aeliamaia - Tumblr blog

[aeliamaia]

Nathalie Emmanuel for Byrdie, 2017

[aeliamaia]

Nathalie Emmanuel

[aeliamaia]

Nathalie Emmanuel

[aeliamaia]

Claire & Eve

Heatwave (2022)

[aeliamaia]

[aeliamaia]

She wasn't sure what being top-side meant now that her main purpose since she had been resurrected from the grave melted away with the regaining of her humanity, gone was vengeance and revenge that kept her moving for so long, kept her dead bones fueled and even in the haze of her hatred goodness made room despite herself. She found love with a goddess who kept one foot in darkness and one foot shrouded in light and it was Keket that helped her find new purpose, to be grateful for every second chance that she had to still be here but her girlfriend was a busy woman and as much as her heart revolved around the Hollowborn, her world couldn't sustain that way -- she'd end up as a pest o'too quickly and so she took to making friends with an unlikely source who needed some guidance and Aelia needed to be needed, to find a reason to brave the light of the day and to make stories of her own to report back with.

"People tend to give me a large berth too, there isn't much understanding for what a terror is and most respond in fear. It's good for me to feel helpful, I've gone long without my humanity and it's a strange feeling to have it back once more." It brings about a sensation of feeling lost, the world has new color.

Date: January, some time Location: the Streets Characters: @aeliamaia & @thegodhorus Notes: can i hire you

Keket was born in what the mortals were now calling The Old Kingdom of Egypt. Egypt, a very strange name for the land he'd once known simply as Kemet, the Black Land. He'd met the demigod of unique origin there when she was just a babe to congratulate the fey mother and promise their safety in his home if they stayed. Decades after her birth she was killed by the very organization named after him, in the very home that he'd promised her mother she'd be safe in. When Keket had been killed, Horus knew he could no longer ignore all that had been happening to The Eye of Horus. The demigod-turned-goddess did not know him, and he was too ashamed to ever know her. But he had heard of her business and looked up at the sign when a smiling ghoul emerged from the door of it one day. As it turned out, this young-looking woman would be a godssend to him. He hadn't yet asked Aelia to be his helpful companion but Horus had every intention to that day after another friendly walk through the city.

Horus took a swig of the potion that had been helping him understand and speak in any language spoken to him. "It was very kind of you to ask me if I needed help that day, you know. Not a single mortal stopped to do the same and quite a few magical beings gave me a wide berth. Now you tell me of all of these things about this world and I have learned much in only days. I'm eternally grateful to you, Aelia."

[aeliamaia]

Aelia felt more comfortable among the dead than the living, she had tasted grave dirt in her mouth not once but twice. The river Lethe had taken much from her and left behind anger and pain, a conduit to keep her warm and yet with the restoration of her humanity she could see the enemies that she had kept whittled in shadow and become mere innocents caught in between her vengeance against a long gone sadistic sovereign. She still hungered for flesh and magic alike, didn't feel right with the civilians and tourists that roamed the streets of Rome and so she visited Nero's golden house of the dead Domus Aurea. Aelia knew little about the Otherworld, it had never pertained to the ghoul's interest of blood and sinew. The River Lethe had stolen any study that the Dahlia coven might have influenced and the coven had different areas that they focused on.

She recognizes bloody palms, a wet chin and bloody thirsty grin -- she's seen it in the mirror enough times. It's a twist within her stomach of monster recognizing monster and she arches a brow in response. "Eat till you're satisfied? You missed a spot on your chin."

who? @senatusstarters where? domus aurea tw: cannibalism notes: LOOK. I SAID IT. CANNIBALIST LADY.

It's not quite hunger, what drives her out into the Otherworld. Not quite. It's the desire itching on her gums, the saliva pooling beneath her tongue as she salivates to bring others within herself in the most intimate way she knows. She has expelled most of her arsenal, aside from her grandmother and a few necessities, and she feels empty. She wants and wants and wants and WANTS AND WANTS AND WANT. But she cannot consume. Not in Rome. Not when she has yet to fully map the political intricacies of this empire she has stumbled upon. The Otherworld, however? Open and wide, and so very dangerous after the last year? It's free game, a hunting ground for her pleasure alone. Nimet doesn't quite stumble back into Rome— Not with her maela still with her, not with her millennia of careful training — But she still gracefully falls from the Otherworld portal, landing on her feet as she hums a musical's tune and sways on the balls of her feet. Her stomach is full of demon flesh, quite the delicacy that is no longer in shortage, but she has not brought any of them into herself just yet. She needs her wits about her— even as she misses the voices and the comfort they provide with the knowledge that they will never leave her weather they want it or not. Still, she has been fed, and she has managed to avoid a mess, all but a few droplets of blood dripping down her chin to match the bloodied palms that she admires as a little giggle escapes her lips.

"Well that was fun," she admits, careful constructions falling apart as sharp teeth grin and she looks up to meet the owner of the footsteps. She had not killed anyone within Rome, after all, and she can argue killing those demons was in protection of the city. No need to worry about something as silly as a punishment.

[aeliamaia]

nathalie emmanuel via instagram

[aeliamaia]

who: @bishophart where: Lupercalia

Being in the Lupercalia fieldgrounds again was an odd feeling, here she stood with her humanity in hand and with a woman that she had been kissing on this day last year. Growth had quietly found her and yet she found her monstrous impulses still existed, she still craved to devour flesh, magic and violence still called to her. She wanted to see how her fighters were doing, if going rounds at Dante's had served them well. She notices a fighter by the pen watching the all fighters gauntlet. "What do you think of the fights so far?"

[aeliamaia]

She splashes a little bit of water, the way a cat might and she sinks in a little further up to her neck -- careful to not get any of the water in her mouth but enough that she might release some of the tension in her shoulders. A sideways smile is on her life and her main enemies have recently changed shape, she's risen from the grave twice -- peace might look different for a ghoul. "It's true -- y'know the hunger never really went away, it was just more like waking up from a dream but there's still so much terror and horror out there." A dysfunctional smile dresses her lips, too use to an ugly world.

Well, that was certainly one way of putting it. Remus wasn't sure what kind of life he had in store, but he knew that it could never truly be domesticated. It felt like it never could be for people like them. Terrors were monstrosities and the two of them were no different. Remus hadn't ever learned from his mistakes. He could only wonder if the same could be said for Aelia. Still, he turned his head slightly towards her as he eyed the water around them. "I don't think a soft life is what you'll get. You've still got some claws and you're definitely not a domesticated cat. More like a wild cat that would probably let someone boop them on the nose maybe, but definitely not domesticated."

[aeliamaia]

This was the hard part of getting close, when an initial meeting happens it's easy to hide underneath flirting and it's what held the appeal of a one-night stand but this had gone beyond a simply one night affair. Keket told her the truth that she was the goddess of darkness and held the power of light manipulation, the ghoul searched the Aspect's eyes and decided to take that leap to discuss the more monstrous aspects of herself. Leaning against the corner of Clara's desk, she reached for her hands.

"When you first return from the grave.. there's this feeling like everything is a dream, it's hazy and without consequence. Taking magic and life means nothing, when a ghoul is buried again, they regain their humanity and wake up from that dream."

Clara's side of the clinic had remained closed for a few weeks. She'd returned during Christmas, if only to make sure things were still going well. But there was no reason to continue staying away from all those she loved, not when it was likely she would find nothing more in the vastness and infinite expanse of the Otherworld. The leave had done wonders for her mental health but the Aspect knew from her own experience that loneliness was only a balm, not a cure. She worried for Ren, she missed Aelia. So she returned. The doors were wide open again, the place put back to normal as Clara started organizing appointments again. Her office door hadn't been closed when footsteps approached and she looked up to a sight that would have made her heart skip a beat if the damned organ still worked.

She smiled without thought, getting up and opening her mouth to speak only to close it again as Aelia's words sunk her. Her smile disappeared and her head canted. "Ritual? What... What do you mean?" She'd heard talk of ghouls and rituals but this was long ago and the Aspect was no expert. "Are you alright?" She gestured to the comfy seats across the desk, her eyes not leaving Aelia's as Clara moved to sit.

[aeliamaia]

"I'm not a witch either." It's spoken like a hushed confession but there is a heavier meaning behind it, she's been buried in a grave twice -- once by their Sovereign and again alive. It was a ritual that brought back her humanity but it didn't dissolve her monstrosity, she was still a terror and she still had a deep hunger inside of her for awful things -- for magic and flesh. Losing her mind helped absolve her guilt, her understanding and the consequences of her hunger felt as if it was a far-away dream, hazy and untouchable and now she had to face it in the light of the day and she felt as if the wound would always be raw. "I don't know how to have a future when death lies before me and I've already swallowed dirt from the grave. I want you in my life as you are but I wouldn't hold you to the same fate."

Vivianne was speechless for a few counts, the words sinking in as she realized that there had been an untold amount of time that Aelia, someone she had seen as a Dahlia older sister, had hated her. She couldn't blame her much; she hadn't been the only one to couple her with the man that had raised her, not by a long shot. It hurt but it didn't hurt as much as all the wasted time Vivianne could have gone to find Aelia and bring her home - all this time that they could have found a way to help each other. Her eyes shimmered and she nodded slowly. "The past is a closed wound... and if it opens again, we'll heal it together this time." She smiled softly. "Don't spare it another thought. I just want to know if there's any chance that this second chance of yours could include me. Us. The Dahlia... I'm not a witch any longer either but we were born there. A part of us built those walls... it remains a part of my home and it should be your's too."

[aeliamaia]

There is a part of her that will always be the sad for the girl who died too young, being a terror meant that there was a dividing line between who she was when she was alive and who she became after she crawled forth from the grave. The Dahlia witch that she was is so far from where she is that she views herself almost as a distant character but without her humanity, the desperate urge for revenge and violent justice was demanded. Only the villain was long gone and all that remained were those who were trying to rebuild and put together the pieces and with her regained humanity, she knows she has strength and will no longer be going for the throat for those who are trying to find the good among the bad in their life. "It's a terrifying ritual, I don't blame you in parts. It took another ghoul to follow through as Emma understand what it meant from living through it."

"One way or another," Abel affirmed though it was rather despondent as though the fact he was too late would resonate within Aelia instead of the gesture as a whole. It'd been his plan, alongside Micah, to conduct the very act upon Emma first, but something which Abel could only chalk up to divine intervention preceded their attempt and she left this world behind to enact a newfound duty as a reaper. "Burying ghouls was only a rumor to me, but it was something I'd been willing to try. I'm glad someone beat me to the punch," he could only offer Aelia a sad smile at this point, bittersweet considering how far she'd come already.

[aeliamaia]

Having grave dirt piled on top and choking as the dirt filled her lungs, her blood thirsty lips were filled with hollow earth and it stole the fight from her. She is exhausted as she breathes air from above the surface, the hunger wouldn't necessarily stop to drain magic and life but now she had a mind of her own, an understanding of consequence and empathy and it was like she had been awoke from a dream into the cold stark light of reality. "Thank you for being brave enough to help me." Her hand reaches for Emma's, stained with gravedirt still but falls short, too scared to dissolve Emma with her ability to siphon magic. It's enough for now and she never knew what a miracle the shape of the other women would take.

"It was horrible, I know, but it was the only way to give you back your humanity." That thing that had been ripped from her as Aelia had been dragged back from the grave. Her marred soul was clean once again, a feral and uncontrollable monster no longer. "It's in the nature of all things to resist the grave, we had to take you and bury you quickly, it was the only way." Emma could only hope that she had not done more harm than good in the process, but the thought of leaving Aelia to suffer alone did not sit well with her. The two of them were alone now, the marshals sent away, if Aelia wished to kill the reaper for good she was well within her power. "People I loved very dearly once did the same for me, so I hope you understand why I couldn't not do this for you."

[aeliamaia]

N a t h a l i e E m m a n u e l

[aeliamaia]

who: @brightclara where: Swanford & Samson

She feels shiny and new having regained her humanity, only she still remains a terror -- the darkness hadn't been cleared out completely she only has a clearer mind, an ability to understand morality and repercussions, revenge doesn't hold her tightly but violence still lives in her bones that was dredged up from the grave-dirt. Hunger still exists in the pit of her stomach and she wants to consume, flesh and magic that is intertwined. Keket understood her darkness but she can't help but wish to share the news with her girlfriend, feeling as if a day might have arrived where she could actually make her proud. "I bring lunch, a chicken ceaser wrap and news that a ritual has been done to restore my humanity. It's not an easy ritual, it involves being buried again but it's changed things for me."

[aeliamaia]

They weren't creatures built for love, to foster a community or to even live -- their existence was shadowed by the breath of humanity that had come before they had been sealed in their grave. Revenge gave her purpose, it kept her moving and now she had her humanity back and all the grief that came with it of a life spent. She couldn't go back, to her hunger or to the home that had become nothing more than a husk, there was nothing left for her there anymore. She lets the water seep over her old bones, the graveyard dirt that had never left her skin be washed away. "I feel like a domesticated cat, like my claws have become cut down and it's hard to accept that a soft life of tea and baths lie before me."

Normally, Remus would have dragged Marius here with him, but the demon had been annoying this morning so he decided against it. Now here he was by himself with this ghoul being asked about revenge. It was one hell of a question, that was for damn sure. And it was certainly one that he wasn't even really sure how to answer. There'd been some time where he really didn't know what came after the deed. He'd killed Romulus. Now what? Was he supposed to go find Mars and give him another vampire on a platter to replace the fallen magister? What of himself now? He was no vampire, just an abomination that had been pulled from the depths and made into something unexpected. Eyes closed, he finally opened his mouth to speak. "Easy. You go to a bath house."