vera isn't someone who's easy to make a fool of.
CARING
It absolutely may not seem like it because of her abrasive personality, but Vera is a caring person. Naturally, she cares for her family the most deeply, and this is where we see it in the story most. She loves Alfie with all her heart, and though she's not always successful, she's trying to raise her daughter in a way that helps her avoid the struggles and heartache that her mother has. However, we do see it in more subtle ways with other people. While she may have difficult relationships with the people in Pickering, she's still aware of their life situations and tries to be understanding, if in private. Though humorously, this is best seen in how she treats Alduin. Even though she doesn't respect him, when they're engaged in some pretty heavy S&M situations, she's still concerned about his comfort and not pushing him too far. Granted, we never see a situation where Alduin is pushed to a limit where he's uncomfortable because he's just Like That, there are moments where we can see how Vera cares for his general well-being (even if she thinks he's a selfish prick).
ADVENTUROUS
Vera has always been adventurous, though this is something about herself she's only recently re-discovered. As a younger woman, Vera's adventurous nature took a more literal form. She'd grown up in the small village of Pickering and only longed for more. She wanted to see the world outside her village, which even though that would be a prospect too frightening to undertake for most Havlins, she took it with a special zeal. It's implied that if she hadn't become pregnant, Vera likely would have stayed away from Pickering far longer. On the other hand, as an adult woman, this trait has reappeared in a different context. What Alduin asked her to make and do was nothing she'd ever explored before, yet there was little hesitation before she dove in. Though they're quite different, Vera takes in new experiences with enthusiasm despite taboos, and may even delight in subverting those taboos.
Noteworthy Negative Characteristics:
BITTER
The number one trait that comes to mind when it comes to Vera is absolutely "bitter." Vera has a huge chip on her shoulder because the way she's been treated her entire life. She's distrustful of people and their intentions, and she tends to assume the worst about people and be proven wrong rather than the opposite. It's a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy for Vera, because her bitterness makes her have an extremely cynical view of the world, which gives her a rather acerbic personality. However, that acerbic personality causes most people to not treat her well, which only feels like it's proving her point. While this is something she's actively working on improving because she's seen the harm it can do to people she loves, it's still a trait she's had ever since she was a child.
ANGRY
Largely because of the above, Vera also has a very fiery temper. She's hotheaded and brash, which sometimes leads her to more "good" things like throwing aside her fears to go "rescue" Alfie, but more often than not, it just gets her in trouble. Vera has a lot of deep-set issues, so when they're tugged at, she tends to respond with anger first, and her temper can be explosive. Vera is terrible at controlling her temper, so she's very likely to hurt people (whether physically or emotionally) when she's angry, and it's only once her anger has cooled that she realizes that she's done something stupid. Vera is very aware that her anger is a problem and that she has trouble controlling it, but she's not exactly sure how to help with that problem.
HYPOCRITICAL
Vera is a huge hypocrite, which out of the traits here, is the one that she would be least likely to admit. Sometimes her hypocrisy is unintentional and she just doesn't realize the double standards she's holding, but often times, she's fully aware, yet disregards it. For example, she was fully aware that her relationship with Alduin made her anger at Derik hugely hypocritical, but she still acted on it out of spite. It rarely falls into this category, but this still illustrates why this is such a big failing for her. Vera is slow to come to terms with accepting things about herself, which often presents itself as hypocrisy because of how she can often refuse to admit that she is like some thing she looks down on.
Powers/Abilities:
Vera has no powers whatsoever, but she's a highly skilled craftsman in leatherworking, and she knows how to use a crossbow (though how good she is, no idea yet).
Character Fears:
- Alfie hating her
- Being abandoned by people she loves
- Becoming the stereotype of a Brooker
Personal Item: A set of leatherworking tools
VOLUNTEER SAMPLES
Network Sample: / Action Log Sample: Both are under her toplevel, but let me know if you want more and I'll write standalone stuff! I came to the tdm late...
vera history
Sep. 27th, 2018 10:52 amVera was born in Pickering, a modest village in the Havlin Republic that has very little of note. The village is quite isolated and secluded, with it not being uncommon for its residents to only see someone of another race one or twice in their lifetime. This insular community created the basis for Vera's problems throughout her life, because unfortunately, she was born a Brooker. The Brooker family was viewed with distrust and distaste by the community of Pickering, largely being known as a family of thieves, drunks, and other generally frowned upon people.
However, Vera was different from her family, though the people of Pickering would never end up believing that. Vera also disliked her family, and unlike many of the people of her village, she took a special interest and enthusiasm to educate herself to set herself apart from her family. As a young girl, she learned to read from a traveling storyteller, and her literacy immediately set her apart from the Brookers. Those stories also fostered a sense of adventure, since while most of the people of Pickering also never left or even wanted to leave their village, Vera aspired to more.
It may have been this or simply a distaste for others that led Vera to her first taboo. As a conservative village, Havlins marry in their late teens, and women are expected to by wives and mothers more than anything else. This wasn't for Vera. She purposefully put off marriage, but as a young woman, she did meet Derik Tolman. The Tolman family was one of the more respected families in Pickering, and as such, the two of them even being friends would have been a cause for concern. Still, they grew closer, and even though Vera was starting to plan an adventure for herself that would let her leave Pickering, she fell deeply in love with him. The night before she left the village, Derik causally proposed to her, which Vera accepted, but was determined to leave and see what was outside of Pickering all the same. They had sex, and Vera left the next day.
Vera's particular adventures during this time we don't know much of, but several months later, she returned to Pickering pregnant. While this was a cause for intense gossip and doubt in Pickering, Vera had been absolutely faithful, so Derik and Vera both knew it was their child. His proposal became serious, and not long after their daughter, Alphanea (or "Alfie" for short) was born, Vera and Derik were married and began a loving, domestic life together. They opened a leatherworking shop, which Vera was especially talented with, and made a comfortable life as a new family.
However, Derik had also married relatively late for a reason of his own. He had never been especially passionate about relationships, though he did genuinely enjoy Vera's company greatly. It was never the kind of passionate love he expected, but he just assumed that it was something about himself, and his proposal was serious. However, while Vera was away, he found out why he was never so passionate in his relationships with women--he met Bernard, and fell in love with him. Derik was a gay man, but this was also extremely taboo in Pickering, and so despite this discovery, it had to stay secret, and even when he and Vera were married, he didn't tell her this. He also didn't tell her that the relationship was continuing.
Some time after they were married, Vera found out herself by finding them having sex together. Though she was horrified and angry, it was more because of his cheating than his homosexuality, though she justified it with the latter. Because Derik was the only man she'd ever loved, it felt like a sharp betrayal, but one that she also couldn't do anything about. They had a child together, and in Pickering, separating would be more cause for questions that would surely follow Alfie too. Because of this, Vera and Derik stayed together, but the bitterness that she'd been fostering because of her rough upbringing started to fester over the years, because Derik never stopped the relationship. It was a unspoken secret that Vera reacted with anger towards every time she was reminded of it.
This brings us to the beginning of the comic itself. Alfie, now a young woman herself, is a lot like her mother in putting off marriage. The reasons for that she doesn't completely understand herself yet (and are more her story than Vera's), but things change greatly for both Alfie and Vera when a caravan comes to Pickering. This caravan is an elven expedition headed by an elf named Alduin, but also includes many humans. Alfie meets Marco, one of these humans, and not long after, begins a sexual relationship with him that's also something of a sexual awakening for her. Vera, on the other hand, meets Alduin. Alduin comes to the marketplace to find a leatherworker to make him a custom item—a set of leather cuffs that are for his wife. However, Vera manages to bully the truth out of him that they're for himself. She doesn't exactly get it or even approve, but the pay is good, so she accepts his commission.
When she delivers the cuffs, Alduin is impressed by her craftsmanship, but also goads her into giving him a handjob. Vera agrees partially because, again, the money is good, but also out of a sense of spite towards Derik from cheating on her for so long. However, because Alduin is a masochist, Vera also has her own sexual awakening in discovering that she very much enjoys dominating him. Alduin is so pleased by her work that he offers her other commission, which she accepts.
The caravan stays for two weeks, and in this time, both women learn a lot about themselves and come to very similar revelations about what they want from life through very different circumstances. Alfie, who has been living in Pickering her whole life, wants to travel outside it to see the sorts of things that Marco has seen. She doesn't want to live a boring life in Pickering like she perceives her parents have. Vera, on the other hand, has a mid-life crisis about very much the same. Though she'd wanted to see the world, she hadn't seen as much as she had wanted in her months on the road, since she had returned to Pickering to have Alfie. Marco suggests that Alfie join the caravan, and she refuses. Alduin attempts to hire Vera as his personal leatherworker, which she refuses.
The day before the caravan leaves is a Havlin holiday, a festival where the entire village gathers, and the unwed are especially encouraged to form bonds and relationships. It's at this point that Vera has realized that she's been too harsh to Alfie, and wants to apologize and tell her that she loves and supports her, but she ends up doing the opposite. At this point, Alfie has also realized that she's bisexual, and she and her friend Melly slip away from the party and have a drunken encounter together. Vera stumbles upon this, and her anger is immediately triggered because of how she feels Derik's homosexuality has ruined their marriage, since she doesn't understand it as anything else but a conscious choice. She angrily chatisizes Alfie, calling her a degenerate and giving a strong (unintentional) implication that she isn't welcome. Alfie takes this as her sign, and after telling Derik that she'll be with her grandfather for a while, goes and joins the caravan with Marco.
The next day, Vera explains to Derik what had happened, and for the first time since they had gotten married, they finally talk and have a heart to heart. It becomes clear to Vera in that conversation just how much she screwed up (though she'd known it a lot already), because she realizes how much Derik does love her, but it's not the way she wants. She realizes and understands how his and Alfie being gay isn't a choice. She's still angry about his cheating and how they never talked about it, but she finally accepts that it's what Derik needs, just as he openly accepts her own admittance that maybe the relationship with Alduin is what she needed. She takes the criticism that her personality is what drives people away from her, and that the chip on her shoulder is too big. She takes all of this an actively tries to improve herself. Over a few days time, we see her actively making an effort to be nicer to people, to be a better person, and preparing to earnestly apologize to her daughter.
However, neither she nor Derik realize that Alfie is already gone.
However, Vera was different from her family, though the people of Pickering would never end up believing that. Vera also disliked her family, and unlike many of the people of her village, she took a special interest and enthusiasm to educate herself to set herself apart from her family. As a young girl, she learned to read from a traveling storyteller, and her literacy immediately set her apart from the Brookers. Those stories also fostered a sense of adventure, since while most of the people of Pickering also never left or even wanted to leave their village, Vera aspired to more.
It may have been this or simply a distaste for others that led Vera to her first taboo. As a conservative village, Havlins marry in their late teens, and women are expected to by wives and mothers more than anything else. This wasn't for Vera. She purposefully put off marriage, but as a young woman, she did meet Derik Tolman. The Tolman family was one of the more respected families in Pickering, and as such, the two of them even being friends would have been a cause for concern. Still, they grew closer, and even though Vera was starting to plan an adventure for herself that would let her leave Pickering, she fell deeply in love with him. The night before she left the village, Derik causally proposed to her, which Vera accepted, but was determined to leave and see what was outside of Pickering all the same. They had sex, and Vera left the next day.
Vera's particular adventures during this time we don't know much of, but several months later, she returned to Pickering pregnant. While this was a cause for intense gossip and doubt in Pickering, Vera had been absolutely faithful, so Derik and Vera both knew it was their child. His proposal became serious, and not long after their daughter, Alphanea (or "Alfie" for short) was born, Vera and Derik were married and began a loving, domestic life together. They opened a leatherworking shop, which Vera was especially talented with, and made a comfortable life as a new family.
However, Derik had also married relatively late for a reason of his own. He had never been especially passionate about relationships, though he did genuinely enjoy Vera's company greatly. It was never the kind of passionate love he expected, but he just assumed that it was something about himself, and his proposal was serious. However, while Vera was away, he found out why he was never so passionate in his relationships with women--he met Bernard, and fell in love with him. Derik was a gay man, but this was also extremely taboo in Pickering, and so despite this discovery, it had to stay secret, and even when he and Vera were married, he didn't tell her this. He also didn't tell her that the relationship was continuing.
Some time after they were married, Vera found out herself by finding them having sex together. Though she was horrified and angry, it was more because of his cheating than his homosexuality, though she justified it with the latter. Because Derik was the only man she'd ever loved, it felt like a sharp betrayal, but one that she also couldn't do anything about. They had a child together, and in Pickering, separating would be more cause for questions that would surely follow Alfie too. Because of this, Vera and Derik stayed together, but the bitterness that she'd been fostering because of her rough upbringing started to fester over the years, because Derik never stopped the relationship. It was a unspoken secret that Vera reacted with anger towards every time she was reminded of it.
This brings us to the beginning of the comic itself. Alfie, now a young woman herself, is a lot like her mother in putting off marriage. The reasons for that she doesn't completely understand herself yet (and are more her story than Vera's), but things change greatly for both Alfie and Vera when a caravan comes to Pickering. This caravan is an elven expedition headed by an elf named Alduin, but also includes many humans. Alfie meets Marco, one of these humans, and not long after, begins a sexual relationship with him that's also something of a sexual awakening for her. Vera, on the other hand, meets Alduin. Alduin comes to the marketplace to find a leatherworker to make him a custom item—a set of leather cuffs that are for his wife. However, Vera manages to bully the truth out of him that they're for himself. She doesn't exactly get it or even approve, but the pay is good, so she accepts his commission.
When she delivers the cuffs, Alduin is impressed by her craftsmanship, but also goads her into giving him a handjob. Vera agrees partially because, again, the money is good, but also out of a sense of spite towards Derik from cheating on her for so long. However, because Alduin is a masochist, Vera also has her own sexual awakening in discovering that she very much enjoys dominating him. Alduin is so pleased by her work that he offers her other commission, which she accepts.
The caravan stays for two weeks, and in this time, both women learn a lot about themselves and come to very similar revelations about what they want from life through very different circumstances. Alfie, who has been living in Pickering her whole life, wants to travel outside it to see the sorts of things that Marco has seen. She doesn't want to live a boring life in Pickering like she perceives her parents have. Vera, on the other hand, has a mid-life crisis about very much the same. Though she'd wanted to see the world, she hadn't seen as much as she had wanted in her months on the road, since she had returned to Pickering to have Alfie. Marco suggests that Alfie join the caravan, and she refuses. Alduin attempts to hire Vera as his personal leatherworker, which she refuses.
The day before the caravan leaves is a Havlin holiday, a festival where the entire village gathers, and the unwed are especially encouraged to form bonds and relationships. It's at this point that Vera has realized that she's been too harsh to Alfie, and wants to apologize and tell her that she loves and supports her, but she ends up doing the opposite. At this point, Alfie has also realized that she's bisexual, and she and her friend Melly slip away from the party and have a drunken encounter together. Vera stumbles upon this, and her anger is immediately triggered because of how she feels Derik's homosexuality has ruined their marriage, since she doesn't understand it as anything else but a conscious choice. She angrily chatisizes Alfie, calling her a degenerate and giving a strong (unintentional) implication that she isn't welcome. Alfie takes this as her sign, and after telling Derik that she'll be with her grandfather for a while, goes and joins the caravan with Marco.
The next day, Vera explains to Derik what had happened, and for the first time since they had gotten married, they finally talk and have a heart to heart. It becomes clear to Vera in that conversation just how much she screwed up (though she'd known it a lot already), because she realizes how much Derik does love her, but it's not the way she wants. She realizes and understands how his and Alfie being gay isn't a choice. She's still angry about his cheating and how they never talked about it, but she finally accepts that it's what Derik needs, just as he openly accepts her own admittance that maybe the relationship with Alduin is what she needed. She takes the criticism that her personality is what drives people away from her, and that the chip on her shoulder is too big. She takes all of this an actively tries to improve herself. Over a few days time, we see her actively making an effort to be nicer to people, to be a better person, and preparing to earnestly apologize to her daughter.
However, neither she nor Derik realize that Alfie is already gone.
