needcurse

[needcurse]

☆   * 𝚁𝙾𝙽𝙰𝙽 𝙻𝚈𝙽𝙲𝙷  ,  🧷  . . .  i wake up like a stray dog belonging to no one, nothing but longing. i'm something very far removed, and i keep going.

            ▍ note:   i primarily write ronan within the timeline of the dreamers trilogy books. i'm not totally opposed to doing threads that are raven cycle based but considering his development in the later books i want to explore more of his identity as a dream creature and how he grapples with his new identity. also, just in general i try to avoid writing minors on this site. it's just a point of preference for me and also a way to keep the weirdos away! 

✮  DOSSIER.

full name: ronan niall lynch aliases / titles: the greywaren, prince of dreams, faoladh flaith age: 23 - 27 ( verse dependant )  birthplace: henrietta, virginia current residence: henrietta, virginia gender: male-aligned nonbinary ( he / they ) religion: practicing catholic  sexuality: homosexual nationality: irish-american species: dream creature / forest birthday: november 1st occupation: farmer, dreamer extraordinaire, ecoterrorist he is a man who has lived many lives zodiac: scorpio sun, gemini moon, aries rising

✮ APPEARANCE.

hair: black and buzzed to his skull eyes: cornflower blue height: 6'2” / 188 cm body type:  boxer's build. niall lynch has been teaching his son the sport since the second he could throw a decent punch. also, being raised on a farm means he is doing plenty of manual labor day in and day out. the results of it are visible, he is toned mostly along  his arms and torso. conclusion: he looks like someone you don't want to mess with  notable features: a smile made for war ( haha! ), decently tattooed most notably: a celtic knot along the whole of his back that features a collection of his dream objects tangled in the mix and a full sleeve of snake scales crawling all the way up his left arm, usually he has a raven named chainsaw perched on his shoulder 

✮ ASSOCIATED MOTIFS.

the blue ridge mountains,  ravens,  snakes,  barbed wire,  chipped black nail polish, oak trees,  forest fires,  a dreamt shark-nosed black BMW,  leather wrist bands, boxing gloves, a bass guitar

✮ HISTORY.

      in order to understand ronan we have to begin the story with his father; niall lynch. a northern irish immigrant from belfast who emigrated to the united states after the murder of his own father. he was a dreamer and he made a business out of dreams. selling his creations on the black market for outrageous sums. sums that made a fortune for his family to come. he was a shadow casted over ronan's childhood. he taught them how to play the bagpipes, to sing irish ballads, and to box. his bothers and him idolized their father but none more than ronan himself. 

         as for ronan himself, his origins are that of the strange and fantastical sort. niall moved to virginia with fellow dreamer mór ó corra. both of which soon found out that they were able to communicate with a forest near their new home. they made a deal with that forest who longed to be human and agreed to give a body called the "greywaren" in exchange for more power for their dreaming. as a trio they began to piece together this form, which would eventually become their son ronan. mór gave ronan the appearance of a toddler closely resembling niall, niall gave him the gift of feelings, and the forest poured itself into him. once ronan was created, the forest’s vast knowledge faded from him and niall named him ronan to help him feel human.

         ronan was a healthy baby and a rambunctious child. he also, was a dreamer. at the age of 3 he dreamed up his younger brother, matthew. a marvel in the eyes of niall and he made the decision to raise the dream as one of his. two creatures beneath his roof and one son, the eldest,  of pure fresh and blood, declan. it became clear that day who the favorite son of niall lynch was. ronan who was made in his image,  ronan who had his powers and his eyes. 

        that's why niall's death changed everything. a once-happy child became a rebellious spirit and a torture to his eldest brother, declan. niall was murdered brutally in the driveway to their home, a death eerily similar to that of his father before him. the damage had been done and ronan was now a volatile young dreamer without any guidance. being at aglionby academy is a special kind of nightmare for ronan. even after befriending gansey, adam, and noah. his friends can only be so much of a buffer. he doesn't do well with authority and has a particular cocktail of neurosis that makes sitting in a classroom for long hours nearly impossible for him. as his grief persists, the severity of his dreaming is on a steady and destructive incline. 

        if he isn't seen street racing or drinking away all his senses he might be in church trying to find some form of absolution. he deals with major insomnia and can be seen out and about at all hours of night. he gets some closure when it comes to his father's death after he is able to re-enter his childhood home of the barnes after being barred entry due to a clause in niall's will. as the series progresses ronan's dreaming ability grows and he even creates his own dream forest, known as cabeswater that lives along the virginia mountainside.

        unfortunately, the forest was not long for this world. when gansey dies along the leylines it is a bargain with cabeswater that saves the boy. the forest's life in exchange for his resurrection. when the deal is complete cabeswater is no more but gansey lives on. that is the extent of ronan's dreaming ability and eventually he does dream a new forest, lindenmere to fill void cabeswater left. 

        current whereabouts: after high school when ronan's friends embark on their gap year and adam to college ronan is the only raven boy left in henrietta. he is now the sole proprietor of the barns and tends to the crops and cattle alike. he is directionless, full of doubt after believing he has been left behind by everyone he loves. this is when he embarks on the journey of learning his true identity as a dream creature. the catalyst being his dreams becoming hostile out of seemingly nowhere and him losing control over his own creations. he begins to be plagued by the effect of nightwash. essentially, it is a condition that overtakes a dreamer when they go too long without dreaming. it manifests in the form of black ooze that emits from the eyes, nose, and mouth and is deadly if the dreamer continues to refuse to dream. so yeah he is going through it and basically is living his best high school dropout life ( suffering and feeling forgotten )

✮  ABILITIES. 

dreaming: it is implied that ronan being a dream creature himself sets him apart from human dreamers because he is quite literally made of dreams. the capability to dream accurately with swiftness is a quality of note. dreaming does require quite a bit of practice and often dreamers will spend weeks dreaming the same object over and over again to make sure every detail of it is perfect. ronan himself is partial to the more grungy dreams than the fantastical. he likes fast cars that are a little too sleek to be real, creature companions with bad attitudes, and a boys with sunshine for hair that he calls brother ( missed the edgy memo here ) he is unique in the sense that he doesn't have a through line in terms of his dream creations. while they certainly all have a bit of his personality he can dream objects and people alike as well as fantastical creatures far from anything seen in reality.

sundogs: technically classified as a dream but one of his more destructive creations by far. they are a pack of wild dogs that take on the form of billowy smoke. they spit sunbeams from their mouths and can travel as fast the speed of light. they are vicious animals and even ronan himself has trouble controlling them at times. they are noticeably weak towards water and when ronan doesn't have the summoned they are kept in bottle to keep their destructive power contained.

zoolinguism: really only pertains to the animals he dreams up but it is implied that he can converse with his pet raven, chainsaw. this extends towards the dogs as well but even if he can speak to them it doesn't mean they are willing to listen.

✮ VERSES.

 pjo: son of hypnos to the majority of camp half blood. only his cabin mates know that he is actually a dream made flesh from the god's mind himself. he is a bit of black sheep because of this and his "siblings" don't exactly know how to interact with him. because of this he doesn't typically spend a lot of time at camp. usually he is on quests pursuing rogue dreams and finding way to contain them safely without killing the dream itself and sparring mortal lives. he is generally much more laid back in this verse, being that he isn't grieving niall and he is also is fully aware of his status as a dream creature from the jump.

cyberpunk 2077:  i won't lie to you this is still very much in development as i play through the game. essentially ronan is the myth of the "blue eyed people" come to life. once a rogue ai he now inhabits a human body and believes himself to be just that. he is big in the underground street racing scene ( potentially also the underground fighting scene lol ), having a multitude of titles under his belt. his world shattered when he learns what he actually is and the fact that he is a weapon that was set loose on the old net to track down other rogue ais and terminate them… all of this is subject to change but for now this is what we're going with. 

werewolf: this is for funsies. based on the medieval irish ossory werewolves. faoladh meaning an irish werewolf. in conriocht meaning one who ‘changes form into a hound’ at the new moon. ronan is a descendant of wolf-skinned warriors and he turns into a wolf when the moon is at its fullest. this verse can either be more of an urban fantasy one or more of a historical fantasy setting depending on the thread. honestly i will make ronan a werewolf in whatever verse i can fit it into. i just think it's neat! 

dark academia: TBA

[needcurse]

⨯ 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚍𝚢: eimile o'dienne

a deconstruction of the epithet: the last filí

☆ , for some context eimile was born in doolin, ireland in 1968. after the passing of who she believed to be her birth mother she was sent to be raised in a welsh orphanage. she is subsequently killed by her fiance, lochlann hanley, in 1993 at the age 25, while obtaining her masters in irish history and poetry at trinity college dublin. when she rises agin it is within the ruins of her family's ancestral home; the lus mór estate settled atop the cliffs of moher, overlooking the north atlantic ocean,

what is a filí and how does this relate to eimile? simply put a filí is an irish poet of olde but is a bit more nuanced than that. in ireland, poetry exists typically in two forms; normal poetry which is a learned skill and inspired poetry, which is seen as a gift from the deities. essentially oral history and divine providence which is a sign and prophecy bestowed by higher powers. a practice which was outlawed with the subsequent christianization of ireland.

imbas forosnaí ( meaning illuminated inspiration ) in old irish. is the gift of sacred poetic inspiration, clairvoyance or visionary ability. it was not uncommon for those who received visions to employ sensory deprivation techniques or ingest substances to induce a trance state to reach these "realms of inspiration". for eimile specifically typically chanting and music is her way of connecting with the divine.

sometimes a seer and filí are described as two separate entities but more often than not the skills and abilities of the two overlap. they are essentially one in the same especially in eimile's case she was a poet in life and in death a ben síde who heralds death, her acts of keening...

originating from the gaelic caoineadh meaning “crying”; keening is a vocal ritual artform, that is typically performed at the graveside when mourning the dead. keens are a display of pure, unfiltered raw emotion. many contain spontaneous recitations, repeated motifs, crying, and elements of song.

essentially i'm saying, keening is an act of prophecy as ben síde begin their weeping before a death occurs and not after the fact. eimile, who would be classified as both a seer and a filí. as prophecy and poetry tending to exist in the same format in the times where king's kept prophets at their side. some filí were even seen at a status above kings and queens given their latent connection to the divine.

the seer or ‘fáith’ in old irish refers to the ability of having a second sight to see possible future events. one of the most famous examples of a fáith within irish legend was the warrior woman scáthach who taught the hero cúchulainn. she was described as a ban-fháith ( woman fáith )

the filí or sometimes as referred to as an t-ollamh or ollam in early irish literature, is a member of the highest rank of filí. a filí os a member of an elite class of poets in ireland and scotland, up until their inevitable decline during the renaissance. essentially the official duties of a filí were to know and preserve the tales and genealogies of their people and to compose poems recalling the past and present. they are prophets as well as keepers of oral history.

so why the "last"? as i've said above eimile passed in the 90s but the filíd have been in decline since the coming of saint patrick. it is no longer a position recognized by any governing body and therefore is not taken seriously by the broader public. of course, time flows differently in the nether world were eimile now dwells. they have a deep reverence for poets and prophetesses, even amongst the ranks of ben síde. that being said, even despite her status as a daughter of clíodhna eimile is one of many children of the queen. it is her title as a the last of the filí that grants her a higher station then her siblings. of course, this results in much jealousy and sabotage at court for her when it comes politics. thus eimile attempts to fashion herself into more of wallflower as opposed to heiress apparent and her title is not something she offers up lightly, as her court is folk-adjacent and they adhere to the rule of true names. revealing ones position is also a form of giving away a fraction of ones identity thus relinquishing some of her power over to those who are aware of what she is.

[needcurse]

➥        * 𝙼𝙸𝚈𝙰𝙶𝙰𝚆𝙰 𝙺𝙰𝙴𝙳𝙴   , 🧷 . . . the lady of autumn, she sings the trees red with her presence. a world descending into blood and abundance. what have you buried here in the ground ? what will grow ?

            ▍  note:   kaede's story is primarily set in a meiji era historical fantasy universe but she can easily be adapted into more high fantasy settings or modern verses. i love exploring her in different time periods and genres so if you want to thread please don't feel limited by her primary setting. she is a very adaptable character and i've been writing her for some time so i have ideas Trust!

➥ DOSSIER.

full name: miyagawa kaede aliases / titles: kōyō-onna, aki-hime, inari, lady autumn, the red lady, maiden of the ever-autumn, goddess of bounty, the fox goddess age: appears as mid to late twenties birthplace: kyoto, japan current residence: unknown ( on the run ) gender: female-aligned non-binary / she/they pronouns sexuality: bisexual ethnicity: japanese and korean species: kitsune / gumiho birthday: october 12th occupation: antique shop owner, swordsmith, general crafts woman zodiac: libra sun, gemini moon, aries rising

➥ APPEARANCE.

hair: changes with the seasons; a red-tinged black in the summer until reaching a full crimson in the autumn eyes: usually a honey-brown, can become pure gold in battle height: 5’4” / 162 cm body type: although not much to look at by way of stature kaede is heavily athletic and muscular, somewhat of a gymnast's build she has impressive arm strength do to being a smithy as well as highly skilled swordswoman. notable features: a lack of identity, her facial features constantly shift and change except for a few traits as follows… fox eyes, the worn nature of her hands due to being a craftswoman/blacksmith, the smoky impression of tails in her wake (only to those with heightened perception)

➥ ASSOCIATED MOTIFS.

the autumn season, persimmon trees, foxes, the harvest moon, crimson flames, kitsune no yomeiri, first frost of fall, golden coins, rice/grain, forest fires

➥ HISTORY.

  ♡ historical context, the meiji restoration period; the meiji era or sometimes referred to as the meiji revolution was founded in the wake of the edo period. it marked the end of feudal rule in japan and re-established the government under the  imperial rule of the emperor. some key markers of the meiji era were the rapid industrialization of the country as well as the beginnings of westernization starting to bleed into japanese culture. this draw towards modernization was founded on the principle of replacing the traditional confucian hierarchical order that had persisted previously with that of rapid progress. this time period also marks a critical time for immigration into and out of japan that before was not possible due to closed borders.

         housed in the former capital, kyoto. miyagawa kaede was born in secret to the current fox-god avatar noriko, and kang ga-eul a korean immigrant who attempted to keep his gumiho identity secret when he relocated to japan. both noriko and ga-eul were unable to raise their daughter themselves for fear of exposing their relationship to the public. noriko being from a wealthy family held in high esteem due to their bloodline being tied to the kami and ga-eul who was seen as ill-fit match for the miyagawas eldest daughter. 

         kaede is thus left in the care of a phoenix spirit, lady akari . like most yōkai and nature spirits she has taken on a more human form to further blend in with mortals. this is an attempt to avoid prejudice under the rise of anti-spirit sentiment which has become prevalent within kyoto. the embracing of modernization has directly impacted the livelihood of the yōkai and they begin to live in enclaves within the less savory parts of the city. 

lady akari raises kaede as her own and is tasked with keeping the kitsune child's ancestry a secret. under her care kaede is taught the craft of swordsmithing. an art which is regarded now as an endangered practice as firearms begin to become the dominant form of weaponry in the nation's military. while kaede shows a great talent with her forging not many are willing to buy blades from yōkai despite the superior artisanship. 

         the yokai enclaves are home to the city's red light district and there are certain pleasure houses that offer the company of yōkai lovers to humans both foreign and local alike. it is within one of these establishments that kaede finds employment as an entertainer. she herself does not tend to the customer's carnal delights but rather gives them a show for the imagination. her performance is a traditional geommu dance which is carried out with a twin set of swords. many are enchanted by what they deem a foreign display of a kisaeng, which is further heightened by the allure of her demonic heritage. 

         dancing and singing alike are only a front for what her actual responsibility in the pleasure house is; which is to protect the yōkai from more violent customers. one night she walks in on a man holding a yuki-onna's hand to an open flame and he loses his own hand to the swift cut of kaede's blade in the process. the woman she saved, wakana, soon becomes a close confidant of kaede's and with time the two enter into a romantic entanglement. 

         as their bond deepens, kaede's sealed power begins to awaken in small ways. her facial features, which were always in a state of flux, begin to induce vertigo in those that look too closely at her. she begins to don a kitsune mask to hide her shifting face from view. it is one night when the two women are laying together that wakana makes an attempt on kaede's life. in doing so, she reveals that she is a servant of one her long lost brothers, hideki. this is how the mystery of her lineage unravels entirely while hideki's faction of spirits begin to invade the pleasure house kaede's is forced to leave kyoto and live a life akin to a fugitive. 

         taking refuge in the rural mountain regions, kaede starts a pilgrimage to shrines across the land under the guise of a miko. she seeks wisdom as well as her missing tails which have been spread across, not only japan,  but the world in the form of nine sacred blades. eventually she starts to venture overseas peddling wares and rare artifacts of her own. this draws her further into the black market trade in which her store, aki no mori, becomes a front for seeking out what has been taken from the goddess. 

➥ ABILTIES.

embodiment of autumn: inari is an interesting deity as she has taken on many forms and aspects since her conception. it is said each kitsune who houses her highlights a different shade of her godly sovereignty. for kaede inari is a renewal goddess, a harvest goddess, a lady of abundance. for her mother, noriko, she was a god of commerce and ruled by precious metals.

ecological empathy: kaede is directly tied to the land. depending on how long she inhabits a wood her connection only gets stronger with that particular forest/environment. this means she can sense all the wild life and coax the natural environment how she sees fit.

zoolinguism: this goes hand in hand with her eco-empathy. she can communicate directly with animals considering many spirits take on the appearance of beasts and mythic creatures alike.

aki no mori ( the forest of ever-autumn): this is like… a stage 5 skill and is not a feat possible for her right after awakening her godly aspect BUT aki no mori is the inari's domain. it is a liminal space, a pocket dimension if you will that is a way station for spirits and yōkai under the inari's domain. this is where the fox goes to heal and recharge after battle. it is space between life and death and the border is not breached unless the kami allows it. also not so coincidentally the name of her shop as well as the two are deeply entwined and conencted.

famine: what the goddess gives the goddess can also take away. this ability is typically classified as a curse but she can make a land barren. this is not an ability she takes lightly and is usually only employed to punish spirits that have wronged her. many spirits are directly tied to a physical coil, be it a lake, or a mountain. kaede can poison the very essence of these places and in many ways this is more excruciating death than a mortal wound.

swordmandship: in her lifetime kaede will wield nine different blades which are representative of her nine-tails. she will endure a trial for each and some will even be forged by her own hand. the inari is the guardian of swordsmiths and that is why they are her weapon of choice. not every sword will be a katana some may even be tantou or daggers and she takes a fondness to a korean jikado sword at some point.

shapeshifting: becoming a full fox is a rarity. both gumiho and kitsune are very protective of their true forms. seeing their actual face is associated with stealing their power. they also will wear thousands of different human faces throughout their lifetime and seldom are seen in the same form twice by mortals. in kaede's case she is more grounded in humanity and does have a human face she is partial to… but it is unsure if it is her "true" face.

obfuscation: related to this lack of a "true" face it is difficult to look directly in the face of the goddess. kaede's features are constantly shifting and are always changing to the slightest degree that can cause a sense of vertigo if one stares for too long. she will wear a kitsune mask at times for ease when she doesn't want to focus her energy on keeping her face from shifting.

yeowoo guseul (the fox marble/bead): the fox marble… is a kiss of death in a way. the fox marble is said to house a gumiho's divine knowledge. they can gift this knowledge to mortals through a kiss, they exchange the marble back and forth and if it human swallows it they absorb some of the gumiho's essence. legends have said if a fox bead is housed in a mortal long enough the gumiho will become human. since kaede is no regular gumiho and comes from a kitsune lineage she will not become human even if she gives her marble away. instead her wellbeing will be directly tied to the marble's new host… and that host does not necessarily have to be human.

divine allure: the fox is a charmer. a seducer, and an excellent manipulator of emotion. extremely convincing liars it is almost impossible to know when the truth is being told or not when in her presence. kaede herself does not employ tactics of seduction often but whether or not flirting is her intention, foxes have a supernatural allure to them. they draw you in, they are captivating creatures because it is impossible to ignore their vulpine features even when they are playing at human. there is something off about them and this entices rather than repels.

➥ VERSES.

urban fantasy: original flavor kaede for those that have been here from the start! to the uninitiated this verse is essentially the same canon i have established above but in a more contemporary setting. kaede is somewhat of a big wig in the international art world as she makes moves to seek out her tails. very much a jet-setter in this verse and never in the same place for very long. her shop has a very howl's moving castle vibe of moving to whatever city she finds herself in.

cyberpunk / dystopian: not tied to any pre-established cyberpunk canon strictly but i'm borrowing a lot from the genre staples like blade runner, ghost in the shell, and altered carbon. kaede runs a cybernetics mechanic shop and is heavily involved in researching... a "new humanity". this study is born out of the mystery surrounding her own nuclear core heart which was her mother's final project before her untimely death. supposedly this heart is the key to restoring the earth back to its more hospitable climate but kaede is unsure how to harness it's power without essentially self-destructing herself and everyone around her.

shadowhunters: this verse is for havi no lie i will iron out the details soon for broader interactions but it is set in the infernal devices timeline. kaede's shop is run out of london's shadowmarket and she is seen as a demon at this point despite her divine lineage. she has lost her fox marble to her brother kirito who had a vendetta against the nephilim after losing his wife, a vampire, who was unjustly accused of killing a shadowhunter and executed for her crimes.

castlevania: TBA

dark academia: TBA

[needcurse]

➥        * 𝙱𝚄𝙵𝙵𝚈 𝚂𝚄𝙼𝙼𝙴𝚁𝚂   , 🧷 . . . this whole thing is all about death. you think you're different 'cause you might be the next slayer ? death is what a slayer breathes, what a slayer dreams about when she sleeps. death is what a slayer lives.

             ▍  note:   my buffy is primarily headcanon-based and i don't mess with the comics. while i take a lot of my characterization from seasons 1-5 i have taken liberties when it comes to the origins of "the slayer" as well as buffy's ascension as an angel post her second death and then her subsequent fall when she is resurrected again. so basically what i'm saying is, don't assume things about my characterization. i'm making this post to get ahead of that since i'm excited to introduce my take on buffy! i also have chosen to make buffy chicana and that will play a large part in my portrayal of her as a girl who is originally from east los angeles.

        ♡  i write buffy strictly after high school and am only really interested in threads where she is in university already as well as beyond that. she had to deal with enough weirdness while underaged in canon so i won't be doing that here.

➥ DOSSIER.

full name: benicia ana summers ( better known as "buffy" ) aliases / titles: b, nici, nicia, the slayer, the chosen one, she who hangs out a lot in cemeteries, the fallen one, santa muerte, la luz del universo, alma del angél, nuestra señora de entierro, la sibila age: 19-25 depending on the verse birthplace: los angeles, california current residence: sunnydale, california gender: cis female ( she / her ) sexuality: bisexual ethnicity: latina ( first gen from mexico ) species: enhanced human birthday: january 19th occupation: defender against the darkness, savior of humanity even if it doesn't pay well, basically a supernatural detective zodiac: capricorn sun, moon in cancer, gemini rising

➥ APPEARANCE.

hair: honey blonde ( dyed ), dark brown ( natural ) eyes: warm brown, amber in the sunlight. height: 5’4” / 162 cm body type: below average height but strong, she has an acrobat's build and is lean and fit due to the nature of her work, she was once a figure skater and still maintains that same bearing and appearance of an athlete at that caliber. notable features... mainly post second resurrection: the scarred ridges along her shoulder blades where her wings once grew, every now and then she still grows an odd feather, she always faintly smells of rose water and burning myrrh, her skin has a certain effulgent quality to it; even in the dark she may have the faint outline of halo of light around her.

➥ ASSOCIATED MOTIFS.

the sacred heart, fraying angel wings, the crucifix, la catrina, mantillas, the tragic heroine, pyrrhic victory, the broken halo, the cycle of katabasis, the figure of the prophetess

➥ HISTORY.

     i am assuming most people know the basics about buffy's character but for the uninitiated ! buffy is the "chosen-one" of prophecy;

♡   ❛  into every generation, there is a chosen one. one girl in all the world. she alone will wield the strength and skill to stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers. ❜

she was called to be the slayer in 1996 at fifteen years old. originally living in east los angeles, her family had to move due to an incident involving a gang of vampires at her high school at the time she relocated to sunnydale with her mother, upon moving they find out that the town itself is a hellmouth. essentially a nexus for supernatural activity. thus buffy's guardianship over sunnydale begins until it's eventually destruction in 2003.

     before coming to sunnydale buffy operated independently and alone. initially upon her arrival she wants nothing more than to hang up her mantle as the slayer and return to her normal life. she eventually does embrace her place in the prophecy but this time with the assistance of her mentor/watcher, giles and her friends xander and willow who are referred to unofficially as, "the scooby gang."

➥ DIVERGENCES. ( angelic lineage of the slayers )

first death & slayer lineage: over the course of the series buffy perishes twice in battle. the first time is in season one finale while facing the master. the perishes while preventing him from bringing about what is essentially vampire armageddon. as according to my blog canon buffy's first death does not quite stick. she never makes it to heaven but rather dithers in limbo. still it is enough to begin to enliven the celestial blood within her as slayer's a descendants of fallen angel turned demon. it makes her connection to the line of slayers before her stronger and she does begin hear them in a faint chorus within her mind.

second death & ascension: buffy effectively martyrs herself when she makes the ultimate sacrifice of giving her life in exchange for her sister dawn's. not all slayers necessary become angels upon their death but given the nature of buffy's death and her already awakened bloodline she is granted wings for all that she has endured.

falling & subsequent resurrection: she doesn't fall out of her own fault but it doesn't matter. being called back to life is a sin in itself and willow forcibly taking buffy from heaven is as good as damning her forever. she digs herself out of her grave with her wings in a state of ruin. she sheds feathers for weeks following her revival and even months after the fact they still grow out of her skin bent and ravaged. the pain is immense but she plucks them immediately each time they emerge.

duality explored: while i think buffy post-season 5 is handed absolutely abysmally on the show i do think her draw to act rashly in an effort to "feel something" is actually fairly accurate to how she conducts herself following her stint in heaven. the mortal world does feel every bit like hell when compared to the bliss and relief she felt after finally dying, she has to constantly remind herself that this is now her reality again and the contentment she had for that fleeting time is over. she will never return to any state of salvation ever again no matter how good or justly she conducts herself.

➥ ABILITIES.

enhanced physical capabilities: like all slayers buffy has heightened physical strength and agility. she can perform feats that someone of her size probably shouldn't but she is a very unconventional fighter because of that. in her training she has used various weapons and has a degree of mastery in them all but largely she favors axes, scythes, and the occasional crossbow... she also likes the romantic nature of swordplay but often it doesn't serve the kind of combat she is getting into. she is an incredibly acrobatic fighter and nimble making her defense just as impressive as her offensive maneuvers.

heightened senses: slayers possessed a heightened awareness of their surroundings, allowing them, with experience, to know the position of an attacker and fight them even without sight. however, buffy is slow to develop the slayer power to sense supernatural activity. as the chosen one should be able to sense a vampire or demon even when disguised. later in life, it is a skill she hones in on but she still typically relies on gut feeling over her slayer perception to suss out potential enemies. she also is able to see in the dark as it aids her in the hunt of nocturnal creatures although her sight is obviously nowhere near as good as a vampire's.

prophecy or death-sense: prophecy is something slayers are plagued with in the form of dreams that give glimpses into potential futures. these visions tend to surround death and are used as forewarning before tragedy unfolds. the function of this precognition is to better ensure the slayer's survival and warn against certain doom. still, there are times that these bursts of prophecy have nothing to do with death. they are vastly driven by emotion and buffy has seen her loved ones deceive her before the events itself occur as well as her lover losing his soul. soooo i think it's safe to say that there is a through line between love and death when it comes to this ability.

➥ VERSES.

the vampire diaries: essentially this verse follows canon pretty closely since the lore between the two shows fit fairly neatly together... which is probably because tvd borrows heavily from buffy and is somewhat of its spiritual successor. the key difference is instead of moving to sunnydale after getting kicked out of her last school buffy and her mother move from los angeles to mystic falls, virginia. i don't think it's a stretch to say that mystic falls essentially functions as an east coast hellmouth. between the long history of witch lineages originating there as well as the salvatore legacy it makes sense that a slayer would be drawn to such a supernatural hub. besides that she attends school around the same time the main cast does and eventually goes off to whitmore college too.

pjo / roman mythology: a roman daughter of victoria, buffy was once her mother's greatest champion and then eventually became her greatest shame. prophesied to the save the world and the gods from certain ruin this destiny is quickly cut short when buffy dies at sixteen. when she fights her way out of the underworld back to her mother's side she is spurned and her wings are ripped from her back. it is eros who takes pity on the loveless child, becoming her patron but it comes at the cost of heart ( doomed to only love the dead and never the living ) to this day she is treated as a fugitive of the underworld. she is constantly pursued by lemures attempting to drag her back beneath the earth for judgement.

shadowhunters: a ward of the los angeles institute in the late 90s to early 2000s. often referred to as the most promising shadowhunter of her age. i don't have all the details for this verse nailed down. honestly i did give up on reading the dark artifices after the first book because it was all over the place so my knowledge on the LA shadowhunter scene will be largely vibes and headcanons based. i do think buffy is in higher possession of angel's blood than the average shadowhunter but i'm not trying to have her eclipse clary's storyline in any way. the abilities this heightened concentration of blood has on her gives her the gift of prophecy though. also faith is her parabatai because i say so <3

castlevania: primarily netflix castlevania nocturne-based. in the late 1700s buffy's family is living in what was then known as new spain (mexico). this verse is pretty trigger-heavy given the nature of colonization but that is central to noctune's storyline and i won't be shying away from the violence the spaniards wrought on the indigenous populations. never to glorify but it is a reality that cannot be swept under the rug when talking about this time period. buffy herself is mixed indigenous (aztec) and spanish. during this time period this status, as well as her fairer complexion, would allow her some social mobility. it is something she uses to get in the room with members of high society and track down spanish vampires who are targeting mexican woman as a food source. these crimes go largely unnoticed because these women aren't white and it is solely buffy that seeks justice for them. her hunts have earned her somewhat of a folkhero status but also has put a very large target on her back.

apoc/tlou: TBA

dark academia: TBA

gothic horror: TBA

[needcurse]

»»        * 𝒢REY 𝐻OLLOW    ஐ🪽 . . .      my eldest sister had grown into a gossamer slip of a woman with hair like spun sugar and a face out of greek mythology…

         ▍   note:   this dossier is not spoiler-free so if you plan reading hous.se of hollow just be prepared for that. also, this book sits firmly in the horror genre and dark themes will be explored and discussed here and in threads with grey. everything will be tagged accordingly but big content warnings for gore, suicide,  body horror, child death, and mentions of sexual assault.

» DOSSIER.

full name: grey hollow ( real name unknown ) aliases / titles: director hollow, the soul-stitcher, guardian of the halfway age: 21-30 ( real age unknown ) birthplace: london, england current residence: wherever her career in fashion takes her. gender: transfemme ( she / her ) sexuality: bisexual species: changeling human birthday: june 2nd occupation: former runway/editorial model, currently the lead fashion designer at house of hollow zodiac: gemini sun, moon in leo, virgo rising

» APPEARANCE.

hair: pale blonde, nearly white eyes: pitch black height: 5’11” / 180 cm body type: long, extended limbs, a ballet-dancer's build, strong and lithe voice: a sweet voice with an undertone of gravel. her laugh is low and intoxicating and she speaks with careful locution notable features: a crescent moon-shaped scar at the base of her throat... it was once quite gruesome but it has healed in time to a pale, raised mark, perilously sharp canines, a predatory grace to her gait

» ASSOCIATED MOTIFS.

black widow spiders. a venus flytrap, arctic foxes, cuckoo birds, wisteria, carrion flowers, silver knitting scissors, crawling lichen over bark, the thread of ariadne, theseus & the minotaur, arachne

» HISTORY.

     it has been ten years since the hollow sister first went missing.     ten years since they disappeared off a street in edinburgh on new years eve,    in plain sight.     it has been nine years and eleven months since the three girls were found.    nine years since gabe hollow committed suicide after having his daughters returned to him.    no one knows where the girls went.    no one knows why their hair turned white.    no one knows why their eyes turned black.    everyone wants answers but there are none to be found... 

     grey hollow wears her secrets like silk.     diaphanous and enticing all while revealing nothing.    a puzzle box of a woman,    intent on feeding her own myth for personal and monetary gain.    grey was sixteen when she left home and she hasn't looked back since.    in the years leading up to her modeling career,    grey took on crafting of all sorts to make ends meet.    her most successful hustle by far being taxidermy.    her interest persists to this day but the hobby fell to the wayside once she was discovered and boosted into fame and fortune.     

     no one remembers the forgotten month,    no one but grey...      the burden of being the eldest,    of being charged with being her sisters' keeper.    the sisters hollow live at a distance because peculiarities begin to unfold in the event of their close proximity.    grey being the strangest of all three still exudes it even in the absence of her sisters.    she channels weirdness into weaving.    this penchant for peculiarities into thread and lace and pearls.    her designs evoke a realm of the fantastical and grotesque.    art that reflects her reality rather than what a regular person would see.   

SPOILERS AHEAD [ ! ] grey has known that her and her siblings were changelings since they came back from beyond the veil.    she has studied multiple texts and spellbooks,    in her research and she has found a way back to limbo multiple times.    over the years she has passed back through the veil and back into the mortal realm beyond the notice of her sisters or other folk.    being the eldest,    grey had been the one to stitch her sisters into the skin of the once-mortal hollow girls.    together they are three dead souls living in the flesh of three other dead girls.    souls that escaped the in-between by stealing the appearance of lost children.    

     grey has no moral quandary over what she had done to grant her and her sisters another life.    she doesn't remember who she was before,    her only drive was survival,    to carve out a place for herself into the life of another girl...    and what a woman she has become.    enigmatic and at times cruel,    she is someone you want to get to know but seems too far to touch.    her fame allows a strange anonymity;    as she can easily control the narrative surrounding her,    considering her specific skill set,    while still operating in the public eye.    people only know what she wants them to know about her;    nothing more,    nothing less.    

» ABILITIES.

pheromones: everything about her entices you,    draws you in.    like a poisonous flower she seems to be all beauty at first but there is a special kind of venom in her touch.    simply brushing skin against skin with grey makes you susceptible to compulsion.    she can persuade people to do whatever she wants with nothing more than a kiss.    although all she really needs to do is brush a thumb across a wrist,    or a palm at your cheek.    it is not only touch,    her whole presence makes people want to please her and get her attention.    it is a hunger and this power when unchecked actually can result in aggression rather than placidity.    in the case of her younger sister,    iris who doesn't quite have a handle on her abilities.    whoever comes into contact with a sister may try to attack them,    to consume them,    to kiss them,    to have them intimately and violently.    grey has managed to channel all of these feelings outward.    she is the thing that hungers,    she is thing with teeth in the dark.     there is a catch!  those who have been in close contact with death or have had a near-death experience of their own are immune to the sway of the hollow sisters.    since their magic is rooted in their own deaths it cannot touch those who have crossed the veil as well.    

heightened agility & strength: pretty self-explanatory.    grey is more durable than a regular mortal and her strength is fairly immense.    her power is heightened with every trip across the veil she makes she grows more strange and more powerful.    she returns a little less human after each crossing.     

chlorokinesis: the sister with a green thumb.    iris notes that wiseria in particular has a fondness for grey and has at times crawled into her mouth during sleep.    this is a less an active skill and more a passive ability.    from an outsider's perspective there seems to just be a mess of flowers about grey hollow.    specifically carrion flowers,    better known as corpse flowers, often crop up in her wake.    very on the nose but since she is a rotting thing herself it is no surprise that her presence actively fertilizes the ground around her.    

potions / runic magic: grey is not a practiced witch or really an official witch in any regard.    her studies really only surround ways to cross the veil but she has delved into runic magic and potions specifically as they help assist in her crossings.    she also frequently weaves spells into her designs and creations.    it has been rumored that her perfume lovingly dubbed: hollow is a potion as well given it's rather…    unique scent.   

conditional immortality: it is implied that grey can repeat her initial act of stealing a body. considering she still has access to the world beyond the veil it is possible for her to stitch herself into a new body once her current one has run its course. she can jump from host to host although it is not as easy as slimply slipping a coat on and off. a potential host has to be of similar build and make, and it requires an immense amount of power to eat away at the life, the guts, the baggage that comes with a new set of skin.

» VERSES.

ninth house / dark academia: a fashion design student attending yale university in order to gain access to the houses of veil. grey is a member of manuscript and is a skilled mimic and illusionist in her own right. her main goal for joining the ranks of the ancient eight is to seek a way to be rid of the minotaur that has been hunting her down for most of her adolescence. circumstances reach a fever pitch when the bull arrives on campus along with her youngest sister, iris hollow.

        » affiliated with @daylighter

high-fantasy: no one knows the origins of lady hollow... only that she is the most sought after seamstress across the realm. grey has built her reputation on the magic she weaves into the garments she constructs. a witch for a talent with needle and thread it is said her creations can make even the most lowly alluring to all. her true motivations are not know but it is wonder how she ends up in such high places when she is a woman of little means and station. she is often seen by the side of monarchs both large and small whispering in their ear gossip, imbuing them with doubts and reassurances alike.

grishaverse: born of a ravkan mother and kaelish father, grey has kept her abilities as a alkemi hidden from her sisters and parents alike but when her younger siblings catch onto her abilities. she begins to use her potions to conceive of her grandest lie yet... that she is a distant lantsov heir and therefore in the line of succession for the throne. grey's specialty are serums that make those who come into close proximity to her susceptible to her will and her art of persuasion. essentially these are mild poisons that function closer aphrodisiacs more than anything else. this elaborate ruse is all means to secure a position of safety for her and her sisters as they have had to live in hiding until now.

[needcurse]

»»        * 𝐼CHIHARA 𝒴ŪKO    ஐ🪽 . . .      people are always more likely to do something once it has been forbidden. and after they have crossed that line, there is no telling what else they are capable of doing to get what it is they want. the things that a person wishes for often reveal more of them than they like.

         ▍   note:   yūko is an incredibly op muse but also her curse makes it so even if she is aware of the future she is not allowed to directly interact or change an outcome. her knowledge is her biggest asset and also what haunts her most. she will know things about your muse without being told, i will use my discretion with this ability but it is important to keep in mind.

» DOSSIER.

full name: ichihara yūko ( 壱原 侑子 ) true name: agehana (揚花) titles: the dimension witch, the space-time witch, the far-east witch age: unknown ( appears to be in her 30s ) birthplace: unknown current residence: tokyo, japan gender: cis female ( she / her ) sexuality: bisexual ethnicity: mixed japanese/han-chinese/manchu-descent birthday: unknown occupation: shop keeper, granter of wishes languages: limitless… most spoken are: japanese, mandarin, cantonese, korean, mongolian, and rarely english

» APPEARANCE.

hair: endlessly long inky black, tapers off at the bottom of her calves eyes: switch between a warm gold and wine red depending on the day height: 5'9" / 175 cm body type: slender and elongated limbs, yūko is tall but also incredibly curvaceous, she has an hourglass figure and the personality to match it behaviors: prone to drinking heavily and smoking without end, she can be seen doing both in tandem more often than not, she lounges about most days and finds no greater pleasure than eating and gossiping, she has a temperament that can change at the drop of a hat; ranging from direly serious to completely ridiculous and child-like from one moment to the next.

» ASSOCIATED MOTIFS.

swallow-tailed butterflies, peacocks, wolves, chrysanthemums, spider lilies, lotus flowers, the crescent moon, curling smoke tendrils, the wheel of fortune arcana

» HISTORY.

       yūko is the owner of a mysterious shop in tokyo. she is a dealer in wishes as she will grant the sincere wish of anyone who is willing to make an appropriate sacrifice in return; the price is always equivalent to the weight of the wish, no more, no less. a sorceress of immense power thus she is one of the few people with the ability to send people to multiple worlds, such that she has been aptly named the dimension witch. yūko herself possesses knowledge across multiple timelines and can traverse through time and worlds though she tends to keep to her own corner of the universe.

       despite her immense power the witch is an eccentric wine aunt to her core. yūko is often seen as a cryptic, deeply puzzling figure within the confines of her canon. she speaks in a manner akin to riddle and also comes off as a person with little care other than indulging in her own vices. underneath her enigmatic persona is a deeply sorrowful woman with a loneliness with no cure. many years ago she was cursed with immortality by her former lover. in her last moments he wished for her life to continue on and since then she has been frozen in time.

       currently her role is that of maintaining the cosmic balance of the universe. all the while she trains... and tortures her apprentice watanuki and sends him on mystical errands to help test the limits of his skills. she is a guardian to cursed objects, a collector of memories, a keeper of worlds, and a relentless and unforgiving teacher. her work is that of tending to a multiversal garden; to guide fate but not directly oppose it or chart its course.

» ABILITIES.

wish-granting: all of yūko's customers must pay a price in order to grant their wishes, which can be no more or no less than the one demanded, or else harm will come one's way. she is not one to tell her customers the most direct way to solve their problems because in the end, it can only be solved with that person's own realization and resolution to change themselves. often if the person lacks the sincere determination to change themselves, a karmic disaster that cannot be stopped will inevitably befall them.

dimensional travel: most relevant to canon, is how she can send other people through time at her own behest. yūko herself can traverse through other dimensions, parallel or otherwise, and often does so in order to obtain materials related to her shop or fulfill the wishes of others across the multiverse

time travel: similar to her ability to transport herself to other dimensions yūko is also able to travel through time although on a daily basis she uses this ability to help channel her precognitive abilities. it should also be noted that she does not perceive all the timelines, all the time, all at once. rather she can channel specific moments when needed. though it is possible for her to perceive multiple universes at the same time it is an ability that requires more focus than she can afford daily.

divination: for yūko this is more of a tool to help her hone in on her space-time skillset. it aides her focus and narrows her view point across the multiverse to access very specific information about very specific people. scrying is her preferred method of divining but she is capable of accessing information through other channels as well.

emotional perception: required for wish-granting, yūko knows the desires of anyone she comes across inherently. desires function as unfulfilled wishes or wishes that have not yet been realized therefore yūko is able parse out what lies in the depths others peoples hearts without having to be explicitly told.

telepathy: a conditional skill that has only been shown to work on those who have made deals with yūko. this isn't an ability she employs often and to be honest it is usually used to get a quick laugh out of her by scaring whoever's mind she manages to worm her way into.

» VERSES.

i'll come back and edit this once i have more detailed verses written out ! but or now a good rule of thumb for crossover interactions is the fact that yūko's shop can exist ANYWHERE in many different contexts and serving an infinite amount of functions. the shop is like it's owner a chamleon entity changing it's shape and name to suite it's environment. either that or she is masquerading as a literature teacher at your local high school/university!

[needcurse]

»»        * 𝐸LIZABETH "𝒷𝑒𝓉𝒽" 𝐻ARMON    ஐ🪽 . . .      it's an entire world of just 64 squares. i feel safe in it. i can control it; i can dominate it. and it's predictable. so, if i get hurt, i only have myself to blame.     < muse notes >

         ▍   disclaimer :   both the queen's gambit book and the limited series are pieces of media that depict severe cases of substance abuse. i will not be shying away from this element of beth's character as it is central to her arc in the narrative. it is also a large part of what informs her motivations and actions as a character. that being said, i myself have not struggled with alcoholism or drug addiction so if at any point my portrayal of either seems disingenuous or wrong please feel free to reach out to me so i can do more research and adjust my writing.

» DOSSIER.

full name: elizabeth "beth" olivia harmon nicknames / titles: beth, the white queen, the rita hayworth of chess, red devil, kentucky state champion (1963–1967), united states champion (1967–), grandmaster (1970–) age: 21-33 years old birthplace: winchester, kentucky gender: cis female ( she / her ) sexuality: bisexual ethnicity: scottish american birthday: november 2nd, 1948 zodiac: scorpio sun, capricorn moon, aquarius rising occupation: professional chess player languages: english, russian, rudimentary french current residence: between kentucky and the rolodex of international hotel rooms she stays in during the competition circuit

» APPEARANCE.

hair: naturally red, more bronze than deep crimson eyes: light blue, can appear more turquoise depending on the light height: 5'5" / 165 cm body type: average height and a more curvaceous build. beth isn't very athletic and struggles with alcoholism that causes her weight to fluctuate often. she teeters back and forth from average to a more plus-sized appearance d epending on how bad she is spiraling at the time. notable features: a scatter of freckles over the bridge of her nose. her perfectly styled red bob with not a single hair out of place. her impeccable wardrobe that is often quoted as being "too stylish for chess". a wide-dissecting stare that is almost uncomfortable in its unwavering focus.

» HISTORY.

     beth harmon is orphaned at age eight when her mother dies in a car crash.   growing up in an orphanage in kentucky,   she is taught chess by the custodian mr.   shaibel,   and soon becomes a chess prodigy.   while at the orphanage,   she struggles with an addiction to tranquilizers.   in her teens she is adopted by the wheatley family and begins her rapid rise in the chess world,   eventually challenging the top soviet players.   as her skill and profile grows,   so does her dependency on tranquilizers and eventually alcohol

     in her adulthood,   beth is portrayed as an obsessive,   unable to keep any other element in her life in order outside of her own success within the chess competitive landscape.   she is a young woman with undiagnosed autism and a good portion of her hyperfixation on the game of chess can be attributed to her particular neurosis.   she is also someone who is fairly socially awkward and prefers her own company over the company of others.   part of the reason why she enjoys chess is the fact that it doesn't require a conversation or an interaction between players besides what is occurring on the board itself.

     outside of her career she has trouble maintaining personal relationships.   between her addictions and the amount of focus she puts into improving her strategies,   she is an unreliable friend,   often disappearing for months at a time without a single phone call or word.   overall she is a difficult person to get close to,   especially to those who exist outside of the competitive world of chess.   the game will always be the center of her life no matter who chooses to stay by her side.  

» VERSES.

bridgerton /  regency: both a prodigy and an oddity alike.   in the wake of the death of beth's adoptive mother she is sent to live with extended family in england,   as she was without any support at all in virginia.   as an orphan she was hidden away from society and kept in the upper levels of her aunt's home.   soon enough,   her penchant for chess is made known to the estate's maids and word eventually travels to her aunt who seeks to exploit her niece as a public spectacle.   beth is often dragged along to balls and set up in the parlor to play chess against party-goers for entertainment.   while she is admired for her skills she is still persona non grata,  given her lack of social standing and her status as a woman without a dowry to be given.   she exists on the fringes of high society,   just within reach but never a part of it.   

ninth house / dark academia: what would you do to never lose again?    after a crushing defeat on the competitive chess circuit beth looks to unsavory means to ensure all her future victories.   making a faustian bargain with a chaos demon she sells a fraction of her soul for boundless luck.   enrolling into yale as a mathematics and russian language double major she seeks out the school's magical underbelly once her demon begins to slip its leash.    

grishaverse: hailing from the wandering isle beth is currently a student enrolled in the university of ketterdam.   when she's not in classes she can be seen making bets over chess with her wealthy classmates.   her wins help fund her tuition and also are a way for her to practice her heartrending abilities by checking the pulse points of her opponents.   knowing their heart rates helps her guess their next move… and she may toy with the nervous system of her more vindictive adversaries.   her grisha status is a secret to the broader public and only her friend jolene is aware of beth's affinity.   

pjo / greco-roman myth verse: a gifted tactician and roman demi-goddess, beth is a daughter of mars and valued asset of the legion due to her mind for strategy. her efforts to protect the roman encampment are usually carried out from behind closed doors and she is a figure heavily shrouded in mystery as she herself has never seen battle despite being the progeny of a war god ( this verse is still HEAVILY under construction but i am looking to develop it further ! )

[needcurse]

     ஐ🪽       book! beth v.s. show! beth: overall the miniseries was a pretty faithful adaption and there were even some updates ( considering that the book is from the 80s ) that i even enjoyed more than what was written on the page.

redhead beth, i really enjoyed this choice. for screen it makes perfect sense to give the mc a defining physical trait that instantly makes them stand out in a room. in the book it was the fact that beth was quite literally a school girl in a field largely dominated by grown men that called attention to her. but as a modern audience i think her being a woman doesn't catch the eye as much as it used to. regardless, visual shorthand of red hair frequently signaling a short fuse. it also draws a line between her and the game. she is neither fair-haired or dark-haired she can play both colors and win not relying on the advantage of white going first and black answering.

being"too glamorous" for chess, beth is fairly fashionable in the novel as well but it isn't called out too much by reporters and the like. if anything this attention to her clothing is more a symbol of her growing up rather than being a smartly dressed young woman as a whole. i think beth's love of clothes makes perfect sense, she loves to win and loves to show off what she has won. flaunting her earnings through her wardrobe as another way of displaying her success is in line with her being vain and of course, boastful.

she plays the game with flourish so presenting herself with that same kind of showmanship is an interesting and believable parallel!

the jolene problem, the show admittedly handled this dynamic better but still relegates jolene into the role of "the black best friend" . it really is telling to that jolene is just a plot device rather than a friend to beth as she only comes back into the story when beth goes on a bender to help her get back into shape and fund her trip to russia. i don't want to completely discount their relationship based on how it was handled in both the book and the show so in terms of my portrayal beth and jolene stay in contact after beth gets adopted. they exchange letters and call each other through out the years, once jolene leaves methuen orphanage they get dinner together when beth is back in town. their friendship is one of the few stable relationships beth has in her life, especially after alma dies.

cw; sexual assault, on this note it was entirely unnecessary to have jolene touch beth inappropriately when they were children, also to force her to touch jolene in turn. this scene contributed nothing to the overall plot of the book and plays into the harmful trope of adultifying young black girls. absolutely not happening here on my blog.

cleo, and beth's presumed bisexuality, cleo and beth do not have a sexual relationship in the book. the whole bar scene doesn't actually happen at all. this, as well as beth's romantic notion of moving to paris and living a glamorous life akin to a model's is an invention of the show. that being said i think beth being a closeted bisexual adds an interesting layer to her character. i do view her as a character that is somewhat on the aromantic spectrum but i do think she enjoys the physicality of sex. we don't get to see her interact with many women her age in canon outside of jolene and i view them as sisters more then romantically linked. beth's relationship with cleo is definitely blog canon though even if it was more of a fling than a real romance.

[needcurse]

{ * 𝒦o 𝑀oon-𝒴oung      🎀    . . .      a fairytale is a cruel fantasy that illustrates the brutality and violence of this world in a paradoxical manner. it isn't a hallucinogen that gives us hope and dreams. it's a stimulant that makes us face reality.

        ▍    disclaimer:  it's okay to not be okay is a series that tackles mental health issues head on. there are many discussions in canon surrounding s*icide and depression so if that is something you are sensitive to moon-young is probably not the muse for you to interact with. please take care of yourself and avoid if any of these conversations make you uncomfortable or trigger you any way 🫶

𝜗𝜚 DOSSIER.

FULL NAME: ko moon-young NICKNAMES / ALIASES: the witch in the castle, witch of words, rapunzel, cinderella in fifteen-centimeter slippers AGE: 29-35 years old BIRTHPLACE: a small town in gangwon province, south korea GENDER: cis female ( she / her ) SEXUALITY: bisexual SPECIES: human ETHNICITY: south korean BIRTHDAY: june 2rd ZODIAC: gemini sun, aquarius moon, scorpio rising OCCUPATION: children's book author CURRENT RESIDENCE: her family home in gangwon or an apartment in seoul

𝜗𝜚 APPEARANCE.

HAIR: a natural black, it was once incredibly long and fell just below her waist but has since been cut to sit against her shoulders EYES: deep brown and wide doe-eyes, deceptively innocent HEIGHT: 5'7" / 170 cm BODY TYPE: above average height including the heels she usually wears so moon-young is a towering figure. she is fairly thin although not particularly athletic in build. NOTABLE FEATURES: her absurd wardrobe; everything she wears is in-fashion but also completely extravagant, she often wears a blank, lifeless expression as she has difficulty emoting properly in certain situations, a low commanding voice.

𝜗𝜚 HISTORY.

ko moon-young was raised in an isolated manor home in the south korean countryside by two parents who were extremely public figures. her father, ko dae-hwan, was a world-renowned architect, and her mother, do hui-jae, was a famous author. perhaps her mother's most infamous work was her series, "killing the wicked witch of the west." which she died before she could complete. as a young child, moon-young was fragile; living alone surrounded by her loneliness and isolation. as an only child she only had herself to keep her company as her mother began to develop an unhealthy relationship with her. hui-jae saw moon-young as an extension of herself and from the time she was a girl onward raised her in her image. it was a loveless relationship that hinged more on a mother's jealousy towards her daughter than love . hui-jae's behavior only grew more erratic as the years went on until one day, moon-young's mother murders one of the household staff in a fit of rage. the first to come upon the body is moon-young's feather dae-hwan, upon discovering this crime he murdered his wife unable to cope with what he has witnessed. unbeknownst to him, moon-young had witnessed both deaths from the shadows. as weeks passed on, in the wake of these killings moon young's father becomes increasingly more paranoid. he fears that his daughter will end up inheriting his wife’s draw towards violence. the thoughts begin to consume him until one night, when moon-young is asleep, he tries to strangle her to death in her bedroom. moon-young survives the attack but from then on she is effectively an orphan once her father is institutionalized for his behavior. as an adult moon-young has followed in her mother's footsteps, having become a children's book author of great success. her works, while popular, tend to feature morbid imagery and topics such as witches and misunderstood children and animals that are finding different ways to cope with their own loneliness. it's also important to note that at this stage of her life moon-young has been diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder. she has not really faced her diagnosis head-on and often still engages in bad habits such as being reclusive, standoffish, and at times violent. while she does have some semblance of celebrity she rarely makes public appearances and often keeps to herself.

𝜗𝜚 PORTRAYAL NOTES ( TLDR )

as i said above, moon-young is a character that struggles with aspd. i'm not someone who has this disorder myself but i always want to be respectful in portraying muses that are neurodivergent. i will be reading and educating myself on aspd but if i seem out of line in anyway please let me know and i won't take offense! 

while moon-young is a muse that isn't set in a fantasy setting she writes books that are proper fairytales. there will be a lot of references to fables and folklore in my writing just because that is a cornerstone of moon-young's interests and also a way she is able to understand the world around her. 

moon-young is a muse that can act irrationally and volatile at times. i will never cross certain boundaries with my partners but i also don't plan on toning down this aspect of her character as it is a large part of her development. 

speaking of fantasy, i do have a fantasy verse for moon-young that features her as some sort of vampire / blood-crafter.  she grows up in what can easily be described as a victorian mansion in the middle of the woods and has enough rumors surrounding her true identity for this mystical aspect of her character to not change much of her canon arc.

[needcurse]

          ▍ 🎀 * portrayal notes on benicia summers:  essentially i am tossing out most of the lore surrounding the origins of the slayer. don't even need to further elaborate as plenty of black buffy fans have come out over the years talking about how poorly handled sineya's storyline was. this post is to elaborate on how buffy's role specifically deviates from the slayers before as she has met her end not once but twice.

what's staying the same: the root of the slayer's power being directly tied to demonic energy. their power comes for the merging of a girl with a demon... but the catch is said demon was once an angel and this shred of divinity is why this melding of souls didn't kill the first slayer.

divergences / blog lore: buffy's first death does not quite stick. she never makes it to heaven but rather dithers in limbo still it is enough to begin to enliven the celestial blood within her. it makes her connection to the line of slayers before her stronger and she does begin hear them in a faint chorus within her mind.

physiological changes: oddly enough she seems even more alive following her first resurrection. there is a luminescence to her and a lightness to her steps as if she were gliding instead of walking. her heightened senses are keener than ever and whatever she wields arc is a clean line of glimmering gold. also, she always smells faintly of rose water and burning myrrh.

second death & ascension: buffy effectively martyrs herself when she makes the ultimate sacrifice of giving her life in exchange for dawn's. not all slayers necessary become angels upon their death but given the nature of buffy's death and her already awakened bloodline she is granted wings for all that she has endured.

falling & subsequent resurrection: she doesn't fall out of her own fault but it doesn't matter. being called back to life is a sin in itself and willow forcibly taking buffy from heaven is as good as damning her forever. she digs herself out of her grave with her wings in a state of ruin. she sheds feathers for weeks following her revival and even months after the fact they still grow out of her skin bent and ravaged. the pain is immense but she plucks them immediately each time they emerge.

duality explored: while i think buffy post-season 5 is handed absolutely abysmally on the show i do think her draw to act rashly in an effort to "feel something" is actually fairly accurate to how she conducts herself following her stint in heaven. the mortal world does feel every bit like hell when compared to the bliss and relief she felt after finally dying, she has to constantly remind herself that this is now her reality again and the contentment she had for that fleeting time is over. she will never return to any state of salvation ever again no matter how good or justly she conducts herself.

[needcurse]

{ * 𝒞laire 𝑀aria 𝒩uñez      🎀    . . .      she seems the perfect ingenue but there is a thread of shadow that cuts through the sweetness; you can tell when death has touched someone like that

        ▍    disclaimer:  claire is a character that was originally set in an urban fantasy setting. this will still be a key genre in her portrayal but i am choosing to write her primarily in a more dark academia based verse which chronicles claire's university years while attending college on the east coast. will be drawing inspiration from certain books within this genre such as ninth house and the legendborn cycle.

𝜗𝜚 DOSSIER.

FULL NAME: claire maria nuñez TITLES / ALIASES: shadowdancer, sorceress of shadows, lady claire, master of riddles, apprentice and handmaiden to morgana le fey AGE: 19-24 years old BIRTHPLACE: the suburbs of los angeles, california GENDER: cis female ( she / her ) SEXUALITY: bisexual SPECIES: witch / shadowmancer ETHNICITY: latina ( mexican ) BIRTHDAY: april 24th ZODIAC: taurus sun, libra moon, pisces rising OCCUPATION: student, aspiring stage-actress, drummer for her band las calaveras CURRENT RESIDENCE: arcadia oaks, california ( home ), new haven, connecticut ( while she attends yale ) ABILITIES: please refer to the wiki this post is long enough i fear lol

𝜗𝜚 APPEARANCE.

HAIR COLOR: dark brown, with either blue or white streaks of color in her bangs EYE COLOR: nearly black but they turn a lambent violet when she is casting spells HEIGHT: 5'5" / 165 cm BODY TYPE: of average height with a fair amount of curves, she is in shape but not overly athletic NOTABLE FEATURES: a significant amount of white hairs, flecks of amethyst in her dark eyes, the veins of her inner wrists seem uncharacteristically dark in color, shadows bend towards her wherever she goes

𝜗𝜚 HISTORY.

claire is first introduced as an honors student and talented actress at arcadia oaks high school. when she is casted opposite james lake jr, better known as jim, in their production of romeo and juliet she begins to notice something is amiss. jim continues to miss countless rehearsals and can't give claire a clear reason as to why he keeps breaking his commitments.  this is when claire begins to start digging into jim's whereabouts and she finds out about his possession of an ancient artifact known as the amulet of daylight.  the holder of the amulet is known as the trollhunter, a title conceived of during the age of merlin, who created the amulet to choose a champion capable of being a protector of all trollkind until the day of his/her death. once his secret is out jim reveals that claire's baby brother, enrique, has been replaced with a changeling child and he has been desperately trying to find a means to return him. in order to save her brother she starts to help jim with his trollhunting responsibilities on the condition that he continue his search for her brother. as they hunt for answers the pair and their mutual friend toby become entrenched in a battle between two troll factions. one being the army of gunmar which originally orchestrated the fall of camelot and that of heartstone trollmarket which falls under jim's domain. as a means to better ready herself for this battle claire begins the process of learning shadowmancy after she comes into the possession of a rare artifact known as, skathe-hrü, the shadow staff. this weapon gives her access to the shadow realm; a mysterious space between worlds, a plane of chaos, devoid of light or reason. there the great witch morgana le fay has been sealed away and once claire opens the doorway between these two worlds the witch begins to sneak through.   claire starts to show signs of possession as her personality gradually shifts from good-natured to utterly hostile. her eyes glow gold and black, the cadence of her voice loses all its characteristic sweetness, and she becomes extremely paranoid and irritable. during this time it is revealed that morgana was actually the one behind gunmar's original machinations. she orchestrated the fall of camelot and she is trying to use claire as a way to destroy the trollhunter and thus clear her path to destroying merlin's legacy.  eventually morgana takes full control of claire's body and traps her in the shadow realm. claire only regains control after jim and toby both travel into the shadow realm to shake her from her looping nightmare.

𝜗𝜚 PORTRAYAL NOTES ( TLDR )

most of the canon events listed above still occur but they all take place during claire's senior year of high school. she leaves arcadia oaks to attend university after morgana is "defeated".

while at university it becomes clear to claire that morgana's possession had long term effects on her and she still experiences episodes where she loses time and ends up somewhere without remembering how she got there. 

her baby brother, enrique was never saved. this becomes the only reason why she hasn't tried to banish morgana from her body completely again because of thewitch's ability to restore lost souls. 

she becomes somewhat of a hedge witch while away at school attending classes during the day and then practicing dark magic by night, in secrecy to better understand her capabilities and how she might be able to resurrect her brother. 

claire is a performing arts and english literature double major. she also is the drummer of las calaveras, a band she started with a few of her classmates upon arriving at university. 

her being a practicing witch will be on a need to know basis. the only people who are aware of this are her friends back at arcadia oaks but claire is toying with the idea of starting a coven.

[needcurse]

{ * FELICIA & TYCHOKINESIS ⿻  . . .  // since it's blog canon for me that felicia never loses her abilities to inflict "bad luck" on others i wanted to detail out what this exactly means for herself and people who choose to be around her

▍note:  black cat's original "bad luck" powers were imbued by scientists working for the kingpin through a bargain made with him. later these powers were said to be removed by doc.tor strange but i personally like the idea of felicia growing to learn how to use her newfound abilities although she struggles a lot to keep her "bad luck" self-contained for the first few years

⇲  probability:  this power allows her to subliminally affect probability fields, which would cause improbable, though not impossible, events of "bad luck" to occur to enemies within her line of sight. basically if something can go wrong it will when she trains her sights on you. nothing to outlandish, just the right amount of off-kilter energy for the party being affected to know something is definitely amiss.

⇲  base-level magic immunity: it is also of note that this ability directly affects magic, which in canon is often described as the manipulation of local probability fields. this gives felicia some protection against magical spells and also means magic users are wary of her in general. she can easily upset the balance in energies required to perform a spell accurately which can have catastrophic results depending on who the caster in question is and what they are trying to execute.

⇲  bad luck charm: for the first few years her abilities are something she cannot stop from facing inward. her personal relationships fall apart left and right and even some of her heists are unable to go off without a hitch. many begin to believe that she is actively trying to sabotage her own friendships and romantic pursuits ( often she does do this, just not with the aid of any special power lol ) slowly she begins to target her powers in a more concentrated way but when she gets emotional it can often result in uh… bad news for her and those around her. 

⇲  thieving luck: in a way felicia's output of "bad luck" comes from her stealing good luck from others. as i said it is a balancing act the more success she has, the luckier she seems to be the worse it's going for everyone around her. there have been times that she has utterly abused this power for her own personal vendettas. which is a long-winded way of saying she has a deadly vindictive streak. best not to cross a black cat just to be safe! 

[needcurse]

{ * 𝙵𝙸𝙻𝙴𝙳 𝚄𝙽𝙳𝙴𝚁: GALAXY STERN ⿻ // and what tools did alex have? a little magic. a talent for misfortune. the ability to take a beating. it would have to be enough.

         ▍    note: the alex ster.n series is very trigger heavy as the books exist firmly in the horror genre. there will be mentions of substance abuse, death, suicide, and sexual assault below please proceed with caution

⇲ DOSSIER

FULL NAME: galaxy stern ALIASES/NICKNAME: alex (preferred to galaxy), dante, alexandra, the wheelwalker, honey-eater AGE: 21, 25-31 in her post yale verses GENDER: non-binary femme leaning ( she / they ) SEXUALITY: bisexual ETHNICITY: half-latina / country of origin not-specified and a quarter sephardic jewish BIRTHDAY: october 26, 1999 ZODIAC: sun in scorpio, moon in taurus, capricorn rising RELIGION: judaism CURRENT RESIDENCE: new haven, connecticut

⇲ APPEARANCE

HAIR COLOR: natural black EYE COLOR: dark brown HEIGHT: 5’4” / 162cm SKIN TONE: tan with a deep olive undertone, she tends to be on the paler side after leaving california

⇲ HISTORY

ALEX CAN SEE GHOSTS.    grays,    as they later find out they are called.    she has been haunted by them since before she could remember.    their decaying appearances tormenting them.    they follow her to school.    they ride the bus with her.    they are there when she is sleeping,    when she is changing,    when she is bathing.    they can’t run from them.    

UNTIL THE DRUGS.    alex is twelve years old when they find out that if they dull their senses enough she can keep the grays at bay.    alcohol,    oxy,    valium anything that puts her out of focus and gets her out of her mind.    the substance abuse eventually consumes their life.    forcing her to drop out of school and run away from home just so they can keep their supply steady and their mind comfortably numb.    the addiction has bled into every facet of her life.   

GROUND ZERO.    alex is twenty now and living with her boyfriend and several of his friends.    one  night,    a series of violent murders take place in their home leaving alex the sole survivor of the tragedy.    their involvement in the death of their friends is unclear yet there is no substantial evidence to claim that alex is in fact the killer.    the blunt force trauma many of the victims suffered require far more force than someone of her size should be able to manage… 

YALE UNIVERSITY.    alex is given a scholarship to attend yale university in new haven,    connecticut.    right from her hospital bed to campus they are allowed a conditional attendance.    the catch? she must enter the school as a member of one of yale’s oldest secret societies,    lethe house.    the dean admits that the university has been watching them and has known about their ability to see grays since they were a child.    alex's admission hinges on her willingness to use her sight to help lethe.   

LETHE HOUSE.    magic is real and lethe acts as a supervisor to the other eight yale houses/secret-societies,    as they perform various rites in their prospective fields of spellcraft.    alex is assigned the role of dante to virgil,    daniel arlington (darlington).    as a mentor and mentee pair they oversee all magic-usage on campus and report on their findings.    they keep magical order on campus and lethe is essentially the reason why magic is even allowed to be practiced on campus.    as a house they have the most power in terms of university backing and can even strip other societies of their tombs/club houses.   

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF DANIEL TABOR ARLINGTON V.    within their first year they manage to screw up so royally and lose their virgil.    the pair go to investigate a weather anomaly in the basement of one of the old society houses only to stumble across a hellbeast.     darlington gets swallowed by the creature and sent beyond the veil and alex spends the rest of their freshmen year trying to establish contact and bring back her mentor.     riddled with guilt thinking she is partially responsible for his "death" ,    eventually alex does manage to cross to the other side except… her virgil doesn't seem to be the same boy they met when they first came to yale anymore.   

⇲ ABILITIES

   »   heightened perception: alex is able to see grays which are the in-universe equivalent of ghosts.    normally in order for the living to be able to see the dead they must take an elixir by the name of hiram's bullet.    it is implied this method slowly kills the user but alex doesn't experience any adverse health effects from her own innate sight.    the only downside to this perception is that grays can more readily interact with alex on a physical level and when you gaze at the dead… the dead gazes back.        »   death words: really only a means to ward off the dead and any halfway decent magicians can use them.    any literature,    poetry,    or song that mentions death even symbolically can be used as a way to keep grays away.    it is not a foolproof method and some spirits are more grounded in the mortal realm than others.    the dead are attracted to places where the living thrive;    they are drawn towards debauchery and parties while they despise funerals and graveyards.        »   wheelwalking: this is more what alex is than rather what they can do.    as a wheelwalker alex has a special connection to the human soul.    she is able to absorb grays into herself and use their strength as her own.    they can even take on the appearance of the deceased and wear their physical form for a limited amount of time.    perhaps what is most gruesome about this skillset is a wheelwalker's ability to consume live souls and use them as a human fuel source.    wheelwalker can live a life of immortality by jumping from one live body to the next,    consuming the soul and then taking control of the host.    wheelwalkers are also sometimes referred to as honey-eaters,    implying that souls have a sweetness to them when eaten.    as of right now the origins of wheelwalkers is unknown but it is implied that they have an engrained connection to the realm beyond the veil.       »   hellfire: an ability gained after alex's first descent into hell.    she can summon blue fire around her that burns hotter than any earthly flame.    it emits from the whole of them and it isn't an ability she has complete control over yet.    it is an incredibly volatile kind of flame and it is reactive to alex's emotional state.    if you know what's good for you… don't make her mad lol.       »   the jackals: the hounds,    the death dogs,    lethe house often refer to themselves as the shepherds.    both dante and virgil can call forth a pack of mystic jackals that will tear their enemies apart for them.    the jackals can easily turn on their summoners though so they are only typically called in dire situations… or to scare new recruits.        »   salt snakes/familiars: alex has two snakes embedded into her skin that will leap out of their inked confines to protect her.    they can grow exponentially in size once they leave her body and depending on how far along they are in their studies they can become comparable to basilisks.    their bite is venomous and when her snakes consume a soul she is given the power obtained from it.    they are black scaled and black-eyed creatures …names are pending!

[needcurse]

{ * THE BLESSINGS OF INARI ⿻ . . . // the detailing of how one forms a boon with the goddess of abundance and the different tiers that can be achieved based on the contract one enters into

▍note: each incarnation of inari has different gifts she may bestow upon her worshippers it is not a one size fits all deal. kaede embodies the autumn aspect of the fox therefore many of the gifts she grant surround renewal or bounty.

⇲ casual worshippers: people who do not know kaede personally but still honor inari as a patron of their shrine or household. when they pray to the goddess she brings a mild season to their doorsteps. she sends her fox attendants the watch over the house/area and keep minor spirits who mean ill-will at bay. essentially the goddess watches over them but may not necessarily interfere when problems with the harvest arise.

⇲ fox god acolytes: they have seen visions of the goddess and maybe have seen a wisp of her but it was enough to make them believe. this tier is reserved for those who only give their worship to inari and no other kami. they have dedicated shrines to autumn and they say only her prayers. to these worshippers she grants a single favor of their choosing every 50 years. she may bless a family once in a generation and in the in between years she maintains the good fortune of the family through economic success.

⇲ attendants of the goddess: they know kaede personally and have formed a boon with her by summoning her. attendants are those who occupy aki no mori ( kaede's liminal autumnal forest ) they keep up the wards and maintain the magical seals put in place wherever the forest manifests next. these attendants sometimes also double as shop employees in kaede's antique shop. the very same shop that manifests across the globe in different cities but all lead to the same place.

⇲ sworn into service: a role typically reserved for other supernatural beings or mortals that have ascended to the rank of minor divinity. kaede can take favor on a human and begin a ritual transcendence in order for this role to be filled but it is extremely rare for her to do so. those who are sworn into her service are both her protectors and chosen guardians. they typically receive a sword forged by inari herself which is imbued with part of her power. these are cleansing blades and do well against oni and other kinds of demons particularly. although, the weaponry is not only limited to a sword and inari will craft a weapon of the wielder's choice if a blade does not suffice. a bit of the goddess' essence is transfered into these weapons and this is how her immortality persists. as long as her life force is split between those in her employ she cannot be killed in any meaningful way.

⇲ the keeper of the fox marble: there can only be one fox marble keeper as the goddess only has one marble to give. the fox marble is the essentially the soul of the goddess, the heart of her divine power. it is as at once her greatest strength and greatest vulnerability. if taken against her will it has the capacity to kill her. although when bestowed willingly, it shares her power with the warrior who swallows it. the marble's protector may gain access to inari's abilities nearly in full as well as all her divine knowledge. a certain psychic link is attached to this connection although in exchange for this great power one can never leave her side for very long. inari must renew the marble often and this position is not one that can last forever. the marble will be passed back and forth many times in a lifetime and this ritual is considered the highest honor.

[needcurse]

{ * ALT. VERSE; ULLA MOROZOVA ✳ . . . songstress of os alta, the sister of the shadow, a woman who once belonged to the waves

INTRODUCTION,

once a sildroher from the furthest reaches of fjerda. ulla morozova was the abandoned child of baghra left to live out her life beneath the waves in the depths of the isenvee. she was a gifted songcaster but not well loved in the undersea court as she was seen a strange and foreign creature given her ashen appearance. she only begins to gain the favor of the royal family when she begins to write spells alongside the favored court singer, signy. through their friendship ulla is able to join the chorus and royal family on land to walk amongst the humans.

it is in this castle by the sea that ulla meets her brother, aleksandr who reveals to her the truth behind her lineage. ulla is half-human and her health and appearance greatly improve after splitting her tail to walk on land. aleksandr entreats with her and asks his sister to join him in his game of kings and queens. at first, ulla has no interest in the treatment of grisha on land as she had lived amongst the ocean-folk for the whole of her life. although, the longer she strays from the sea the more her shadow summoning abilities become prevalent. she needs a tutor and she agrees to join her brother on his travels. she never returns to the sea with signy and the others and thus she endures the trauma and destruction her fire enchantment brought upon the royal family.

SETTLING IN OS ALTA,

year pass and the two siblings have established their positions amongst the royal family.    it is rumored that shadow summoners are always born as a set of twins,    this is a ruse both aleksandr and ulla given into.    they have decades between them but their youthful faces and like appearances suggest they lend themselves to this narrative.    all the more favor to make both seem mythical as it is common knowledge that they are the ancestors of the supposed "black heretic".    during the time,    like her bother,    ulla takes on a pseudonym and is called ursula after the saint of waves.    little does the public her and the saint are one in the same.    

during the events of the original trilogy,    while aleksandr is the leader of the second army ulla takes upon herself to establish a foothold for grisha in religion.    she is a song leader at the palace chapel and she works closely with the apparat both in and out of services.    she plays the role of the pious witch in repentance speaking often of the fold and how the time of "sun" will be upon them soon.    she often tells the story of her namesake and how she was a woman of faith punished for her belief in the saints.    although,    it is not her preaching that gains favor amongst the masses.    her song can convince even the most vehement non-believers of her cause.    

by all intents and purposes she is not viewed as soldier.    she is more widely recognized as,    the dark jewel,    in the queen's retinue.    she is a symbol of faith as well as a prized asset to the royal family.    she is frequently seen at banquets wielding a harp and the deep,    richness of her voice.    she may not be part of the army but her song has swayed many a politician into complacency and the sky seems to shift whenever a melody leaves her lips.    more omen than weapon but no less of a threat for it.  

PERSONS OF INTEREST,

» the apparat: by the nature of their work these two work quite closely together.    their alliance can be described as tenuous at best.    both are playing the same game and they use religion as a means to gain influence in the capital.    they portray an image of a unite front but more often that not the two at odds with one another but cannot make a direction move opposite given the optics of a open quarrel.   

» the darkling ( @greeksmyth ): twins are often seen as parts of a matching set,    yet despite ulla and aleksandr's like appearances they occupy different political spheres in the capital.    their quarters are adjacent to one another though and they take meals together away from the other summoners more often than not.    ulla is overall less of a mysterious figure than her brother as her occupation as a musician sweetens people to her presence more than that of general.    this a frequent fact she lauds over her brother and they bicker often about as brothers and sisters do.   

» baghra: ulla and baghra scarcely have a relationship.    despite the years ulla has never forgiven her mother for abandoning her.    it was aleksandr alone that swayed her to come to ravka in the end.    she visits baghra's hut infrequently and they speak as strangers do.    no one would believe the old woman and the songstress were related given how sour they are in one another's presence.    because of this,    it was aleksandr who trained ulla when she was beginning to summon shadows.   

[needcurse]

THE CURSE OF THE O’DIENNE RING  ❦ ˊ-  .  .  .   how a poet becomes a ghost,  how a girl becomes a servant to fate  

LEGEND TOLD... 

the o’dienne family was an old irish family and descendants of the ancient king matholuch who had married the welsh goddess, branwen against his own best interests.  branwen was a love goddess and deity of resurrection and while matholuch was taken with her his family conspired against the union. matholuch was eventually slaughtered by his own brother in a bid to marry the goddess herself and obtain magical gifts of his own. although when branwen received news of his death she did not succumb to her grief. onstead the goddess married matholuch’s brother but when the rings were exchanged her groom dropped dead. thus the curse of the o’dienne ring began. the bearer of the ring would bring death to whoever they looked upon with love. whether they were given the ring or not they need only make the mistake of looking upon its owner with fondness for its curse to take hold. upon the hour of death the bearer of the ring can choose to switch fates with their partner, no matter the choice one will remain to go on without the other. 

A HOMECOMING

eimile first comes upon the ring when she returns to family’s ancestral home in doolin, ireland. this is after she had spent years in the foster system throughout the united kingdom and not knowing her true heritage in any capacity. she begins to be followed by ravens and chased by specters and all these omens point her back to the village she had escaped from as a child. her family’s home, the lus mór  estate, had fallen into disrepair after being abandoned for years. yet while she is exploring the depths of the manor she recovers the o’dienne ring from the rubble. she begins to wear it from that day on and the curse is set into motion once more. she meets her soon-to-be fiancé,  lochlann for the very first time that same week and it is anything but coincidence. he has been looking for her as he knows exactly what and who she is as a druid and disciple of dhuosnos. what he did not account for was the o’dienne curse when he tries to sacrifice her in order to make contact with god and have a boon granted. 

on the night of eimile’s and lochlann’s wedding not only is eimile’s parentage revealed and she is claimed as a daughter of clíodhna but a deal the goddess made with the mórrígan itself is brought to light. by choosing to lay with an o’dienne descendant, clíodhna openly slighted her fellow love goddess branwen. looking for a way to spare her unborn daughter the ben síde queen entreated the death god. though her daughter may die by the curse she may rise again as a ben síde. in exchange for her life she would be in service to the mórrígan for the rest of her days and she never would be fully “alive” again but in perpetual liminal state between phantom and woman. to this day eimile still is unaware of the exact details of the pact between her mother and the death god. she was given a royal title and sees her death as something that had to happen in order for her to become the nether princess she was intended to be.

[needcurse]

NIMUE INWUDU MADAME XANADU  ❦ ˊ-  .  .  .   loosely new-earth/headcanon based portrayal  (  seer eternal,  the last of the ancient folk,  merlin’s witch,  mother of divination   )

HISTORY

born as nimue inwudu, famed sorceress of camelot,  part of a now extinct race of druids descended from atlanteans known as the ancient folk. she grew up on the oldest earth, on land known as the sacred grove. the grove itself kept her and her magic strong this was until she lost all her magical prowess at the hands of merlin as a result of cursing him to dwell in avalon for all of eternity. only maintaining her immortality through elixirs and potions, nimue became an occult advisor to history's most famous monarchs. guiding their decisions through her skill in divination which was unable to be taken from her. parting from her reputation as an arthurian witch nimue takes on the alias of xanadu to cover her great shame, as she played a major role in the inevitable fall of camelot . 

eventually xanadu does win back her immortality officially after besting death (  of the endless  )   herself in a card game for her life.  no longer having to fear for her demise she then decides to devote her life to the service of the common folk. seeing the damage unbridled spell work has on the innocent xanadu hopes to prevent collateral damage with her ancient knowledge of magecraft,  as well as her foresight. she has now taken up station in greenwich village, new york city and offers her services, at a reasonable fee, to those who seek answers and aid. she also acts as a guardian for arcane relics and enchanted weapons that could be apocalyptic if wielded by the wrong individuals.  but there is a catch to her aid and that is the fact that she is not allowed to directly interfere in the affairs of those who seek her counsel. she can offer advice and solutions but as an agent of balance she is unable to tip the scales of fate one way or the other. 

PERSONS OF INTEREST

phantom stranger:  a sordid affair that begins with the intrigue of two immortals meeting in the midsts of the rivers of time. at first they begin a romance that soon sours into bitter resentment. xanadu is chained to her own self-imposed penance and phantom is a traveler of time unwilling to aid her in altering the course of history.  her hatred of him has ebbed over the years but he is still a figure that can sour her mood by name alone. 

death of the endless: death granted xanadu eternal life after amusing her with a card game enough to gain her favor. the two still meet up infrequently at her new york city residence to play card games or chat on her front stoop with a cup of tea. it is safe to say that this is by far her most stable and steady relationship to date.  she is also the only person who still calls xanadu by her given name, nimue. 

john constantine: public enemy number 1. this man is not allowed with 6 feet of her tarot parlor. her residence might as well be a magical arsenal and no one knows that better than constantine. she has magic wards installed around her home to keep this con man specifically off her property and out of her house. 

INVENTORY SHORT LIST 

the philosopher's stone

the sword of archangel michael 

a dozen sibylline books 

the magdalene grimoire 

pandora's box

the holy grail

ABILITIES 

siphoning: merlin's curse stays in effect and xanadu has been robbed off all magic of her own. she still remains a perfect vessel for spellcasting though and she can easily channel enchantment through the arcane objects she keeps in her possession. to a lesser degree she can also siphon magic from other users. although, this depends on how susceptible the other party involved is to this kind of extraction. 

prophecy: the sight is a more passive magic and since it is channeled by outside means ( tarot cards, osteomancy, tasseomancy  )  she still has access to readings of the future. tarot readings are her preferred method of fortune telling but she is also adept isn psychometry and can read objects as well as people. it should be noted that most modern forms of channeling the sight were created by xanadu herself. the tarot deck she uses to this day was the first of its kind and has specific arcanas that have been lost to time.