assassincte

[assassincte]

Maria was a ghost. She was both incredibly striking and also easy to pass. She exuded confidence yet somehow wrapped it in a blanket of a gentile that meant that she could be anywhere in this little soiree and still no one could tell just where she had actually been at one time. Her footprints were everywhere but trampled on by the others in the area... like wiping up fingerprints before you leave the scene.

It also meant that often she got bumped into, as Julie had just narrowly avoided doing. Her finger skirted across her waist and the thin line of filament that was laced through the waist of her dress, ready to pull it out and use it if necessary — even in this crowd she could slice a wrist before anyone noticed and leave someone bewildered and on the ground as she slipped away without drawing too much focus — but instead shifted those fingers to touch at her fabric as she saw Julie.

She had no reason to fear her, at least not yet, "I did not place a bet. I understand it is the point but I just enjoy watching the sport. The horses work so very hard and yet... the owners tend to try and take credit. You know?"

Maria barely knew what she was saying half of the time. At least it sounded somewhat common.

Open Starter for: everyone!

When: March 2024

Where: Liddell Hippodrome

The Liddell Hippodrome was one of the more interesting events connected to Julie's job. "Interesting" because it was very clear, even when passing through a ballroom of masked faces, that a good portion of attendees were not the upper crusts of society. Julie was outside, watching the races, mask hanging limply from her hand. She could hear the low chatter of bets being made, and the whoops and hollers as the jockey's entered the stalls.

Julie glanced down at her watch as a notification buzzed through. Hector hardly required medical care, but she was instructed to keep close just in case. So, she drifted a little further from the bleachers and closer to the scoreboards (and the hall), narrowly avoiding bumping into someone else in the process. "Oh, excuse me," Julie said, more of a reflex than anything. She regarded the board for a moment, eyebrows knitting together in confusion. "So, who has your bet? I've only seen events like this in movies."

[assassincte]

It was odd to think of Maria boldly staring at anyone, but though she was technically on the job, it was a party and she was meant to be blending in with somewhat natural behaviors. Staring, in this case, was one of them, "You nearly cleaned the platter of kofta, I had wanted some and was just hoping you'd stop short, that's all."

The smile she gave was genial and beatific, a practiced motion like any other she'd make — would you call it spycraft to act as if you were normal? possibly, at least for her — and lifted her shoulders, "They will refill soon, I am sure. I apologize for staring, however."

The truth of it was when Maria met someone new, she had to get a profile of them in her head... even if their name and face would blur out until it was important, like an archived file in the back of her mind.

where: liddell hippodrome

who: open to all

Wandering off on her own she made her way to the table with the food once again. In her defence, it was tiny and delicious, she could hardly say no, especially since it was free. She'd be a fool to turn down free food. There has never been a time she'd said no to free food, it went against her nature. Besides, there was more than enough for everyone so it's not like anyone could say something to her and if they did, they could go fuck themselves. She was wearing a mask, she might as well make use of her anonymity. So there she was, loading up her plate when she felt someone's eyes on her from the side so she turned towards them, looking them straight in the eyes. She had no idea what they wanted from her, but she thought better to get this over with quick and then she could focus on the food again. "Is there a reason you're staring at me?"

[assassincte]

Maria was — in absolutely no way, shape, or form — a good person. She could mime the actions and pretend all she wanted, but she didn't handle emotion well. Affection was a foreign concept and all of her long-term relationships generally brewed into something toxic and controlling on both sides and it was as close as she got to true devotion, however rarely that was.

This is important, because handing over the frog to Demir was outside her comfort zone, at least personally, but her public persona had a bit more to her; some would call it nuance, but Maria called it a nuisance, "Of course. I was not meaning to monopolize it or the space, you like it then?"

Being foreign to the idea of emotions didn't mean she couldn't read them on others and, in fact, that skill was incredibly important to what she did and how she handled things in her every day, "Is this a gift for someone?"

The last time Demir spoke to his mother she sounded defeated and he knew there wasn't much that he could do to help. Yet, One Man's Trash called to him despite the lingering scent of smoke and whiskey -- neither of which Demir cared for. He had his eye on a certain ceramic piece that was currently being held by a woman a few paces away. Demir waited for a chance to get a better look at the piece, something that would look nice in his mother's garden, but the chance wasn't presenting itself. "May I see that?" Demir asked over the sound of a barstool scraping across the room. He glanced over his shoulder, then back to the woman with a slight tilt of his head. Something about her was familiar, but he couldn't quite place what it was.

[assassincte]

[assassincte]

Still holding the frog in her hand — held up as if it was a prize to be won and not just a random knick-knack from a front for something more sinister — Maria turned to regard Malachi. There were a slew of quick thoughts that ran through her head, all dismissed in the blink it too to register them and she offered a wan smile.

"It has no wisdom to give me that I don't already know." She says plainly, setting the frog bag down upon its perch but seriously considering taking it home nonetheless, "Besides, I solve my own problems and usually with more definitive answers than can be given by random trash, mm?"

There was an air to Maria that spoke of danger, and yet the expression on her face still mixed in with something... inviting. Like a venus fly trap waiting to sup upon an unsuspecting insect that crawled into its mouth, "Do you work here? I don't seem to recall your face."

That's likely because you forget almost everyone the moment they're out of your line of sight, Maria. Unless they're targets.

If it was up to him, Malachi would've avoided all public places. His current career trajectory, if one could refer to the things he did as a career, made space for that -- simply fading into the shadows, only appearing when necessary. Despite that, though, Malachi could not seem to let go of the need for connection, the desire to be amongst others, even if every sound grated on his nerves and the majority of people he met annoyed him on a deep, almost DNA level. It was for this reason that he often found himself at One Man's Trash, mostly irritated, but still in the midst of it.

"Are you consulting that frog for its ancient wisdoms," he asked, eyebrow cocked. He wasn't teasing, per se, but his curiosity had gotten the better of him when he'd noticed Maria seemingly engrossed in checking out the oddity. "I'm sure if we look, we may actually find something that may solve whatever problem you seem to be mulling over."

[assassincte]

Maria was not without her flow of cash. She had built up a reputation, which meant that all of her contracts were far more lofty than they might seem and she lived... incredibly comfortably. She could have wandered anywhere and bought crystalline depictions of swans to set around her penthouse, and yet this ugly little frog made her... well, perhaps not happy but at least not bored, "I do not do well with orders, but it is amusing me enough that I probably will buy it."

She flashes what passes for a smile, though leaning itself more towards the feral grin of a hyena pretending to be human to lure in prey, "Are you new or am I just bad with faces?"

Both could easily be true, but her being bad with faces was 100% true. Unless you were a target... which is the worst place to be. Even then, after the job was done it faded into background noise.

nihira doesn't like to be home. in fact, if she could spend less time at home the better. when she wasn't at the firehouse she was here, more often than not she was running diversions or calls with her side of the fire department. she was waiting to head back to the meeting room but decided to take a peak at everything they actually had, never dedicating that much time to the front store. when she notices the woman looking at the ceramic frog she smirks a little, watching it as well. "is it telling you secrets? is it compelling you to purchase it, perhaps?"

[assassincte]

where: one man's trash open to: jolly rogers (or anyone who's braving one man's trash) when: midafternoon

It wasn't like she had nothing better to do. In fact, the list of things that Maria had to accomplish was both long AND complicated. Yet still here she stood in the front room of One Man's Trash, surrounded by knick-knacks and tchotchkes of varying levels of gaudy, milling about. It was hard to say how intent she was about anything — a moment was spent seriously contemplating a ceramic frog, for instance — and how much of it was just a way to unnerve people.

It's safe to say that Maria has a huge intimidation factor.

[assassincte]

aesthetic | face | musings

exclusive oc for londonfalling-rpg

⟨ michelle yeoh. cis female. she/her. 61. ⟩ We just saw maria cao ( xīn yán cǎo (欣妍 草) ) entering the one man's trash. I heard through the grapevine that their loyalties lie with the Jolly Rogers and that they also go by sweeney todd . Be careful, they work for them as an assassin and can sometimes be cold, calculating, or even cruel but I’ve also heard some people say that they were loyal, efficient and quite meticulous.— drea. she/they. 40. edt (gmt-5). trypophobia (visual), animal abuse & death, child abuse & pedophilia

there's a dossier included in the layout for her blog but as not everyone goes to look at blogs I'll put that basic information here too.

NAME: maria cao / xīn yán cǎo (欣妍 草) ALIAS: sweeney todd AGE: 61 GENDER: demifem PRONOUNS: she / they OCCUPATION: assassin SEXUALITY demisexual / grey aromantic FACECLAIM: michelle yeoh HEIGHT: 5'6" WEIGHT: 134 lbs HAIR COLOR: black EYE COLOR: brown TATTOOS: for her to know and you to find out SCARS: varied and many PIERCINGS: both ears twice OTHER FEATURES: often times 'dead' eyes POSITIVE TRAITS: loyal, efficient, meticulous NEGATIVE TRAITS: cold, calculating, cruel LIKES: murder, the finer things, playing the game, chaos DISLIKES: rules, order, poverty MBTI: entj BIRTHPLACE: ipoh, malaysia CURRENT HOME: penthouse owned in downtown london NATIONALITY: european citizen (expat of several countries) ETHNICITY: Malayasian / Chinese LANGUAGES: english, french, malay, chinese, japanese, & italian

born to poverty and eventually realizing she much preferred the finer things in life, maria chose to be wealthy instead. it involved utilizing skills she'd learned through the military and her own disillusionment with society as a whole (and her mental disconnect from most of her emotions) to become an assassin of some reputation before her loyalty was claimed by the Jolly Rogers with the understanding that she will still take outside contracts as long as they do not interfere with the tenets of the Jolly Rogers' best interests.

once married to joaquin vidal — the only man she ever loved and is still very much (quietly, sometimes) unhealthily attached to, she now serves herself and the JR and oftentimes spends her free time attending social events to keep up appearances or training in her penthouse (modified to house its own studio for more involved training) — though most notably doing her very best to get under the skin of her former paramour and still (sometimes) friend.

quick connection ideas

public face friends (meaning those she's mostly around for public appearances and 'cover')

friends (limited, she's hard to earn the trust of)

lovers (sex only as she doesn't really do emotions outside of a very specific instance)

co-workers in the jolly rogers who she's grown to like more than just in the sense that they're on the same team

clients

targets (limited but if someone puts a hit out on you she can be the one tasked with it and hasn't pulled the trigger (dad jokes) yet for x reason)

your ideas here, i'm open to hearing anything.