#maybe you should've locked that tess

[falseidcls]

APPLICATION.

[ shannon thornton, cis woman, thirty seven, she/her ] — Keep your eye on [ SERAPHINE DUVAL ]. We’ve heard they live in [ LUNEMIRE ] working as the [ OWNER OF THE BROTHEL ], and that they’ve lived there for [ HER ENTIRE LIFE ]. People say they’re [ AMBITIOUS ], but don’t let it fool you, I’ve heard they can be [ DECEPTIVE ] too, and they’ve always reminded us of [ A CHARMING SMILE MASKING THE DARKNESS WITHIN, A VENUS FLYTRAP WAITING TO LATCH ONTO HER PREY, NAILS DIGGING INTO UNBLEMISHED SKIN, LIES SLIPPING OFF THE TONGUE AS EASILY AS TRUTHS ]. Rumours say that they’re on [ NEITHER’S ] side, but maybe that’s driven by their [ DESIRE TO GATHER BLACKMAIL INFORMATION ON ALL THE POWER PLAYERS TO INCREASE HER OWN POWER ]. // alyx, she/her, est, twenty six

FILE.

full name: seraphine duval

age: thirty-seven

gender / pronouns: cis woman

orientation: bisexual

affiliation: n/a

occupation: owner of the brothel

family: marina kingsley (mother, deceased), cassian duval (husband, deceased)

faceclaim: shannon thornton

inspiration: maeve millay (westworld), madame rosetta (theodora), tess scali (burlesque)

Pinterest

BIOGRAPHY.

No one quite knows the story of your childhood, and that's how you prefer it. After all, who would imagine that the city's secret keeper was nothing more than a street rat who managed to scurry out of the slums and into the spotlight? No, no one would look at you with admiration had they known about the nights you spent starving in the streets, having to help your mother con poor souls who ventured into Lunemire by mistake. No one would let their guard down around a woman who wandered the shadows like they were her own--- sharp eyes tracking every movement as if her life depended on it. No, better to keep your childhood locked behind closed doors and abandoned alongside your family name.

All the public knows about you is that you're from Lunemire and that you showed up on the arm of one of Solspire's most eligible bachelors years ago. People often questioned the relationship between you and Cassian Duval, spreading rumors that you bewitched him with a spell or tricked him into a relationship. Truthfully, he had been the one to approach you at the start of your connection. You had thought he was cocky and naive, but as the weeks went by, you began to give into his charms.

The two of you eventually got married, and you finally got the life you dreamed of. You were seen as someone admirable, a jewel in the Duval family's crown, and you adored the attention and influence that came with your marriage. It didn't matter that you grew less in love with him everyday, or that he often ended the night with someone other than you in his bed. To the outside world, you two were a power couple. That was enough for you for a while, but when your husband became so infatuated with one of his mistresses that whispers of divorce were being uttered in your ear, you knew something had to change.

The public declared Cassian's death a tragic accident, but the half-empty bottle of poison in your drawer says otherwise. Your husband's death led you to inherit all of his wealth, which you used to purchase and rebuild the brothel into a staple of Lunemire. The wealth and success of your business should've been enough to satisfy you, but instead, you found yourself missing the influence you had during your marriage. You learned how easy it was to play the rich and powerful, listened as they spilled secrets over bottles of wine and expensive cigars, and you couldn't go back to a life as anything other than the queen on a chessboard. So, you'll use your brothel to rebuild that influence and gain control over Lunemire and Solspire. Secrets flow freely in your establishment, and you'll be the spider catching them all in your web.

WANTED CONNECTIONS.

People she's blackmailing

People she's trying to seduce (or get one of her brothel workers to seduce) for information

People who knew her husband--- bonus points if they suspect she's responsible for his death

People who frequent the brothel

Employees

Childhood friends or enemies

Friends with benefits/flings/one night stands

Exes

Anything and everything!

[pixeldolly]

Walden BACC #533

Hayden: “Who’s a pretty kitty and a good kitty? Yes you are!”

Tess: “Cymorial must like you; usually, he is quite skittish around people other than me.”

Hayden: “Being accepted by the cat - feels like a rite of passage.”

Tess smiled affectionately as she prepared the salmon for Hayden’s dinner.

Hayden: “Hey, can I have some of that juice?”

Tess: “Juice?”

Hayden: “Yeah, the red stuff in the pitcher over there, on the counter.”

Tess: “Oh! That’s not juice! That’s a, um, tonic for my condition!”

Tess had had to tell Hayden something to justify her peculiarities. The “rare medical condition” which made her highly sensitive to sunlight and heavily restricted her diet had appeased Hayden’s curiosity for the moment, but it wouldn’t hold up forever. They had also never spent the night together - Tess had always shied away from the idea and Hayden had respected her boundaries, but the longer they were a couple, the more difficult it would become to ignore the proverbial elephant in the room.

Tess: “Dinner will be ready shortly!”

Hayden: “All right, I’ll just use the bathroom real quick.”

I’m going to ask her tonight, Hayden thought giddily as she walked away, letting her legs carry her without thinking about it. Her heart fluttered in her chest and he stomach clenched anxiously, but she was happy, happier than she’d ever been.

Before she registered her mistake, Hayden opened the door in front of her;  it wasn’t the bathroom she suddenly found herself in though, it was the room next to it. She froze in the doorway, speechless.

Unnerved by the silence but unable to tear her attention away from her cooking, Tess called out over her shoulder:

Tess: “Hayden? Are you all right in there?”