nerenth

[nerenth]

ara-kadeu​:

Ara allowed a small, embarrassed laugh at the King’s surprise of the former not having a portrait of herself. “Oh I have a small one, though it’s from when I was visibly younger. But nothing so grand that it can serve as a legacy piece.” She took a sip from the sparkling glass in her hand. 

The actress knew this was the point she was at in her career. Not quite the peak, but the real beginning of the legacy that would, gods willing, outlive her. Periodic visual aids helped push the legend. All of the greats had at least one something visual that’s still talked about, even long after they’ve gone. Some chose sculptures or statues. Other’s chose to build a library or an arboretum or a new a wing to the academy in their own name. Those were all useful tools for securing some sort of lasting impression, but for later in life, Ara thought. But most legacies almost always start with paintings.

As the other woman took the smallest step away from her, Ara had to really work to suppress her laugh. Her tease had had the desired effect on the King before her. Between the lowered voice, the hesitation and her body language, Ara could tell that Aesin was.. mildly uncomfortable. 

Finally letting out her own light laugh, she tipped her head slightly towards Aesin. “Forgive me, Lady Aesin. To spring a joke like that on you was a little rude of me, but I just couldn’t help myself.” She flashed the artist a wide grin. “I was actually thinking of something a little more on the classically dramatic side, at least to start with. Something… More classic, I suppose. But maybe a bit moodier.” She laughed again, feeling silly for not knowing the proper words. “I’ll leave the details up to you, I trust your artistic judgment completely. However, if, after this piece, you really want to expand your portfolio to include some boudoir styling, I’d be more than happy to be your subject.” The Queen flashed another easy smile and took a sip of her drink, glancing over the table of food again.

.

“i am sure you haven’t aged one bit.”, aesin pressed on, a small smile on her lips. well, sometimes people around her really did not age. her words might have been foolish, but still filled with the intention of being a compliment for the other. hiding her face behind her glass, she tried to hide her sheepishly pink cheeks with the liquid within. “but i do see why you’d like a new portrait. you’re in an important stage of your life right now, it would just make sense.”

with a slow exhale, aesin turned, the sleeve of her coat riding up her slender arm as she grabbed another sort of praline from one of the servers. it coated her fingers in a sheer golden glitter, wondering if her tongue would look stupid after eating it – but she had no hesitation in devouring the piece of sweetness. a request like this, aesin hadn’t had in a while. the ritualist had been working on this and that, but nothing major for past few days. having ara around her atelier for modelling sessions sure would be a good way to promote herself and her work even more. and she was powerhungry after all. 

“you know, you are obviously welcome to just drop by the atelier one of these days and we can figure something out. i can show you around and we agree on the size of the painting and the lighting and what not. you are always welcome, just let me know a little beforehand so that i can clean it up.”, aesin let out a soft laugh at her own comment, hoping the other would see it more as a joke as the crude reality. 

the glass in her hand was starting to feel a little light, eyes wandering over her surroundings. “or we might even start right now, i think this residence has more than enough paintings we could take a look at and compare?”

[nerenth]

saygeko​:

The Atelier had this smell Sayge wasn’t familiar with, the smell of creation. Perhaps Aesin never thought about it, or maybe she did, who was the Fae to question such a thing. But the aroma of the white paste the other woman had been using and tried to hide by tossing the old rag away of her sight, was all over the place. She liked it, even if she wouldn’t say it out loud, but this smell Sayge never had around herself in her everyday life, she had no bland skills when it came to manual crafts, the unfamiliarity of the scent pleased her.  

She observed the Ritualist walk over and noticed the way her face showed slight panic when seeing her standing there with the hidden canvas. The way the artist stuttered her words after calling her name made the arc of her right eyebrow more obvious, was her visit that much of a surprise? They didn’t see much of the other often, with them being in different factions and probably both of them busy with their own business, Sayge still could read her reactions easily, Aesin’s face gave her away more than she might imagine.

As the velvety fabric was removed from the painting, and once again, the monstrosity was out of its cage, Sayge couldn’t help it but make a nauseating noise. “Do I need to explain myself? I am absolutely sure, that this” she pointed at the painting with her index finger but didn’t keep her eyes on it for long, not being able to do it and not make another unpleasant noise. “this must speak by itself.”

What was wrong with the painting? The Fae couldn’t believe her ears, was Aesin looking at the same thing she was looking at because, in her five hundred years of life, she has never been so sure about something. Sayge wanted to ask if she painted it with her own hands, but couldn’t find the right words to not make it sound like an insult, she was hoping everything was a mistake by one of her butlers, and not Aesin’s bad taste. The black-haired woman cleared her throat and looked at the other right into her eyes as asking for a better answer to this whole mess, and after half a minute of staring and almost not blinking once, she spoke again, bluntly. “I hate it. It is not what I asked for, this is not special, it’s awful.”

it wasn’t usually the case that someone would bring something back to her store. usually, her customers were happy with their purchases and gifts and with the style aesin had picked – something that she had called personal aesthetic of other’s. so, naturally, when she had gotten the inquiry from the ko sayge, she knew she had to get her something special. 

however, as her eyes were wandering over the ‘piece of art’, and the other’s spoken words filled the ritualist’s ears, she could only blink a few times. scrunching up her nose, she let her head dip down a little, her index and thumb massaging the bridge of her nose. something had gone horribly wrong. first of all, the colors were way off. she must had been in some state of delirium whilst she had thought of the great ko sayge as some sort of casino clown, way too colorful, an abundance of bright reds and blacks, whites mixed in between – casino. to her dismay, no words came out of aesin for the next few seconds. finally, she pulled the velvet cloth back over the painting, clearing her throat as she turned towards sayge. “i am so sorry. why don’t we–”, she cut her own sentence off, glaring through her atelier, as if that could magically save her. 

“you obviously have a ... better taste than that, i am not sure what happened there.”, the ritualist wasn’t even sure if her words were those of honesty or if she was just blabbering on about whatever now to please the other woman. “i wouldn’t say it’s awful...”, aesin mumbled, barely hearable. “your...”, she continued on, waving her hand in front of her upper body to help herself come up with the right words. “establishments.”, she finished off, raising her brows at the owner of the koi casinos. “they are differently themed, yes?”, aesin tried to remember whatever was written on the piece of paper she had received a few weeks ago. 

“why don’t we elaborate on that. my mistake.”, her coat moved in small waves as she turned around with fervor, grabbing the painting by its frame, popping the disgusting piece of art out and discarding it somewhere to the side. reaching the table nearby, she shoved her art supplies to the side and grabbed a ring full of keys from it. “would you rather have something more custom made to your tastes or would you like to take a look through the backroom?”, aesin offered, still a pinch of bitterness in her words. 

[nerenth]

its-max-okay​:

Max could see the slow drip of almost-doomed jam from the edge of her vision as she watched Aesin’s eyes, biting the side of her lip and grinning. There was a certain quality around her that Max could only describe as soft, and not in the typically insulting way Max would normally consider someone soft.

“A Strongarm?” Max grinned even more if it was possible, positively delighted; she’d never gotten that one before. “I wish. I’d settle for spellsword, too, if we’re being honest.” At one point she even had, when her Healer abilities manifested late and she thought she’d be taking after her mother after all.

“Nope, I’m five-foot-five of bonafide, slightly-juiced human. A Healer, to get specific.”

she couldn’t help but feel taken aback by the other’s words. brows knitting together in confusion, the smaller woman could only tilt her head a little – speechless, so to say. “...human?”, it resonated within her, that part of her obviously still anchored somewhere in her heart. “healer, i mean?”, she reiterated, slowly starting to nod at max’s words. “sorry.”, aesin tried to bring herself back to earth. 

with a clear of her throat, she let her fingertips drum against the wooden surface of the table, a smile tugging on the corner of her lips as she watched the other. “oh, tell me more about that?”, aesin inquired, curious about what the other had just said to her. the ritualist tried to remember if she had ever had a conversation with a healer, but she couldn’t recall. “so, you just heal? but you’re also very strong, i might add...”, she said, almost sheepishly. 

why was there such a vigorous need to shower the other in compliments? this usually did not happen to her. “i mean, if you want to tell me... after all i’m just a weird stranger with bread.” 

[nerenth]

WEALTH  —

$  financial — wealthy / moderate / poor /  in poverty ✚  medical — fit  / moderate /  sickly  /  disabled  /  disadvantaged / non-applicable ✪  class or caste — high / low / serf  / revolutionary ✔  education — qualified  /  unqualified  / studying /  other ✖  criminal  record — yes,  for  major  crimes  /  yes,  for  minor  crimes / no / has  committed  crimes,  but  has  not  been  caught  yet

FAMILY  —

◓  marital  status — married  happily /  married  unhappily /  engaged  or  betrothed /  partnered  /  single (has a demon lmao??)  /  divorced  / separated  /  widowed ◒ children — has  a  child  or  children  /  has  no  children  /  wants  children  /  does not want children ◑  relationship with family — close  with  sibling ( s ) / not  close  with  sibling ( s ) / has  no  siblings  /  deceased sibling ( s ) ◔  affiliation — orphaned /  adopted  / disowned  / raised  by  birth  parents  /  not  applicable

TRAITS  +  TENDENCIES   —

extroverted  /  introverted  / in-between /  disorganized /  organized  / in-between /  close-minded  / open-minded  / in-between /  calm /  anxious  / in-between / disagreeable / agreeable /   in-between /  cautious  /  reckless /   in-between /  patient /  impatient  / in-between /  outspoken  /  reserved  / in-between /  leader  /  follower /   in-between / empathetic  / unempathetic /   in-between /  optimistic /  pessimistic  /   in-between / traditional  /  modern  /  in-between /  hard-working  / lazy  /  in-between /  cultured / uncultured  / in-between /  unknown /  loyal  /  disloyal  / unknown /  faithful /  unfaithful / unknown

BELIEFS  —

★  faith — monotheist  /  polytheist  /  atheist  /  agnostic  /  it’s  complicated ☆  belief  in  ghosts  or  spirits — yes  /  no  /  don’t  know /  don’t  care ✮  belief  in  an  afterlife — yes /  no  /  don’t know  /  don’t  care ✯  belief  in  reincarnation — yes  /  no  /  don’t  know  /  don’t  care ❃  belief  in  aliens — yes  / no /  don’t  know / don’t  care ❀  philosophical — yes /  no

SEXUALITY  &  ROMANTIC  INCLINATION  —

❤  sexuality — heterosexual  /  homosexual  / bisexual /  asexual /  pansexual  / demisexual ❥  sex — asexual / sex-repulsed  /  sex-neutral  /  sex-favorable /  naive and clueless ♥  romance — aromantic / romance-repulsed  / romance-neutral  /  romance-favorable  / naive and clueless ❣  sexually — adventurous  /  experienced  /  naive /  inexperienced /  curious /  inhibited

ABILITIES   —

☠  combat  skills — excellent  /  good /  moderate /  poor / none   ≡  literacy  skills — excellent /  good  / moderate / poor  / none ✍  artistic  skills — excellent  /  good  /  moderate /  poor  /  none ✂  technical  skills — excellent /  good /  moderate  / poor  /  none

HABITS   —

☕ drinking  alcohol — never  /  sometimes / frequently / to excess ☁ smoking — trying  to  quit  / never  / sometimes  /  frequently  /  to excess ✿  other  narcotics — never  /  sometimes  /  frequently  /  to excess ✌  medicinal  drugs — never /  sometimes  / frequently /  to excess ☻ indulgent  food — never  /  sometimes  /  frequently  / to excess $ splurge spending — never  /  sometimes  /  frequently / to excess ♣  gambling — never  / sometimes  / frequently / to excess

[nerenth]

everyone please clap for this cutie

[nerenth]

╳   𝐅𝐋𝐀𝐖𝐒.

moody | short-tempered | emotionally unstable | whiny | controlling | conceited | possessive | paranoid | lies | impatient | cowardly | bitter | selfish | power-hungry | greedy | lazy | judgmental | forgetful | impulsive | spiteful | stubborn | sadistic | petty | unlucky | absent-minded | abusive | addict | aggressive | childish | callous | clingy | delusional | cocky | competitive | corrupt | cynical | cruel | depressed | deranged | egotistical | envious | insecure | insensitive | lustful | delinquent | guilt complex | reclusive | reckless | nervous | oversensitive

♔   𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐓𝐇𝐒.

honest | trustworthy | thoughtful | caring | brave | patient | selfless | ambitious | tolerant | lucky | intelligent | confident | focused | humble | generous | merciful | observant | wise | clever | charming | cheerful | optimistic | decisive | adaptive | calm | protective | proud | diligent | considerate | compassionate | good sportsmanship | friendly | empathetic | passionate | reliable | resourceful | sensible | sincere | witty | funny

🖌 𝐒𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐒 & 𝐇𝐎𝐁𝐁𝐈𝐄𝐒.

art | acting | astronomy | animals | archery | sports | beach combing | belly dancing | bird watching | blacksmithing | boating | calligraphy | camping | candle making | casino gambling | ceramics | racing | chess | music | cooking | crochet | weaving | sewing |  exercise | swordplay | fishing | gardening | ghost hunting | ice skating | magic | engineering | building(?) | inventing | leather working | martial arts | meditation | origami | parkour | people watching | swimming | puppetry | pyrotechnics | quilting | reading | collecting | shopping | socializing | storytelling | writing | traveling | exotic dancing | trinket making

[nerenth]

ara-kadeu​:

“I couldn’t agree more.” Ara beamed at the King before her, bringing up and clinking her own glass of sweet wine against Aesin’s lightly. She brought the glass to her lips to take a sip, looking over the artist as she lowered the glass again. Aesin really was every bit as lovely as Ara had heard. “I hope what you’ve heard is kind.” Ara said after a moment, “You’ll have to forgive me for all of the mystery. My schedule lately hasn’t left me much time to do my own shopping. And the many buyers of our district need something to do.” She gave a small laugh, glancing at the table of sweets beside them, plucking a delectable looking truffle out. 

She turned as one of the entertainers came by them, taking a bite of the truffle and watching the golden body move. She let the chocolate dissolve  before turning back to the lovely woman. “I know it’s not normally encouraged to speak of business at such grand events, but..” The actress gave a shameless smile, “Seeing as how destiny has brought us together tonight, I hope you’ll indulge me.” She finished the truffle before speaking again, making sure the higher rank wouldn’t mind. “I’ve heard you do private commissions from time to time. I’ve been dying to get a new portrait done.” Ara grinned, “You see there’s a rather large empty space on my wall that I’d like to fill. I was thinking, and I know it will appear horribly shallow, but I haven’t had a portrait done of myself since I was a child. And given that I am likely in the beginnings of my peak decades, what better time to remedy my predicament.”

Ara smiled and brought her glass up to take another sip. She wasn’t being self-deprecating. She was being realistic. An actress, even one with a longer life expectancy, has a peak. A time when the available roles are limited only by your talent. And eventually, there comes a time where the available roles dwindle because she no longer looks the part. She’s too old. It’s a fact of life. One that needn’t be over dramatized. “I’ve seen your paintings and I am always in complete and utter awe. You’re able to so completely capture your subject’s raw essence. It’s inspiring, truly.” She could see the artist’s pleasant reaction to the praise and smiled at her, stepping closer to Aesin to make their conversation a tad more private. Ara reached down towards the table and picked up a strawberry, holding it up to her mouth, “Tell me, what do you think of the boudoir style?” She asked, a coy smile on her lips as she sunk her teeth into the fruit. 

she was somewhat glad that someone had come up to her to strike a conversation, standing around alone at such a big event would have felt odd, to say the least. aesin nodded as she listened to the other, finally shaking her head lightly with a bright smile appearing on her lips. “oh, of course. how could anyone hear anything bad about the one and only moon ara?”, letting her glass clink against the other woman’s she took another sip. it was honestly the perfect night to get lost in the sweet flavors of this addicting liquid, but maybe not the most adequate time for it either.  “ah, do not worry. i’m sure that if you’d drop by every time you’d like to make an order i would get distracted by your beauty and not get anything done.”, the ritualist cooed at the actress, a small smirk still on her lips. technically, it wasn’t a lie, just words sweet like honey. or that drink in her hand. 

“ah, come on, who are we lying to.”, aesin mentioned with a wave of her hand, dismissing ara’s concern. “these events are purely for business and indulging in things we might regret the next morning.”, the king said with a soft chuckle escaping her lips. her offer took up her interest, brows raising a little as she took it into consideration. “a portrait?”, aesin asked, a hint of incredulity in her tone. “miss moon, you do not own a portrait of yourself yet?” – it seemed weird. great actresses and actors, especially of high rank would seem like the type to own this sort of thing already. not to mention, aesin felt honored. 

she took a tiny step back as the scent of the other woman hit her, mixed with the taste of alcohol in her mouth. for a moment, she forgot about the conversation and her wonder for the portrait as her hazel orbs could only focus on the strawberry slowly disappearing in between the other’s lips. quickly gulping down another sip of her drink, aesin managed to let out a slightly nervous laugh, clearing her throat as if to compose herself. she really didn’t fare well with pretty things. “boudoir?”, her words came out in an almost whisper, still seemingly unable to process all of the compliments that had been thrown at her – and the strawberry. “b-boudoir would certainly suit you.”, the ritualist said, taking another sip of her beverage. heat was rising into her cheeks, the tip of her ears as - for a short second - the image was floating in her head. shaking it lightly, she tried to focus on the topic at hand again, without imagining it. “i’m honored miss moon, really, that you think my style is suitable for this sort of piece.”, aesin gulped, “i’d obviously love to work on it.” 

[nerenth]

its-max-okay​:

“Ah, so not a breadsmith by trade,” Max teased lightly, more out of the desire to encourage Aesin to relax about the state of her bread than to call her out on it. With a potentially inappropriate familiarity – Max’s general M.O. – she stepped both feet up onto the bench so she could sit on the table and face Aesin while they talked. It was always harder to tell the ranks of Diamonds and Hearts, Max felt, since so many of them acted like they deserved ranks five over what they were.

Aesin wasn’t giving her that impression, though, even if as the owner of something so fancy as the Atelier sounded, she probably did hold a higher rank. She just had an unpretentiousness about her that Max could immediately appreciate.

“I’m Max. Not really an owner of anything, except some poor life choices.”

“So tell me, Go Aesin, owner of the Atelier. What medium do you usually prefer to work in, if not dough?”

aesin’s eyes widened a little as she watched the other change her position, sitting on the table. orbs wandered up slowly until they landed on the way-too-strong woman’s face once more – max. that name suited her. the jam she had scooped up almost dripped out of the spoon onto the table as she seemed mesmerized by the other. salvaging the marmalade disaster, she managed to smear it onto the piece of bread. 

“poor life choices?”, aesin asked back, voice low before clearing her throat to speak up once more. “if not dough? clay? marble? paint?”, the ritualist answered with a certain tilt of her head. “i buy and sell art, sometimes make some pieces myself. it’s a dream come true, really.”, she mused a little, bringing the piece of bread up to her lips to take another bite. 

she wanted to try and guess what the other would be doing in her life, but it always seemed hard for her. licking over her lips, she finally spurted out her words. “are you a strongarm?”, she asked quickly, just trying to get anything out of the other. 

[nerenth]

junganton​:

anton brightened, glad to be rid of the dagger without having to answer any more questions. the sound of the coins rattling in the silk pouch aesin produced brought a smile to the club’s face and he nodded his head. he’d check the amount later of course, but truth be told he was more concerned with ridding himself of the bejeweled dagger than milking this atelier owner for all she was worth.

at her question shade reached into the pouch on his thigh, producing a whetstone which he waggled a few times as he spoke. “Club thing,” he said with a shrug, as though this were the perfect explanation. Taking the dagger off the desk he unsheathed it and, plopping unceremoniously onto the floor, began to sharpen it. 

his movements were practiced and precise, it wasn’t long until the edges of the blade were clearly much, much, sharper. standing back up, he deposited the knife back on the desk with a smile. “there you are, could quite easily cut an upright piece of parchment now. if you want the whole thing as shiny as the bit I just sharpened you’ll have to go to a blacksmith for that. or buy some polish.”

aesin watched him curiously as the dagger came closer to the floor, fearing it might take some damage or the other would hurt himself. but no. with a small gasp, her eyes widened, observing the male doing his thing. she couldn’t imagine having skills like that, useful but somewhat too manly for her. just unthinkable; and still, she tried to study his movements with the utmost attention. 

leaning over her desk, fingers ran over the wooden surface, grasping onto the edge of it as the ritualist continued watching his actions, nodding a few times. “oh, you’re really good at that.”, if she had learned anything from her mother, is that one needed to compliment men so they would continue to do useful things for you. “i don’t think i could ever learn how to do that.” a lie. but it was whatever. 

as soon as the dagger was back on her desk, she took it from him carefully but with certain haste, inspecting the weapon once more. obviously, anton didn’t break it, but she had to make sure. “you know what? i should have polish somewhere. but thank you so much. wait-”, she wanted to thank the stranger, even if it was just something small. rummaging through a drawer, she found a gem she had enchanted a few days ago but hadn’t found the right jewelry to embed it into yet. blue aventurine, round, rather shiny – just something seen as a talisman for good luck, powers enhanced just slightly. aesin held out her hand with the gem in her palm, offering it to anton. “as a small thank you. it’s just for good luck – whenever you might need it.” 

[nerenth]

“saygeko​:

@nerenth​

Last time she wasn’t satisfied, the colors, shapes, textures. She blamed others for not delivering her needs properly. Sayge has seen countless art pieces from Aesin’s Atelier but hers was hideous, and no one could convince the Fae that this came from the same place. Where was the beauty? She couldn’t seem to find it anywhere in the painting. When it arrived at her house, she tore apart the piece of paper covering her last acquisition with excitement, only for her anticipation to crumble in front of her eyes. What was this? Now, she had to visit the owner of the Atelier in person. They have met before but never for business Sayge was not completely sure how she should approach the subject with Aesin about how much she hated her art, or said more properly, how she hated what she got from her. Several days had passed since the monstrosity has leaned against her wall and it couldn’t be ignored any longer, neither could she trust any of her helpers to do it for her again, visiting Aesin seemed like an obligation, or she might end up burning the piece of art. Covering the canvas with a black velvet fabric, Sayge headed to the Atelier looking for an explanation or new artwork. Visiting the Diamond territory already made the whole experience less pleasuring than she would have expected, not used to leave her faction often, she arrived feeling slightly more displeased than usual, the status of her mood justified by the unbearing thought of her indications not coming through clear. “Am I interrupting your process?“ Sayge asked, walking into the illuminated gallery, her voice resonant. Barely seeing the artist’s back, she came closer, with no intention to ruin what she may have been working on or to frighten her. "I came here looking for you, I have what you sent me… and to say I am confused would be an understatement.”

.

art was something extremely complex to aesin – complexity which held beauty within. however, in real life, people, humans, situations, complexity definitely wasn’t a trait she wanted to see. only in art. something that made others think, feel, experience. sometimes it was slightly overwhelming to manage her pieces, some going here, some selling there... and sometimes they would be artworks that have stood around, catching dust until they would find a new owner. some pieces weren’t even hers to begin with, something acquired many years ago, depending on how much beauty it held for her she’d get rid of them or not. 

aesin hadn’t expected anyone coming in on this day, her tattooed hands completely covered in white paste, the rough outline of a head propped up in front of her, eyeless sockets staring back at the ritualist. the voice seemed familiar, even though it didn’t immediately click. the ritualist finished listening to the other’s words before she spun around in her chair, trying to wipe off some of the paste with an old rag. with her eyes landing on sayge, they immediately widened a little. with a slight panic, she reached out to throw the rag to the side, getting up quickly and bowing politely in front of the other. “sayge.” 

her brows furrowed, unsure what was going on. why was her painting back here? and why was she confused? in her mind, aesin was the only confused one.  “c-confused?”, she croaked out, grabbing the painting that had been wrapped in black velvet, unable to see its surroundings and the world. her fingertips ran over the fabric, slowly pulling it off to reveal the painting. there it sat, propped up against her chair, staring back at her. with a tilt of her head, she let her brain soak up what she was looking at. without any words, she pointed at the painting, shrugging. 

it was beautiful, just... slightly off. she could tell why someone like sayge would bring it back to her. however, would she admit to that? never. “what’s wrong with it? it’s...”, with a click of her tongue, she raised her brows as she turned towards the other woman, avoiding the distorted face that had been looking at them through the canvas. “special.” 

[nerenth]

ADVANTAGES & DRAWBACKS STATS.

physical fight.  ▮▮▮▯▯▯▯ ≻ aesin is definitely not a heavy weight – while her muscles are indeed defined, they wouldn’t be of much help in a fist fight. she’d be rather quick in dodging attacks, though. with her trusty knife and bejeweled dagger, she tends to go for more of any sort of sneaky attack, which would be of more benefit to her and most likely the safer way. 

magic fight.  ▮▮▮▮▯▯▯ ≻ knowing many incantations from memory, aesin could probably get away rather well in a magic fight. if she can’t defend herself with walls, and her enchantments and gems, there’d always be the option to summon something. with most likely a 50/50 chance of that going well or not and / or the creature turning against her – there’s still a chance that it is going to do what it is supposed to do, right? plus, with the beast will’s powers soon to be accomplished, she might even get more dangerous. after all, she still has lots to learn. 

verbal fight. ▮▮▮▮▮▯▯ ≻ aesin is usually a woman of few words, unless the conversation has something to do with art or similar. however, if someone manages to annoy her, she’ll be able to shut them down pretty quickly. in her mind, she doesn’t have time for things like that, plus, she does not enjoy fighting. and if she doesn’t enjoy something, she’ll try to wiggle herself out of the situation as fast as possible, thus being able to speak her mind and end a verbal confrontation quickly. 

raw strength.  ▮▯▯▯▯▯▯ ≻ in comparison to (most likely) a big part of the population of kadeu, aesin is just a lady with a demon and a beast will who likes art. her punches probably don’t really hurt. i mean, it’s even hard to push the display shelves around the atelier – but that’s what she got some enchantments for. 

endurance. ▮▮▮▮▮▯▯ ≻ in comparison to her raw strength, aesin has a pretty good level of endurance. it might have to do with her levels of patience and willingness to do something or not. if something needs to be done, then it needs to be done, no matter how long it’ll take and how much her body will ache. aesin isn’t very keen on giving up on something. 

self control. ▮▯▯▯▯▯▯ ≻ there is no such thing as self-control for aesin. if she wants something, then she needs it, and all measures necessary will be taken to get it. whether it makes sense or not, it doesn’t matter. aesin is driven by beauty and perfection, and if it’d mean she’d have to get away with murder for a beautiful piece of art, she would even manage to do that. 

communication.  ▮▮▯▯▯▯▯ ≻ while aesin sometimes achieves to be rather charming, she can also come across as distant and somewhat other-wordly. often, her mind seems to be somewhere else, not quite present in real life. this might seem like a cute quirk of sorts to some people, but also a point of weakness to others. she also often feels bad or mulls over things other people say to her, making her a rather sensitive being. 

[nerenth]

kadeukarma​:

[...]

“Please come and save me…”

Narcissa’s breath hitched in her throat and Karma’s eyes widened. No, this certainly couldn’t be good. In the blink of said eyes, Karma disappeared from her moonlit office and reappeared in the bedroom of the young woman she held contract with. Despite it being quite dark, it didn’t take the demon long to ascertain the purpose of Aesin’s plea.

“Neren…” her greeting whispered, almost purred from between scarlet lips. She took a step closer to the bed, emerging from the shadows and into the moonlight filtering in from the windows. The light reflected from the many beads on her intricate gown, the ruby garment gleaming like stars as she continued her slow approach to the Ritualist’s bedside.

Painfully aware of the looming presence above them, Karma crawled onto the bed despite it, curling up under the arm the distressed young lady still held outstretched to keep contact with her precious grimoire. Karma nuzzled into Aesin’s side, resting her head on her shoulder as she hesitantly raised her gaze to the foreboding presence above them.

“I do so wish you’d call me to your bedroom for more pleasurably scenarios, dearheart,” the demon teased flatly. Turning her attention to Aesin directly, she lifted a soft hand to caress her face, wiping the damp hair from her forehead with a cool, comforting touch. “You’ve made an enormous mess. I’m sure you realize that now,” she scolded softly, a disapproving scowl on her face. “I’m afraid you’ve consulted me too late in the matter, Neren…there’s not much help I can offer either of you,” she grumbled softly.

.

the entire thing just seemed like the biggest absurdity. even if karma had appeared to save her, the demon wasn’t being of much help. aesin could still hear her heartbeat reverberate in her ears, sucking in a sharp breath at the sudden appearance of the other. in her mind, she had imagined the woman jumping on the creature, heroically destroying it, but there she was, snuggling into her arm. 

aesin hissed at her, brows furrowing into a deep frown as she kept snapping her head in between karma and the unnamed will. “what...?!”, the ritualist finally snapped, feeling flustered by the sudden closeness of the other. feeling her fingertips against her burning skin, aesin swallowed thickly – almost forgetting the intruder hovering just closeby. she felt thankful that karma didn’t disappoint in appearing in a moment of desperation. with her eyes glued onto the other’s, she let her hand grab onto her arm gently, pressing her lips together into a thin line. worry washed over her, a pinch of anger just by listening to her words. she could feel herself getting upset and pouty, absolutely knowing that she had made a mess. 

“i bound it to me, didn’t i?”, she whispered to karma, trying her best to blend out the dark figure in the corner – she felt save with her demon so close, enjoying the coolness she was radiating, calming her down just the tiniest best. 

"̶̂͜i̵̹͌̇ ̴̧̘̍͗a̷̤̐m̷̢̱̄̒ ̶͕͎̆s̵̫͍̐͘ṯ̶͐̒ȋ̷̹l̵͇͈̐l̵͖̙̇͐ ̶̦̑h̸̔̃ͅe̶̠͉͐ŗ̶̇ͅě̴̱͌"̵͎̆

its horribly deep voice echoed through aesin’s head, making her frown even more. she took a glance at it with a long sigh leaving her body – she had to confront it, didn’t she? there was no need to answer her question, she knew this thing was a part of her now. its emerald eyes bore through her soul and she rolled her eyes at the entire situation. 

sheepishly, she brought her attention back to karma – who looked way too stunning for a situation like this, automatically inching closer to her, her slender fingers reaching out to grab onto her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. aesin leaned in, tilting her head to whisper into the demon’s ear. “we can negotiate, right?”, she asked quickly. aesin possesses a basic knowledge about wills, what she was suspecting this was. her extensive research on elementalists and mana cores surely wasn’t enough to let her be able to tell what she was binding herself to, but she could guess that this might be a beast will of some sorts.

what she didn’t expect, was the answer she would get soon. finally, she brought her attention back to the green eyes, staring back at her impatiently. clearing her throat, she grabbed onto karma’s arm a bit harder, speaking out: “what are you? and what do you want?”, aesin asked the thing. 

"̶̹̪̓͐ȩ̴̩͗͗l̵̻̾̿d̵̥̈̓ẹ̴̓̂r̸̙̀͋ ̷͚͚̔̚ġ̴̜ù̸̳̼a̴̫̿̋͜r̶̝̻̈d̴̗̣͒i̴̖̊̑a̸̲̓n̴͈̠͆̊.̶̝͉̑͆"̶͕̰̒

“elder guardian?”, aesin whispered, biting her lower lip as she turned her head over to karma. “beast will after all...”, her head felt light, her body slowly feeling like it was giving up on her. with a deep breath, she tried to weigh her options: with an elder guardian bound to her, she faced powers that she had always wanted and always wanted to be able to wield, but she wasn’t quite in the mindset to think properly. 

pushing her grimoire against karma’s chest, she felt herself shivering, another droplet of sweat dripping down her temple, the situation being way too overwhelming for her. “you do something.”, aesin pleaded to the demon, who had seemed to be rather useless up until now, only making her feel flustered and unfocused, and definitely not helping her heart beat slower any time soon. 

[nerenth]

ujin-khaos​:

「 One more sip. • The Golden Faerie Strip Club 」.

TW: (non-con) drug use & sexual references

⤷  @nerenth​

“Think you can make our guest a little more comfortable?” Lips grazing against the delicate shell of a fae’s ear, the female had practically plastered herself to the incubus’ side all night.

Words didn’t need any explanation for the erotic dancer to understand, their meaning was weighted on what the two of them have been so obviously thinking about. Distinctly pointing out the striking woman which both he and the fae under his arm had been staring at from across the floor for far too long, the female patron must have no trouble in life garnering favourable attention. 

aesin had been glued onto the armchair she had chosen to sit on. fingertips digging into the cheap felt, knowing it probably should have been satin instead – at least to her standards. a drink was in her other hand, sipping on the golden liquid lazily, eyes glued onto the dancers before her. once a month. if anything. being around highrankers every day, even when they used to shun her family and herself in those ways, was draining. everything had to be perfect – and she just wasn’t perfect, far from it. maybe someday she’d achieve what she had wanted, but she didn’t know when that day would come. 

she didn’t want to be disturbed, she didn’t want to be recognized and she didn’t want to socialize. at least that’s what she thought at the beginning of the night. with the help of a few drinks, she was feeling more relaxed, a hand running towards her belt, decorated by a large knife and different pouches, decorated fingers pulling on it to make sure that her shirt was sitting right. aesin always tried to avoid looking through the crowd, as she was sure there were things going on she would rather not see. a slight feeling of disgust, even though she was doing the same thing. 

with a soft sigh, she was ready to get up and leave the club, head home, smoke some more and maybe finish up a sculpture. the ritualist raised a brow when she felt a silhouette come into her field of view, turning her head slowly to look at the woman who was telling her to come along. for a moment, she didn’t know if she had done anything wrong or if this was an invitation of some sort. with a short nod and a tug on her coat, she followed along, mentally preparing for whatever was to come. 

as soon as she entered the lounge, she knew she hadn’t done anything wrong, but it was apparent that she stood out from the usual crowd. taking in a deep breath, she eyed the stranger handing her a drink – most likely the boss or something of the likes. aesin took it into her hand, taking a seat and crossing her legs, bringing the glass up to her nose, taking a whiff of it. strong flavor of alcohol, but judging from the situation and a slight disturbance within the liquid, she could tell that this was going to be more. not that she minded, having experience with the different ways to have fun around the area, but it still made her raise a brow.

she wasn’t going to complain about the special treatment, especially with all of the pretty faces around her. finally, she took a sip of the cold liquid, feeling it burn down her throat. with a soft cough, she turned towards the male, tilting her head a little. “now... what exactly is this?”

[nerenth]

ara-kadeu​:

@nerenth​

The line up to be let out of the carriages was long. There were at least four in front of hers, and more joining the line behind her. If this was any indication, Joui’s party was going to be quite the soiree. Luckily, everything seemed to be moving quickly, like a well oiled machine. Ara didn’t have to wait long before it was time for her to gracefully exit the carriage. She shot the valet a grateful smile as they assisted her down the steps. Her eyes took in the sight before her as she made her way inside the impressive estate. Everything was so.. Shiny. She loved it. 

Inside was even more spectacular than she expected. The florals, the gold, the drinks being passed around on little platters. She took a gilded glass of what she assumed was some kind of fruity wine and glanced around the large room as she sipped, looking for anyone interesting.  Ara’s heart practically stopped when she saw her favorite artist standing not far from her, inspecting the contents of her own glass. Ara fastened as calm a smile as she could on her face as she walked towards the unsuspecting woman. 

“Go Aesin, I cannot begin to tell you how thrilled I am to find you here.” The actress lowered her head in a small bow to the higher ranking artist before introducing herself. “Moon Ara. I am a big fan of your work. I’ve purchased several pieces of yours recently and was planning on making a trip to your shop to formally introduce myself soon.” She gave a small chuckle, “Though it seems the fates had other plans.”

aesin hadn’t expected anything less from an invitation like this one. she had been wandering around the premises, eyes glued onto all the different pieces of art and extravagant decorations. sometimes she couldn’t even believe she would get invited to these kind of events, but she was more than glad that this was her life now. 

her gaze was on the glass full of bubbly liquid, swirling it around, mesmerized by the beautiful color it was reflecting up to her as she brought the glass up to her lips, taking a sip of the expensive tasting drink. mindlessly, she picked up a small piece of chocolate off a golden platter, pursing her lips as she stared at it for a little while before popping it into her mouth. just something she couldn’t resist.

aesin almost hadn’t noticed the stranger walking towards her, almost jumping a little as she heard the voice stirring her out of her trance. looking at the other woman with big eyes, she listened, nodding slowly to her words – still a little caught off guard. however, as soon as she heard her name, a smile crept onto her lips. “moon ara.”, she repeated, nodding eagerly at her customer. “i’ve heard lots about you as well.”, aesin bowed politely at her, clearing her throat before speaking. “i thought i’d never know what you look like – all of these mysterious orders.”, she commented with a soft chuckle, bringing her glass of bubbly wine up to the other. “well, doesn’t that call for a toast? finally meeting each other?” 

[nerenth]

Thursday 30 July 2020; 00:45. You chose to perform a ritual with the intention of binding the beast’s manacore to yourself!

You wake up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat, your chest feeling as though it were aflame. Nothing you do works to diminish the sensation: it’s as though there’s a vice around your heart, crushing you from the inside.

The pain is unbearable as it travels up from your center and into your brain over the course of minutes. It’s excruciating, unlike anything you’ve endured before, until all of a sudden it isn’t. The pain is gone. There is a man in your room now.

At least, you think it’s a man. He’s swathed in a darkness so thick that it refuses to let you focus on anything other than his eyes. His emerald eyes. Hovering near your ceiling.

You get the feeling that if anyone walked into your room right now, they’d be unable to see him. He has no mouth but he speaks to you in a baratone that reverberates around your skull. “Foolish Human, what have you done?”

as big her ego was, sometimes she had to admit that not every single idea she had was a good one. and maybe, just maybe trying to bind a certain, unknown core to herself, just out of impulsive behavior was one of those bad decisions. the feelings of regret had started early on, just after going through with the process, but certainly were kept under control, as whatever she had tried to do, seemingly had failed. that was up until she woke up that night. 

a fever? no, it couldn’t be. aesin tossed and turned in her bed, the feeling of a hot summer night weighing down on her, just way, way worse. a reminder of those times when she had fallen sick as a child burning in the back of her head, just way worse. clutching at her chest, she let out a gasp as she stirred awake from nightmare after nightmare. a few strands of hair were sticking onto her sweaty forehead, her slender body curling up on the bed, blanket long gone, scrunched up somewhere to the side. 

something was wrong. horribly wrong. however, for a few minutes - which felt like an eternity - aesin didn’t dare to open her eyes. deep down, she knew. she had done something wrong and now she had to pay the price. most likely, she was going to die. after everything she had achieved, she was just going to die like this. the thought made her shoot up in her bed, back pressed against the headboard, goosebumps all over her skin. that’s when she saw it. 

her eyes were focused on the creature covered in thick darkness hovering above her. glowing eyes were staring back at her, into her soul and she knew this wasn’t an entity who had been welcomed by her into her place – a shift of energy, an unknown feeling of uncertainty. while she had learned to summon entities, enchanting buildings and being surrounded by helpful beings that obeyed her (most of the times), this one was none of them. “foolish human.”

aesin felt like her heart was about to burst out of her chest, her right hand still placed over it, trying to hold it inside of her. a bead of sweat ran down to her lips, the taste of salt bringing her out of her trance, blinking a few times to make out more features of the being. but there were none, just darkness and eyes. “what have i done?”, she whispered back, not exactly trying to get an answer out of the entity. she wasn’t sure about its intelligence or intentions, she just somehow felt that she was going to be stuck with this thing if she didn’t do anything soon. 

after all, she had absorbed the core - whatever core it was, and to her dismay, it definitely wasn’t a manacore. and there was no way she was going to fight this thing or try to argue around with it, especially not with it just hovering in her bedroom like that. “i’m not foolish.”, she said out to it, firmly. she could feel herself getting upset, at her own actions and at the sudden intrusion of her privacy. and god, was this thing’s voice a pain in her head. 

quickly, a hand reached out for her grimoire – the only thing she could do at this point. narcissa. narcissa was often on her mind, maybe too often, and she had always been since the moment she knew her. she remembered being upset that karma had just appeared, but in the end she had to acknowledge that this was her own fault, her own despair that had lured her in. not exactly the way she had originally planned to lure the woman in, but life had never really gone her way now, had it? and contract was contract. 

the ritualist lifted a finger at the creature, finally trying to communicate with it apart from trying to deflect her own stupidity. “i got a demon.”, she mentioned with menace in her tone. if this being stemmed from some corner of the underworld, then maybe it’d have some respect towards a demon. if not, then a demon still seemed more intimidating than herself. 

she hesitated, not wanting to embarrass herself in front of karma, but she felt like she had no other choice. fuck. with her hand on the grimoire, she mumbled out the incantation she knew the best, knowing that karma would most likely immediately know that this was some sort of emergency. “please come and save me...”, she whispered after, her words barely audible to even herself. with her eyes always glued on the dark entity, she made sure that it wasn’t going to suddenly lunge at her and try to kill her, but she had a feeling that that wasn’t going to be of benefit for it either. 

( @kadeukarma​ – feel free to make a new post for this or cut this post down however you feel fit! and grey, let us know if you want anything specific to happen! <3 )

[nerenth]

kadeumilou​:

Obedience.  That was what Aspen loved most followed by power and hunger for blood and flesh. It had never been a part of them to be obedient but, they were born a leader and thus, welcomed obedience in all shapes and forms instead and didn’t hesitate to praise their prey when they showed any sign of or will for it.  “You deserve an education, you know that?” Aspen asked, a small smirk playing on their lips. “And then, maybe you will finally learn to call me Aspen, and not walk in here whenever you feel like it” they murmured softly, their voice dark and sensual, hungry for something they didn’t know what for yet. Tracing their fingers further down Aesin’s slender neck,  for a brief moment, Aspen allowed themselves to dream, of what her blood would taste like, if it was spilled all over the floors of the Armory, and stained their own fingers and lips. And Aspen imagined what Aesin’s neck would look like in the aftermath, blood pouring out of the open wound, like a sweet release, exposing the flesh and what would be the color of her flesh, or the sound Aesin might emit when in so much pain; so many possibilities and delicious questions yet to be answered. And when, Aspen snapped back to reality, they hummed softly, pulling their fingers away.  They couldn’t help but roll their eyes, “You might? Or you actually do?” they asked, a bit in disbelief. They crossed their arms around their chest, leaning against a display table that contained various daggers of different shapes and sizes. Aspen was rendered speechless because who dared to walk into the Armory and ask for a weapon unless a high-ranked Club. 

“You’ve got to be kidding right?” they then, asked without waiting for a reply. “You walk in here whenever you want and it’s fine because we have known each other since we were kids but purchasing a weapon? Have you lost your mind or you want to defect?” Aspen teased, clicking their tongue, before staring at the ceiling, still in slight disbelief, shaking their head slowly.  “I’d love to see you try to fight with your bare hands, might make you look actually hot!”

aesin quickly noticed that her excuse wouldn’t be of much help – it just made things even worse. for a moment, aesin panicked, unsure about what to do. suddenly she felt a feeling of regret wash over her – something that frequently happened whenever she met aspen. the weapons around her were useless for her anyway. 

“no, i got it.”, aesin said, referring to the other’s name; tightening her grip around the other’s wrist – not that she would actually be able to do anything against them, however, the way their hand was tracing down her neck didn’t sit completely right with her. “i got it.”, she repeated, wanting to curse herself for even opening her mouth earlier, trying to stop their hand, which thankfully was removed from her soon enough. being cocky always worked in her head, and sometimes in person, but with aspen it was all just happening in her dreams while she was getting scared in reality. 

“yeah, i’m kidding.”, the ritualist finally breathed out as she was able to distance herself from the other. her own fingers traced over the spot that aspen just had their hand on, trying to compose herself once more. clearing her throat, he reached into the pocket of her coat, grabbing a small object inside. maybe this would calm the other’s entire... mood for once.  

aesin wasn’t much of a fighter, while she could definitely summon something to protect her, she was never sure if it wouldn’t just turn around on her and get at her as well – thus the small knife on her belt, grimoire in her bag and the incantations she knew from memory were the only things she could turn to in case the other would decide they would have had enough of her. which, somehow, never really seemed the case. 

surely, the situation was scary – aesin felt a shiver run down her spine just seeing how the other was mocking her, obviously along with a need to wrap her hands around their neck in return, but she could always get control back over herself with a deep breath. 

“here.”, the diamond whispered as she fished a ring out of her pocket. a black gem embedded into the rather simple looking ring, aesin offered the small object to aspen. “it’s dangerous lately. it’s tourmaline. it’ll help you stay focused.”, she explained with a frown on her face, still reaching out towards the other. “and might actually help you stop thinking about wanting to murder me. if i’d want to die, i’d do it myself, thank you.”

[nerenth]

Friday 14 August 2020; Morning. On your way to your Atelier an ancient old woman runs into you, hard. You barely manage to catch yourself before you fall in the dirt and she didn’t even stop walking. Overcome by an uncharacteristic anger you have no control over, you find yourself following her - going in the opposite direction of your destination. No matter how fast you walk nor how much you shout she does not stop. Eventually you end up in the Joker where you watch her run into a skinny young man​ before darting into the crowd and disappearing without a trace. The young man yelps in surprise and seems thoroughly confused, desperately searching for the woman. You stop, blinking in astonishment as the rage melts away from you. Just who was that old bag woman?

–– part 2.  @diabyeolical​  (part 1) 

“was it him who did that stuff…”, the ritualist mused, turning page after page, looking for a certain name. the fellow diamond was known in her circles for being talented at digging up information on anyone and anything, aesin concluded that he might have a good chance at helping her. “hanbyeol.”, she finally whispered as her finger found his name, tapping the page. club v.

for a split moment, she thought about just snapping open a portal, but then again, she’d probably end up somewhere in nowhere, not knowing where to go or how to find the man – going to the club by foot was most likely her best option, even if way less exciting. 

it didn’t take long for her to make her way through the diamond district, sun slowly setting and covering the alleys in warm colors. a rolled cigarette hanging from her lips, aesin took one last drag from it before tossing it to the ground, turning one more corner before arrival at the club. while it was way too early to be in a club right now, she was still hoping she’d find the one and only hanbyeol there. 

making her way through the building, it seemed foreign during these early evening hours until she finally found someone she could bother. quickening up her pace, she caught up to the person. “greetings, i am looking for hanbyeol. business things.”