#I also go by ash! I do prefer wren though

[wrens-eppy-blog]

I made a agere journal >:3c

[nightwingshero]

Rosemary, abatina, dill, hollyhock, and sweet pear for whoever you feel like talking about! 💜

Thank you, hun!!! I did a mixture, because I’m missing some old OCs of mine, and some need serious development. Yeah, so it got really long, I am so sorry!

Rosemary: What's their fondest memory?

Blair: It would probably be laying out in the backyard with her dad while they watched the stars, or her dad buying her that nice telescope that he’d use with her. It meant a lot to her that her parents indulged when it came to her interests, they were always supportive. Most of her time was spent at aquariums, the observatory, zoos, and just doing a lot of stuff with her parents. Science fairs were always a blast, because her parents would help. 

Emma: This would be either her and her brother Mark playing in the pond they had or playing football on the beach in the summer. Em would also work on an old Mustang, one she’s still helping him build, and Ash would come over most days and they would all just have a huge dinner in the backyard. Georgia gave decent weather for it. Most of her fondest memories are with her family or Ashton, because they grew up together and did a lot together when Emma’s family moved there. A beautiful, sunny day in Summer always takes her back. 

Quinn: There were times where they would travel back to Russia to visit the remaining members of his mother’s family, and he would love it. Quinn absolutely adored his babushka, and the stories she would tell. His mother would tell the same tales, but it wasn’t the same as how his babushka would tell it. There was also sailing with his father. That was something Quinn thoroughly enjoyed, and it was something they continued on doing until his father died. 

Wren: Definitely playing piano with her mother! That is probably the most precious moment for her. When she plays it now, she still feels as if her mother is there with her. Not only that, but her music teacher was her one good thing growing up. Mrs. Hall taught Wren how to actually play, and when Wren would sneak to lessons (under the guise of studying or going to the library), Mrs. Hall would often bake cookies and brownies for Wren, as if she were her own grandmother. Wren attended her funeral when she passed, and it actually felt like she had lost her grandmother when she heard. But those are memories she holds dear. 

Abatina: Are they very picky or particular about anything?

Blair: Not really, no. Blair is rather easy going and goes with the flow. I think the one thing would be don’t touch her work station. It’s organized chaos with an actual system that only she knows, and she will absolutely lose it if you mess with anything because that’s her life’s work you’re messing with. I think that could be said for any scientist though, and she is very verbal about it. It’s a light reminder, or a happy request until you get too close and she becomes slightly frazzled and makes you keep your distance. 

Emma: She can be an absolute control freak and has to have things a certain way (whether that’s because she was in the Marines or if she inherited it from her mother, who’s to say?) No eating in her cars, don’t touch her guns, and if you’re going along with her on something, you’re following her lead. Ashton, Nora, and even Roach give her hell for it, but honestly? Sometimes she can’t help it. Emma has a habit of taking control of a situation when it calls for it and she’s a super organized and neat person. Everything has it’s place, things are cleaned or done a certain way, and she would rather just do it herself. 

Quinn: His hair and shoes. Listen, Quinn is very boyish in looks (there’s a reason Ryan Gosling is his faceclaim) and his hair is usually neat or done how he wants it. He’s not overbearing about it, he just takes his time with it because he does put care into his appearance. His shoes are shined, his clothes match and his outfit is sharp, he doesn’t go more than a few days without shaving. Once the Collapse happens, it’s one of the things he can control, so he does. Grayson often jokes he’s the prettiest guy of Armageddon, but Quinn laughs with him. 

Wren: She doesn’t like it when other people drive. Having been in a traumatizing car accident, she prefers to be at the wheel for that sense of control. It’s honestly makes her so damn anxious when that’s not the case, and Quinn drives like a damn maniac from time to time in New Dawn. She will cling to something for dear life, and absolutely will backseat drive. It leads to a lot of spats between her and Jane, Quinn, and Ivy. 

Dill: Do they have any rivals?

Blair: I would say that one of the biggest would be John Constantine. Blair is skeptical when it comes to the mystical and supernatural, needless to say, she absolutely does not believe in magic. However, when the Particle Accelerator went off, someone close to her was wearing a totem or a spiritual pendent that got mixed into her meta powers (it’s how she can cosmic project and do some of the things she can with energy manipulation...it also helps balance out her going supernova and such), so...some of her powers are part of the arcane. Johnny knew that the second he met her, so when she gave him grief and became skeptical when he was helping Ollie bring Sara’s soul back, he just smirked at her and went “hate to burst your little bubble, love--” and honestly, they’ve been at it from there.  

Emma: Ha! Emma is competitive and very proud, so yeah, she has rivals, some more fun than others though. For example, her rivalry with Nikolai (and sometimes Price) is who can drink the other under the table. Yuri...well, they ended up in a fist fight on a misunderstanding when they first met, so while he’s working with her and the 141, there’s definitely some rivalry there with them trying to one up the other. She’ll spar with Ghost to see who is better too. Honestly, she’s always up for a challenge, and its something she shares with a lot of her fellow Marines back home--including her cousin and her teammates. 

Quinn: John fucking Seed. Listen, they hate each other, full on loathing, because Quinn isn’t afraid to point out that he’s in a cult and we all know how John is when someone makes him feel insecure and inadequate...with Quinn he very much does, even if that isn’t his intention.  It also doesn’t help that John notices how Quinn looks at his wife from time to time, and he doesn’t appreciate it, but the biggest thing is that Quinn openly challenges him on everything. To Quinn, he wants to poke holes in his logic and show that John isn’t at all what he thinks he is. Quinn is a natural leader, he had been in the Navy, he knows what that looks like and he’s quick to call John out on shit. Wren gives him a bit of a run, too, their rivalry just happens to uh...turn into something else. 

Wren: Holly Pepper and Mary May Fairgrave. Those are the two that gives her the most trouble. In any other scenario (and in most AUs), Wren and Mary May get along just fine, but in canon? Wren straight up punches her in the face. There’s more to it, of course. Wren is being worn down by people wanting her to do this and that for the Resistance, her constantly being pulled in every direction and being forced to give to people without them giving in return. And Mary May wouldn’t shut up about the truck, while saying Wren was dragging her feet on what the Resistance needed done (mostly because Wren was sleeping around with John, but they didn’t know that yet), and Wren just gets overwhelmed with frustration and anger, and straight up punches her in the face and tells her “if you want the truck so damn bad, go get it yourself”, and storms out. Holly Pepper later becomes an issue because she knows John slept around with her, and Holly loves shoving it in Wren’s face. So...Holly ends up dying because she straight up attacks Wren, and Jane helps her with it because she knows that John has a soft spot for Wren. Plus there’s that little shit Quinn in New Dawn...they’re a lot of fun. 

Hollyhock: What's their biggest goal right now?

Blair: Currently, it’s to find her place and stride with the team and her powers. She just wants to not have to lay awake at night and worry she’ll lose control again and hurt her friends and loved ones. Her whole life has changed, and there are still things that are throwing her off. She needs to find her footing again and feel more confident in what she’s become. Helping people, including herself and teammates/friends, is what’s most important to her. 

Emma: As of right now, it’s to regroup and hunt down Makarov. She’s still healing from when Shepherd took out the 141 base and tried to kill her, Ashton, and Nora. The stitches are still healing a bit, but she’s pumped up and ready to take him down. Her goal, and focus, is doing whatever Price and Soap need her to do. It’s almost tunnel vision at this point. 

Quinn: Take down the Highwaymen and fix whatever bullshit Whitney and Wren have going on. He won’t at all pretend he knows what fucking type of politics they have in New Eden, or what rules they’re going by, but it’s very damn clear that Ethan is no good and needs taken down. Him and Grayson came because Carmina asked Rush, and they were never ones to back down from a challenge, not when it comes to helping those in need. So, he’s gonna take down Mickey and Lou, allow Grayson to avenge Rush while protecting Prosperity, and then stand with Wren and Whitney as they take over New Eden.

Wren: That depends on if we’re talking Far Cry 5 or New Dawn, but she’s mostly taking out the head Seed and establishing peace. She’s trying to do what’s right, and whether that’s for herself (which is the eventuality of her changing sides) in Far Cry 5, or for their people and her family in New Dawn (overthrowing Ethan and opening New Eden to more freedoms.) It’s all revolved around Eden’s Gate though, and she agrees to help Quinn and Grayson because she still cares about Kim and Nick, and much of the others, so it’s just a pitstop on her plan. 

Sweet pea: If you had to choose a favorite dessert for them, what would it be?

Blair: Crème Brule, strawberry shortcake, or chocolate lava cake. You could say all of the above, to be honest, she loves sweets. Blair is always snacking, and they’re usually little cakes, fruits, or something sweet. There’s a reason crepes are her favorite breakfast foods, fruit and sweet? Yes. Which I guess you could  add porfait on the breakfast menu too, in that case...anyway, snacking is usually something her and Mick has in common, though she’s not constantly looking for it the way he is. Mick finds food in missions and randomly...Blair is more disciplined than that. She will grab stuff for him a lot of the times if they’re in the same room or if she’s working near him. Leonard just stares between them, he’s not sure what he thinks of their comrade (he also lost his more recent memories, so he can shut it.)

Emma: Dark chocolate cake or tarts. Anything that has a bitter or sour tinge to it, because she’s not really a sweets person. Not when it comes to that, at least. She loves her mom’s sweet tea (and homemade lemonade). But she just would have something like raspberry butter cookies, cherry pie, or even an old fashioned ice cream (yes, with bourbon). She loves dark chocolate though. And tiramisu. 

Quinn: Oh, he loves the Russian desserts his mom would make, and honestly, Quinn has such a sweet tooth. Bird’s milk cake, Russian rugelach, waffle cakes, and especially kartoshka. He would help his mom (or babushka when they would visit Russia), and would eat them with Russian tea they would make. He also enjoys many flavors of gelato. 

Wren: Cheesecake. Without a doubt. She has always been, and will forever be, in love with cheesecake. And all kinds, if we’re being totally honest. She will eat any flavor, she feels strongly about it. You wanna piss her off easily? Eat her cheesecake. Wanna get on her good side again? Bring her cheesecake. John does. Whenever he’s in trouble, he throws a cheesecake on it. She’s constantly eating it to the point Whitney and Rowan have both reminded her that it’s not a meal. Does she listen? No. 

[amieravenson]

Magickal Month- October

Magickal Month- October October is the 10th month of the year, though it’s named after ‘octo’ meaning 8 in the old Roman calendar. Another one of those, right? It was moved into the 10th place with the establishment of January and February as the first and second months in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It was also known as Wynterfylleth to the Anglo Saxons, because it was thought that Winter begins at the full moon in October. Don’t we all just love October? I don’t know many people who don’t get a little thrill when the weather starts getting chillier, when the wind starts blowing the leaves off trees, and when the pumpkin spice starts flowing. There’s just something in the air that makes you simultaneously want to be outside to see the beautiful leaves, and also go inside and prepare your nest for the long hibernation of the winter. The weather is finally breaking a little here in Georgia, we’re seeing low 80s instead of the 90s that just didn’t want to give up the ghost. I’m seeing a lot of house wrens lately, particularly a pair that have set up a nest just below the window in front of my sink where I wash dishes. We also saw a big Eastern Kingsnake a few weeks ago, and it was lovely. I hope it stays away from the hawks and owls in the neighborhood and continues to eat any poisonous snakes or obnoxious rodents that are around. I also saw a committee of black-headed vultures hanging out on a cell tower yesterday. The leaves aren’t really changing yet, but they ARE falling from trees that don’t really carry a lot of color, like the 3 trunked ash tree in my back yard that I call The Three Sisters. Lunations: New Moon in Libra October 8th at 11:46pm EDT Full Moon in Taurus October 24th at 12:45pm EDT Astronomy: October 5- Venus goes retrograde at 3:07pm in Scorpio Orionids meteor shower peaks October 21st-22nd. Southern Taurids meteor shower peaks October 28th-29th. Celtic Tree Month: Ivy (Sept 30- October 27): End of the harvest, looking back at our successes and losses, strengthening our resolve to face the future, taking the long-term view, fidelity and fertility, protection, healing, good luck for women and brides, guards against negativity and disaster, reaches around and through obstacles to find light and nourishment, reaching out, expansion. Reed (October 28- November 24): Introverting, withdrawing, connecting with the past and with spirit, ancestors, messages from the spirit world, culling that which doesn’t serve us, dreaming- but not planning. Seeking basic truth, finding direction, giving meaning and purpose to your journey, skill and direction, secret strength and secret motivations, seeing beneath the surface. Holidays (non-Pagan): October 1- Shmini Atzeret (Jewish) October 2- Simchat Torah (Jewish) October 4- Feast of St Francis of Assisi (Christian) October 8- Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day (I prefer the latter) October 9- Navaratri (Hindu) October 9- Leif Erikson Day October 16- Boss’s Day October 18- Dussehra (Hindu) Holidays (Pagan): October 6- Greek festival honoring Gaia and the Nymphs October 8- Old European feast of the Triple Goddess, as mother transforms into crone October 8- Festival of Greek Hekate, who guides followers through crises and transitions October 9- Pyanepsion Noumenia- Greek festival honoring all Gods and Goddesses October 11- Feast of the Charities to honor Goddesses of beneficence October 12- Feast of Aphrodite, honoring peace and compassion October 14- Proerosia- Greek festival where fruits of the harvest were offered to Demeter October 14- October 28- Old Norse Winter Nights Feast, honoring ancestors and deities with toasts and offerings October 19- Thesmophoria- Greek festival honoring Kore’s transition into Persephone (Goddess of the Underworld) October 27- Apatura- Festival welcoming new children and newcomers into the community October 28- November 2- Roman/Egyptian festival remembering Set’s murder of Osiris and Isis’s healing him October 31- Day of mourning witches persecuted for their religion or women who were persecuted as witches October 31- November 2- Samhain- Celtic/Welsh New Year and feast of Cerridwen October 31- November 7- Hallowmas/Day of the Dead/Mid-Autumn- marks the end of the agricultural year and last harvest as well as the transition from focusing on life and growth to death and rest, also a day to honor ancestors Themes for the month: The last harvest- bringing in the things you can use over the Winter and culling the things that you don’t intend to take forward with you. Sacrifice- giving up your crutches. The Ancestors, Spirit Guides, deepening your relationship to Deity. Speaking with spirits and the fae while the veil is thin. Introverting. Pumpkin spice and anything warm and cozy. General activities for the month: Apple picking, cider-making, making and dressing in costumes, carving pumpkins, making and eating candy, trick-or-treating, watching horror movies, visiting haunted houses, knitting for the upcoming Winter, communicating with spirits and ancestors (carefully!), divination, cutting away anything you don’t want to take into the long winter. Herbs I’m using: Pumpkin spice- come on, it’s everywhere. Coffee beans- this is when I start to up my coffee game because it’s cool enough that I can drink it without sweating. The scent just brings me into Autumn and Winter. Sandalwood- I burn incense a lot around this time of year too. It seems too overpowering in the Summer, but it feels cozy and warm as the temps start dropping. Stones I’m using: Petrified Wood- not only is it a tie to the past, and hence the ancestors, but I had a particular piece kind of jump at me recently and say it wanted to be used. Who am I to argue? Lepidolite- I got a really beautiful piece at a rock show recently, and I can’t leave it alone. As much as I love Autumn, it does bring some darker moods as the sun spends less and less time in the sky. Lepidolite is really good for depression, and will help see me through, emotionally speaking, until next Spring. Chrysanthemum Stone- good for cutting away all that doesn’t serve you. This is a great theme for this time of year. Goddess of the Month: The Norns and The Fates. These are similar groups of 3 deities who rule over the destiny and fate of each of us. I feel really drawn to fate this time of year, and they’re great to connect with for tarot readings, which I feel especially drawn to right now. I’ll be working on deepening my connection with them, and asking them to help me in my tarot/divination practices for the coming year.

October 3 card reading Our reading this month is interesting, and I feel like it has to do with a lot of what's going on in the news right now. First, we see the Three of Bats, which corresponds to the Three of Swords. So this signifies that we’re going into this month with some suffering. We’re feeling grief and really struggling with our emotions. This could be due to several things. This could be because of things that have happened to us personally, but I think it has something to do with the Kavanaugh hearings and the pain that this has dredged up for a lot of women lately. I’ve been having trouble engaging in social media because of all the #metoo stories, and though I think it’s really important to witness the pain, it can be difficult to feel inundated by it. Next, we have the Five of Pumpkins reversed. The upshot of what’s been happening in the news is that we’re realizing that we’re not alone in sharing our stories. We’re realizing that we have a lot of similiarities, and that the only way to make any sort of change is for us all to stick together and stay strong together. I think that’s a really important lesson. If one of us can help pull someone who’s struggling out of the cold, and show them they’re not alone, then we all can, and we can begin to heal collectively. Lastly, we see The Lovers reversed. I don’t see this as trouble in our relationships on a personal level, but rather a call to re-examine how we deal with each other as men and women. If we’re going to come to a place of mutual respect and healthy relationships, we need to take all the rules we learned about what it means to be a man or a woman and turn them on their heads. It’s time to stop going with the harmful status quo and envision a new way of relating. For our special guidance card, we see Skull of Stars, Infinite Possibilities. This card represents letting go of the daily BS we all deal with and thinking much, much bigger. We’re all a part of this same universe together, and when we realize that, we can find our highest selves in our highest future. It’s time to cast off old beliefs and old ways of thinking and create this universe together. ******************************** Haunting Haunting By Emmanuel George Cefai Haunting haunting down the glooms haunting haunting graves and tombs cemeteries that light in the middle of a night torches that go round cemeteries held and bound by ghosts and shrouds So verse speaks but ah! in dreaming The Sub-Conscious further speaks. My personal tides: A lot of things are still up in the air for me. They’ve been decided, but I just have to wait to hear back about decisions that have been made and determinations for my future. So I’m just trying to be patient and wait it out. In the meantime, I’m working hard on creating tarot classes, which I’ve been wanting to create for over a year. I keep getting the sense that I’m meant to teach in some way, and that feeds into my mission statement, which is to bring magick into the lives of others. My personal goals: Write, record, edit, release all my Tarot 101 classes before Yule. Begin to take steps to ‘find home’. Figure out where we’re wanting to move and start looking at prices for land. Create magick for Samhain! Read the full article

[shorthaircutsmodels]

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You can achieve this in a slightly curled style using a large blow dryer or a straightening iron, depending on which option you prefer and feel more comfortable. You get more volume using a large round brush.

[nothingnoteworthy]

Chapter 3: Work Relationships

Cities could be a bit loud at night, but they were still beautiful. When you were up high, you could turn in any direction and see a sea of twinkling lights reaching out to the edge of the horizon. The ocean reflected the lights, losing itself for a brief moment to blend into the city's mass. It seemed endless. A place where anything could happen because the end could never come to prevent it. It was beautiful. Helping to protect that beauty, to help everyone, to protect anyone who couldn’t protect themselves. That was beautiful too. Eliana chased that beauty, chased that joy. There was something fulfilling in helping to protect people. Sure, there were other less violent ways to use their powers, like that psychokinetic who built buildings and walked people home but. There were also people using their powers to hurt others. And if she turned away. Didn’t that make her a little bit responsible for what happened next? If it was her choice. She wanted to help.

Small sparks of electricity danced between her fingers. She could feel the warmth but never felt any pain from them. Caroline said nature sometimes gave humans some extra fangs. She made it sound so average, so beneath her interest. But she didn’t understand the way it felt. The energy that could get so intense, burning beneath her skin, that if she didn’t release it somehow she would get carried in a sudden violent burst. Which still wouldn’t hurt. But damn if it wasn’t terrifying. This little ‘Overload’ business was a useful way of preventing that sort of, incident. Once she dreamed about making it work for her. Teleportation was a very useful skill. But now they had Caroline and while her newest friend wasn’t ideal she was still trying. None of them were perfect.

Overload leaned against the rooftop door, eyes flickering between the horizon and Wren, Lyric. Someday she would figure out where Lyric was getting all of her clothes. The lavender lace shorts could conceivably come from the mall but the intricate lace leggings covered in glitter and rhinestones were either from someone's cosplay collection or there was a terrible mishap with a craftstore delivery truck and a thrift store. Or maybe Lyric made them. As long as she was having a good time.

"Hear anything interesting?"

"There's a couple a few blocks down that are debating whether or not a chicken counts as an apartment friendly bird. 'Sweetheart' thinks that they're too big, 'Honey Biscuit' says there are small ones, and apparently 'Darling' doesn't care and is going to buy a bearded lizard no matter what the other two are doing." Wren tilted her head towards the left. "I think it depends. There are small breeds but there are also like. Caroline sized breeds."

"Are you comparing me to a chicken?" Caroline pushed herself up on her elbows, raising her eyebrows at Lyric's back.

"Yes. I prefer the bird." Lyric replied, lifting up and looking towards Overload. "I got something. Sounds a few blocks away, some shouting. It’s worth looking into.”

Overload nodded, nudging Caroline with her toe. "Alrighty, time to let it go."

Caroline huffed at Lyric, flicking her hair over her shoulder. She reached an arm up and dragged her claw like fingers down. The air produced a sickening wet sound when the portal opened. She tugged at the sides to enlarge it and slid through. Overload hated the feeling she got from the transportation. It was like being covered in a thin extremely cold slime. That gripped every hair on your body and caressed it when you passed. Which would be fine. If it didn't also include literally every hair. No one wanted their eyebrows caressed. Or if they did, she didn't want to know.

Caroline had taken them into a shadowy parking lot. It was in an older neighborhood. Only one lamp worked towards the corner, and even it was dim and flickering. It let down less of a cone of light and more of an impartial mist of luminescence. The street was lined with ancient shops scaled with fading paint. Old signs printed on cracked plastic called you to a tire shop. A little food stand. A furniture store that didn't have any windows. The street stretched along them covered in cracks. The dividing lines were barely visible, worn away long ago. There was a heaviness to the air here. Not even the shouting could make much of a dent.

Overload moved first, pausing a building away from the source of the sound. It sounded like a few guys with little distinction to who was getting attacked, or if it was a fight, or if there was really trouble at all. They needed a way to approach subtly. "Caroline, on the roof. Drop down if you see them trying to take the main street out. Don't attack, just do your tail thing. They'll stop. Lyric, circle around, block them off from being able to run the other way. If it looks like it's just some drunks, sing them into being passive and send them home. Ash, stay behind me and out of sight. Be ready to throw some fire but if you have to then hold back. Light some trash on fire if you need to corral someone. If it looks like some weird fight club nonsense I'm going to electrocute them all."

It took just a few moments for the group to scatter. Eliana slowly circled around the outside of the building. She could see a few shapes now. The closest to her was a large, broad man. His back was to her, all she could see was his bald head. His friends were much more illuminated. An average sized man, pale with four eyes. Physical eyes, not a jab at eyesight. That would be rude. The four eyed man had two rather large eyes where his eyes where his eyes were supposed to be, and two smaller, slightly rounder eyes about where his cheekbones should be. The last one was the smallest but hovered a good two feet above the ground allowing them to tower over the first man. Thin translucent wings shimmered in the air behind them. They were also clearly the angriest, waving their arms as they shouted.

"Listen, I just think we could get a lot more of the cut if we quit the Lucky Club and formed our own thing. I mean, you got enough of the brains Raindrop." The broad man took a step towards the flyer. The Lucky Club, that was interesting. They were a small supernatural criminal group, ran by some apparently powerful astral things. The city's Paranormal Defense Unit Shining Starlets, part of the UN's larger Paranormal Defense Organization, usually kept them wrangled. It was only a matter of time before the PDU took them all out. Which meant that getting involved could draw unwanted attention from the PDU for Eliana and her crew. Probably best to leave before they were noticed. 

"Cut the shit Francisco. We can't just leave the club. Especially with what's going down in the plane. Astrals are supposed to know that we have the run of the city and there's too many new faces that we didn't let in! Do you know what'll happen if we try to split now? They'll think it was us!" Raindrop screamed.

"I didn't say we'd have to do it here. LA's too hot. There's the Starlet's and then there's dozens of random assholes trying to get a cut of glory. We head inland a bit, plenty of big ponds with no big fish in them. We could be that fish." Francisco offered. The four eyed man seemed to agree, nodding enthusiastically. But Raindrop opened their mouth and took in a deep breath to scream again. They stopped short.

"Shut up. I sense something else from the plane. They probably knew what you were thinking! Who knows what they sent!" They flew further up, looking around frantically. They stopped and pointed in Caroline's direction. Of course it was her.

"That way. Mickey what do you see?" They shrieked. The four eyed man rolled his neck. He didn't seem too alarmed even when he did squint down the road. His eyes widened and took on green hue. Almost like an animals eyes when light is shined at them. He nodded, prodding the broad man.

"Something slinking in the shadows up there. It can hide most of itself from me." Fuck. There was a chance that Caroline would stick to the plan but there was also the chance she would use the opportunity to exercise her right to self-defense. To murder people. Destroy property. Raise up other demonic minions for a wild night at a Friday's unironically enjoying the endless mozzarella sticks while purposefully letting them get cold before eating them without dipping them in marinara sauce first because that's how demons celebrate murder. Eliana trusted Caroline to do the best that she could but a good friend helps eliminate temptation. She stood up, lightning skipping down the metal plates in her glove before arching up towards the group.

"Shit!" Francisco slammed his hands together creating a thin barrier that shattered when the lightning hit it. Ash snuck flames around Eliana's side. They raced over the ground, spreading out in a wave that forced him stumbling back. Raindrop reacted quickly waving their hands and scattering a dust over his accomplices.

"Not Lucky! What the fuck." They flew up, the dust lifting the other two up with them. Overload threw lightning after them only for it to rebound off a newly created shield. The flyer stopped, shaking his head and waving his arms sporadically through the air. The two with them were shouting for them to keep moving but their voices didn't seem to reach the flyer. Instead another voice, louder, slowly rose to smother their noise. Gentle. Soothing. Alluring.

"Come down. Come back down. Come here. We won't hurt you. We want to help you. Come here." Lyric was walking forward hands held up in a non-threatening pose. The flyer shook harder like they could just wiggle out of the song.

"Come to us. To the fire. It’s warm, it’s inviting. So bright. Come to it. Come to us." The song was louder around the trio who were beginning to drop. Overload was sheltered from the song but even she wanted to drop down. Ash created a small ring of fire around them when they hit the ground even though Lyric's song held them in place. Added security. Lyric stopped singing, standing opposite to Overload behind the trio. Raindrop turned around and hissed at her.

"Bloody Siren. Aren't you fish cold blooded? Get back to the sea!" The fire near them flickered and they leaned back, screaming as a black spike stabbed the ground next to them. Caroline grinned just inches from their face.

"Hello little pixie. Your wings are rather fetching on this side of things. Maybe I should take them." She giggled. They shrieked and tried to seek safety in their friends who only shoved them away.

"Caroline back off." Overload ordered.

Caroline pinned Raindrop onto the ground, horns pushing out from her scalp and curling forward to rest their points near her cheeks. Raindrop had stopped screaming and was instead just silently crying. Caroline's tail scraped along the ground.

"Leave him, Caroline. To my side, Caroline." Caroline's face twisted into a scowl as Lyric began to sing again. She stood up with a predatory curve. For a moment Overload wasn't sure that Caroline wouldn't risk it and kill them anyway. Caroline had been doing her best. Trying to be, well, anything besides someone who murdered for a fun away to spend a Saturday. But with an easy target right there. Hard to tell.

"Yes my sweet. My those labs were impressive." She hummed. She draped an arm around Lyric's shoulders, resting cheek to cheek. "Keep singing to me."

"No scales, You aren’t even a siren are you? How the fuck did a human wrangle a demon. That's like a fucking house dog getting a lion to tap dance." The Pixie shakily stood up. "What do you want with us? Lucky Club doesn't have anything to do with demons."

"What's this about things happening on the astral plane?" Overload asked. Raindrop shook their head not moving their eyes from Caroline.

"I don't know. Just something. Just, a few extra astrals trying to push in. The club controls who comes in and who leaves. It's a manner of profit. We're not trying to summon more of, um, well.” They looked at Caroline and shook their head. “Anyway we deal with the fair folk. Letting in the bigger things would just be handing over the keys to the kingdom, you know? It’s just happening at a bad time. A lot of big companies are having weird things happen with their tech. You can go hit any of them. Humans running around with a demon gotta be out looking for a score right? How about, um, TriColor, or Biotech? Both of them are fighting for their firewalls. Enjoy. Let us go.”

Tech problems. That wasn't unusual, but for the astrals to be concerned about it was a red flag. Hackers wouldn't make a fae want to run. At least, not hackers on their own. That was something worth checking out, for sure.

"Make them forget us Lyric. Let's move."

<- Last Chapter  I  Next Chapter ->

[ruleandruinrpg]

CONGRATULATIONS, LISSA!

You have been accepted for the role of MARGARETE STARIKOV. Admin Bree: Margarete is easily one of the darkest characters I’ve ever written, and I don’t say that lightly. Her darkness is the sort that’s so deep and depraved that it can be much more difficult to understand and put into words without romanticizing or excusing, and even when she was but an idea in the back of my mind, I worried we’d struggle to find someone to do her justice. But Lissa, you did so wonderfully! Her mannerisms, her ways of thinking, her sick little mantra, and even her love for berries—all of them painted a clear picture of the twisted little thing she is. Well done! You have 24 HOURS to send in your account. Also, remember to look at the CHECKLIST. Welcome to Ravka!

OUT OF CHARACTER

ALIAS: Lissa

PREFERRED PRONOUNS: She/Her

AGE: Twenty

TIMEZONE & ACTIVITY LEVEL: During the summer probably an 8/10, though I might be taking trips throughout, but I’ll be sure to shoot the main an ask giving notice. As for when the school year starts, I can’t say for certain since I haven’t registered for classes yet, but hopefully it’ll be either a 6 or a 7 since my unit load shouldn’t be as heavy as it has been.

CURRENT/PAST ACCOUNTS: Redacted.

IN CHARACTER

DESIRED CHARACTER: Margarete Vera Starikov

MARGARETE: It is such a lovely name for such a lovely girl, especially one who is every bit as treasured as her moniker implies—she is a pearl, iridescent and bright, but her outward appearance is a demure facade hiding a darkness thick, sweet, and enticing like syrup though closer to poison in composition.

VERA: To some it means truth and to others it means faith, but both are correct when it comes it to the doll-faced girl. For even though they try to hide her and make her someone else, she cannot fight her nature and has never once wanted to. But in terms of faith, it’s what she asks of others, to believe that she can be great and deadly. However, it also refers to the faith a Healer needs to do their job when the ill and the injured place their lives in their skilled hands. 

STARIKOV: It has been known to strike fear into people’s eyes because often it’s associated with an entire line of gifted Heartrenders who have served at the foot of the Darkling for ages at his beck and call. She is the first and only Healer in her family, something she believes is a great shame although her parents are convinced otherwise. It makes her bitter and brittle to know that she is unlike the rest in this sense, at least. 

WHAT DREW YOU TO THIS CHARACTER?:

I’ve never shied away from playing “evil” characters—in fact, I quite enjoy exploring moral gray areas—but in all my time writing, I’ve never played someone filled with such guiltless malevolence. Of course, one could argue that there’s a reason for it: she’s trying to prove herself, trying to be who she truly is, but then what does that say about her? Well, she’s a killer and fine, there are people who must kill in order to protect or serve, that’s justifiable. However, her victims are the wounded and the ill, the weak and the weary, and what she does is not out of mercy however sick that would still be—no, Margarete kills purely out of spite, bitterness, and pride. There is no nobility in her cause and because of that I think there is no chance for a redemption arc which is what draws me. She is so determinately set in embodying death and making an impression on the world that she cares little about what it does to others. Her search for infamy and recognition will leave a huge scar in her stead and I think it’d be such an interesting challenge to tackle because I don’t want her to be sympathetic, I want her to be the worst that she can be cause only then will she be, in her eyes, the best she can be.

WHAT FUTURE PLOT IDEAS DID YOU HAVE IN MIND?:

She presses on Konstantin’s bruises by merely existing, but she has never been interested in inflicting the barest pain—instead, she twists the blade in his abdomen by wordlessly taunting him with her presence, situating herself firmly in his line of sight whenever she can. Let him come for her; let him try and prosecute her—when she fells a general, who then could deny her? So she hones her craft in secret, waiting for the moment he snaps like a twig in her vise grip. If he misses his dead wife and child so much, she’d be happy to reunite them, all he needs to do is ask. 

In stories it is usually the older that corrupts, but here the roles are reversed. Rita is so sweet it makes her teeth sorely ache, but how grand it would be to map out and see through her fall. They both know pretty things, but darkness obscures and death preserves, so there is a sort of refined beauty in both. Margarete wants to show the other girl that glamour will fade—that it is better to practice things that are much more definitive and permanent. 

This feels like dying and in some ways it is—to see who you could’ve been turn to ash in your hands. If she is forced to be a Healer for the rest of her long life, she will surely go mad. There are only two who can stop that from happening, two with the power to give her what she wants. The Darkling is a busy man, she escapes his notice, but Altan with his haughty gaze holds her whole world in his palms. If he can’t see it, she will make him, even if it means squeezing the life out of him for once. But how can a girl take on a monster? The answer is clear: she must become what she wants to destroy even if it means it destroys her as well.

WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO HAVE YOUR CHARACTER DIE?: As hard as it would be, I am open to the idea! Of course, it’d need to have proper justification, but if push came to shove I think I’d be able to let him go if it were under the right set of circumstances.

IN DEPTH

IN CHARACTER PARA SAMPLE(S):

I think it goes without saying, but to be on the safe side TW: DEATH, STRANGULATION, and also just general unpleasantness so if that’s not your cup of tea look away.

                —I.

From their likeness, they sculpted five children, each undoubtedly theirs, thus Death was their birthright and murder their call. It was hard to argue with fate or, in actuality, genetics—they all had hair dark as a raven’s feathers and they all possessed the same taste for the metallic tang of blood. However, after their second eldest had fallen soon after their first, when the dirt was still damp on their marked graves, they realized there was a sixth to come. Stricken, they fretted over the future of their young babe, and when she was born, they sighed in relief for she was nothing like the others, nothing like them—with hair the brown of a wren’s downy body and eyes that were a bright, shining blue, Margarete or Molly, as they would come to call her, was sugar, spice, and all things nice.

What they had failed to realize in that moment was that although her looks were completely her own, she had indeed inherited their proclivity for blood. When they resigned her to her meager fate, they starved her of it and as a result she became ravenous and wanting. 

                —II.

She arrived with a ruddy guard in tow, about to jump headlong into a fever let in by a chill. Gaunt-faced, she knocked on Margarete’s door, begging for some semblance of relief if not for herself then for the poor babe kicking forcefully in her womb. It was a simple case in all honesty, one that could be resolved easily with no testament to her skill—except if the noblewoman were to veer sharply in another direction, exhibiting symptoms more resembling death than life. It was a challenge the young girl accepted readily, all too eager to prove her worth, but not as a Healer like some would believe, but as something else altogether.  

Her slender hands were placed protectively around her belly, half-swollen with a child’s growing form—the miracle of life, Margarete thought sardonically, though her face expressed nothing except insincere joy. “Don’t you worry,” she stressed, lips pressed into a sly smile, “I will take care of you, just put your faith in me.” 

The noblewoman shivered under Margarete’s scrutinizing stare—perhaps she knew deep down that this was end. As she tucked her long legs together and lied down passively, hands still hovering around her unborn child, she murmured a quick and simple prayer to her saints. 

Margarete was careful to go gradually—after all, her assigned guard was stationed outside—and beat by beat the woman’s heart slowed. It was a subtle feeling, not too unlike the apprehension she had felt in coming, so much so they were indecipherable from each other: the dying and the fear. 

First she fell into a slumber, drawn in by the lull, and then she gasped as her lungs struggled to draw a breath no longer propelled by the rushing of blood. In a matter of moments she had gone from living to dead and with a pleased smirk Margarete looked upon her hard-won triumph, now pale and still. Schooling her features to reflect a mask of terror, she peered out the door, her voice even trembling as she spoke, “Something awful has happened—quick, get your superior!”

He ran down the hall and around the corner, gone as soon as she finished her sentence. Then turning around, she looked back at the lifeless noblewoman—was this number two or two and a half?

               —III.

They called her murderess and gleefully she rejoiced. It was a nice change from what they used to say when they’d tell her she was like glass or a long bolt of uncut silk, but in their haste to compare her to fine things, they forgot that even glass could cut and silk could strangle in the right hands—well hers were ready, willing, and skilled enough to do just that. 

She felt his dark blue eyes bore into the back of her skull, likely wishing to crack it open on the granite floor of courtyard and spill the blood that pulsed within her. 

���I’m sorry Sir, for failing you so,” she told him one day when he insisted on knowing just what had gone wrong, “I am no saint, but if it provides you any comfort, her last moments were peaceful.” 

His jaw tightened, the muscles there taut and stretched; Konstantin was the very picture of restrained fury and she reveled in the ability to make a man—a general, in fact—feel so helpless and incensed. 

Where did the girl go; the one that was so full of sugar, spice, and everything nice? Well she was the first victim, strangled by her own hands and brute strength the day she donned that gray-sleeved kefta. She tried it their way through hard work and perseverance, but after that failed, it was time for her to show them what a grave miscalculation they made. Her proof was in the bodies and in each life that she took and she will continue until her heretic’s song is recognized as truth.

CHARACTER HEADCANONS:

She favors certain fruits, especially ones that are berries. When she bites into them, the juice drips down her chin and stains her lips and fingers red like blood.

In the more recent years, she has become cold and aloof—almost unrecognizable from what she used be, because in her quest to become her heart’s desire, she has sacrificed everything, even herself. All her old friends regard her with a great deal of caution, she seems off-kilter and slightly awry, so now she is more of a lone wolf which only further encourages her to spiral since there is no one really her stopping anyways. 

Although she wasn’t originally, now Margarete is more methodical in choosing her victims for fear someone will start asking questions about her less than stellar record. It wasn’t that she didn’t think of the consequences earlier, just that she didn’t care for them when the opportunity arose. In truth, she targets the fearful ones, finding their terror at her delectable. Often she’ll utter the line, “I will take care of you, just put your faith in me,” just to humor herself. 

She has never seen the Unsea, but oh how she yearns to. It’s a morbid curiosity of hers to see where so many have died, kin or not. While everyone tries to avoid it like the plague, she does not, but only when she’s rightfully a Heartrender will she visit the Shadow Fold.

EXTRAS: Nope, didn’t have anytime for them!

ANYTHING ELSE?: Either The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald or East of Eden by John Steinbeck.