#had a thought about someone having a siren like semblance to show true desires

[bridgyrose]

Cinder paused as she heard the sound of singing echoing in the forest. It wasnt the maiden she was tracking, the singing was too close to be her. No, it was something else. Someone else. And it was distracting. It was hard to focus on following the maiden, almost drawn to the singing itself as she looked away from the fall maiden. 

She slowly started to follow the sound of the singing, looking to see if she could find whoever was making those lovely words, only to stumble across a small cottage. It was strange to see a cottage this far outside kingdom walls, grimm tended to make quick work of anyone trying to make homesteads without any sort of protection. And a small cottage that was no bigger than maybe a couple rooms? It had to be abandoned.

And yet, the singing seemed to be coming from it. 

There was a moment when Cinder felt the need to turn away, to try to ignore the singing as best she could, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldnt help but continue to the cottage and knock on the door. As soon as the singing stopped, she turned to get away from the cottage, only to hear a woman’s voice from behind the door. 

“Its been a long time since I’ve had a visitor,” the woman said just before she opened the door. She was an older woman, heavier set with red hair pulled back into braids down to the middle of her back. Her eyes were almost golden, and her voice alluring. “But since you’re here, you must not know what you really desire.” 

“I know exactly what I want,” Cinder huffed as she pulled away. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go-” 

“You may know what you want, but you dont know what you desire.” The woman cupped Cinder’s cheek as her voice started to grow softer. “All you have to do is listen to my words, and I can show you *everything* you desire.” 

Cinder felt a shiver run down her spine as she listened to the woman’s voice. The singing started once more and she felt herself start to slip out of consciousness, memories of the Glass Unicorn that had been buried started to come to the front of her mind. She watched herself get shocked over and over again, watched as the patrons mistreated her, Rhodes trying to arrest her. 

The woman smirked as she spoke, her voice almost sounding like she was singing rather than speaking. “So that’s what you desired.” 

“I-I didnt desire… pain,” Cinder answered shakily. “I desired power-” 

“You desire freedom, yet you seem to keep believing the lies that you were fed-” 

“I can be free when I get power!” 

“The power you seek and have been promised will do nothing more than shackle you, bind you like you were before. So why do you keep hiding behind the lies you keep telling to yourself? You should let yourself see the truth of what you desire.” 

Cinder wanted to argue further, to cry out and tell the woman what exactly she wanted. But as she opened her mouth to do so, she was met with the sight of her younger self being held by an older man and woman. There was something about how happy she had looked, even as it went from her younger self to how she looked now but with Emerald and Mercury. A desire that she had long pushed away, one that was supposed to be buried after she killed Rhodes. 

“What you desire is a family,” the woman said softly. “A home with the freedom to be yourself. So why do you try to lie to yourself about this?” 

“I-I’m not… I’m not allowed to have this,” Cinder spoke out quietly. She slowly raised her hand in front of her and watched as a flame danced around her fingertips. “So I’ll make my freedom my own way with my own power. A power that was promised to me.” 

“Then I’m afraid you’ll only know pain.” 

The vision in front of Cinder disappeared along with the flames on her fingertips as the singing stopped. She found herself in the rotting remains of a cottage instead of infront of the door with the woman like she remembered. 

“Is everything okay?” Emerald asked over her communicator. “Is the maiden in position yet?” 

Cinder wiped a tear away from her cheek and sighed as she pressed her communicator to speak. “I thought I was being followed and had to stop watching her. I’ll find her again.” 

“Of course you lost her,” Mercury said with a huff. 

“Its not her fault that the maiden we’re tracking is also being watched by Ozpin,” Emerald pointed out. “If she is being followed, we could be caught-” 

“I’ll find the maiden and then we’ll carry out our plan,” Cinder interrupted. “Just stay where you are. If you see her, I’ll catch up.” 

“Yes Cinder.” 

Cinder turned off her communicator and placed a hand on the frame of the cottage. This whole place had felt like a trap that was set up for her, and yet, she couldnt seem to get what she saw out of her head. No matter how much she wanted it, she didnt deserve the happiness that was shown to her. Only power was going to give her freedom, the power that Salem promised her. Then and only then would she be allowed to feel that happiness she desired. 

She pulled her hand away as the frame burst into flames from her semblance, smoke wafting into the air as she walked off. Nothing was allowed to stand in her way. 

[surrealitykrp-blog]

hello listeners —

today we’ve received a notice about song nari, the 20 year old college student and pt radio bang employee. you might have seen her around riverside when she’s not being a photographer for uprising! the podcast. if you haven’t, fear not and stay tuned for the briefing.

                                       and as always, welcome to iri

—  and now, the profile

faceclaim: stephanie lee oc name: song nari age: 20 positive traits: clever, creative, resourceful neutral traits: stubborn, meticulous, ambitious negative traits: sardonic, volatile, insensitive occupation: college student and pt radio bang employee housing: riverside affiliation: photographer for uprising! the podcast

— and now, the development

THE MYSTERY OF IRI:

unfeeling is how they see her – at this point is must be a fact,  unfeeling is how they see her. it must be – no, it’s definitely something in that cold gaze of hers, that unwavering expression of disinterest and disconnect, how her body language seems to say just please, anywhere but here. song nari is unapproachable, a notion that many seen to accept. unwelcoming is the feeling she gives, an unsettling sensation that settles in the pit of your stomach and grips your heart in a cold grasp. do not cross lest you wish to die; put in much simpler words, song nari is a total bitch.

and maybe they’re right. she’s not once made any attempt to stop them. they’re all dunces for the most part, but sometimes a particularly courageous one would step forward, only to be met with silence. but silence means yes, doesn’t it? so maybe the lack of response means that she agrees with them, that she herself believes that she truly is unfeeling, genuinely as cold as they believe her to be.

and maybe it’s when she gently takes hold of mr. choi’s shoulders and pushes him back in his seat, his most recent email still on full display in front of her now dead professor. SEND TO FIVE OF YOUR CLOSEST FRIENDS OR DIE A BRUTAL DEATH, it reads. something like dread weighs upon her chest like lead – fear, perhaps? or maybe that’s just how someone would feel, sitting next to a corpse and all.

she gathers her things, wondering if she should delete the essay mr. choi had just assigned them that day. it almost disturbs her how she worries more about the deadline than her professor’s dead body, but oh well. there’s not much she can do in a situation like this.

she greets the librarian on her way out, but makes no mention of professor choi.

they’ll find his body sooner or later.

(later that day, a cacophony of police sirens can be heard throughout east iri. all lee ilsook college students receive a message explaining the “unfortunate” situation, and are asked to dress in mourning-appropriate clothes the next day.)

THE DUALITY OF MANKIND:

ambitious. everyone knows that she is, the disgraced will always be vengeful to some extent. but is it vengeance, or simply character? who knows. but it can’t be helped, not when the taste of dirt slowly becomes familiar and they can no longer make ends meet. han seulgi didn’t teach her to be like this, never allowed her to settle like this – so she works and she does. these days all she knows is the endless climb to the top and the thirst for more, more, more. and it’s all good, it’s all perfectly good, but she can see the way her father looks at her, can hear him praying to whoever might bother listening to please, help my girl, she’s losing herself and i’m afraid she’ll end up like her so please, help her – it leaves her restless, eyes burning, heart aching and she supposes that, maybe, this is what disappointment feels like.

— and now, the biography

SEVEN RUMORS

1994, han seulgi is the sole heir to han family’s enormous wealth, an exquisite beauty with unparalleled charm and wits; song haneul is a young businessman whose fortunes are built upon the vast farms that surround iri. the ladies say he’s quite the charmer, dashing good looks and all; the men say he’s ready to conquer the world. everybody thinks they’re a match made in heaven but what do they know?

1996, han seulgi and song haneul get married after over two years of dating and three months of engagement. the ceremony is nothing short of touching – you can clearly feel the love between these two! the bride looks absolutely stunning, by the way, and – oh! the groom is just to die for, isn’t she? god, can these two get any more perfect?

1997, han seulgi gives birth to a healthy baby girl named nari – wow, she’s a beautiful one, isn’t she? she has her mother’s eyes, yes? there’s no doubt she’ll grow into a beautiful woman, i mean, have you seen her parents? they look like a family of supermodels, and the baby’s not even a year old!

2004, there have been quite a lot of rumors circling the song family nowadays, isn’t that right? yes, indeed. there have been numerous reports of a conflict between the song family and the authorities in town. apparently song haneul strongly opposes the mayor – but why? nobody knows for sure, but according to a reliable source mr. song seems to believe that the mayor is incredibly corrupt! what a bastard, eh? i’m sure his wife must be sorely disappointed in him. i always thought mr. song was quite admirable, but now i just think he’s an idiot.

2005, it’s strange how we haven’t seen song haneul for quite some time now, no? i heard he took his family to the mountains – why? his business went bankrupt, since nobody wants to buy produce from him anymore. he could have just opened up a new business, but i’ve heard people talking about how he’s lost all his money, too. how could that have happened, though? nobody really knows, but i guess that’s karma. yeah, maybe – that could be it. maybe if he didn’t go after the mayor, this all wouldn’t have happened.

2006, is that han seulgi? is she with that man – whoa! did they just kiss? man, i never pegged her for someone who enjoys pda! doesn’t the guy look too old for her, though? isn’t she married to song haneul? last i checked that man didn’t look like…a leathery old prick. true, true, but maybe she’s left him for good? her husband – ex-husband? whatever he is, did bring shame to the han family as well. maybe this is han seulgi restoring her family name? could’ve chosen a better partner to do that with, i guess, but a person must make do with what he has.

2010, apparently the man han seulgi was last with died recently? yeah, i’ve been hearing about that, too. looks pretty strange, doesn’t it? last i heard the man was itching to get out of iri. was he really an outsider? i’m not too sure myself, but I would assume so. i don’t think i’ve ever seen him before news broke out about him and ms. han. but he really was wealthy, wasn’t he? he really was. it’s all with seulgi now, though. i saw her the other day, looked pretty distraught. i guess she really loved him, eh? for some reason, i believe that’s debatable.

FOUR YEARS

three, song nari finds herself in her father’s study, sobbing and wailing and gasping for breath. he waits, patiently, for her to collect herself. but why do the other kids get to attend school together? why do i have to stay at home and study here when i can just go with them instead? please, mother, i want to go with them! she had begged, crying and moaning all she’d liked that morning whilst her mother had been around. han seulgi had called her a brat, an ingrate who should learn to be more appreciative – as if she were doing her some sort of big favor. this is a privilege only people like them could afford, she had said, but her daughter could not comprehend how spending her days inside this too-large house could be called a privelege when it felt more like punishment. your mother doesn’t like to associate with…other people. father explains when she’s regained some semblance of calm. father’s face is kind and gentle but even she can hear the way he seems to choke on his words, can see how hard it is for him to talk about this. she does not understand this, too, how father always seems to struggle with his words when it comes to mother. but she is a child and they expect her to understand, somehow, so she says she does.

seven,  the cracks begin to show. nari has always known about her father’s opposition against, the mayor, though she never really knew why. of course this didn’t sit well with mother, who’d always been used to him caving in to her desires. this time, though, that was not the case. black was the color she’d known best, then, as it was all she’d see when she closed her eyes at night, when the screaming and breaking and shattering would reach its peak in the dead of the night. she does not remember anything like this, did not know that sadness could cut her as badly as this.

eight, an interlude. father’s failing business eventually hits rock-bottom, and the mountains are where they seek refuge. she quite likes the view up here, and judging by the elation in father’s eyes, he does agree. mother looks anything but, however – again, she does not understand.

nine, her mother eventually leaves. father looks broken all of a sudden, as if he’d come across something he would have rather not. it bothers her but he tells her nothing, offering only a crooked smile and ruffling her hair. he tells her not to worry so she tries not to. but there is no hiding secrets from the night, and he hears him whispering sometimes, something about han seulgi being a traitor, a blind wench devoured by her own greed.

TWO FACTS

HAN SEULGI TOLD ON HER HUSBAND

this, she learns eventually, from an old lady selling vegetables just on the outskirts of iri. it may sound suspicious, sure, but she knows her mother enough to be sure that she would have done this, that han seulgi resents her father enough to bring him to his ruin. and in truth, she really did – called for an emergency meeting of sorts and destroyed her husband without remorse. she might have exaggerated, just a little bit – nonetheless, it worked well in her favor, and maybe earned her some points with the mayor (but who knows).

NARI’S GLARE DOES NOT KILL MEN

some people seem to think song nari is some sort of evil witch – and perhaps in a city as strange as iri one cannot help but assume that they do exist and she is one of them, especially when she lives far off into the mountains and is just outright cold. this notion became somewhat widely speculated amongst a number of underclassmen after mr. choi’s death, when someone thought it would be smart to voice their observation on how hard she was glaring at the teacher just hours before his death, when he’d given them the two thousand-word essay due by 11:59 P.M. of course, there is no solid evidence to support this case, so it seems she won’t be called to the precinct anytime soon – for this reason, at least.

ONE GOAL

success. sounds rather vague, doesn’t it? this could be interpreted in a number of ways, but with song nari, no one can really tell: graduation, maybe? yeah, sure. but when she’s constantly topping exams and keeping a relatively clean behavioral slate, it seems this girl’s all good to go. restoring her family name? no one knows for sure, but it would be reasonable – the scorned will always thirst for revenge, or whatever. maybe that’s pushing it too far. perhaps she wishes to ruin her mother? now that’s something i wouldn’t mind seeing. as i said, though, when it comes to her, nobody really knows, so maybe it’s not as deep as we’d like to think. maybe, possibly, conceivably – but really, who knows.