#((we Stan Cressida on this blog and in this house))

[diveronarpg]

Congratulations, CHARLIE! You’ve been accepted for the role of CRESSIDA. Admin Rosey: Cressida was one of my favorite characters that I’ve ever written -- a petulant bubblegum princess who is unapologetic about who she is and what she is about, on a perpetual quest to find the love of her life, even at another’s expense. Every single portrayal that I have seen of her has been unique and absolutely mindblowing. I love seeing her come to life and Charlie I am so excited to see your plots for her come to fruition! Welcome back to the gang! We stan growth and pain in this household! Please read over the checklist and send in your blog within 24 hours.

WELCOME TO THE MOB.

Out of Character

Alias | Charlie

Age | 22

Preferred Pronouns | she/her

Activity Level | 5-6/10. Currently, I only work part-time until fall when I pick up my studies again. However, the past has also shown me that I’m a rather relaxed writer who gets blocked if she feels stressed. Thus, I like to queue my replies and do them whenever I feel motivated. I’m basically around in Discord to plot and chat 24/7, though.

Timezone | CET

In Character

Character | Cressida aka Celeste Duval.

What drew you to this character? | I’ll just boldly assume that most of you recall me writing Celeste for a few months until I decided to leave the rp. While I thought about dipping my toes into a new pond (so to say), explore a new, different story, my fascination with Celeste has never fully gone away. There’s just still so much left to explore in her story, developments she can go through. Not giving her a try again, feels like a premature end, like I didn’t do her proper justice. I’ve also recently read Six of Crows which has increased my muse for Celeste considerably as the character Nina Zenik is just such a great inspiration for Celeste and actually made me realize how much I miss “my” beautiful girl who loves fiercely and bravely as much as she’s unashamed to be her own dramatic self. As silly as it probably sounds, I want to come home to my favorite rp with my favorite character.

What is a future plot idea you have in mind for the character? |

Plot 01: I know, I know, it’s a plot as old as time by now. However, as far as I know the whole Easton plotline has never really had any real consequences for her so far within the game. I want to change that because, after all, the whole thing can only go on so long. I want somebody to get suspicious of her, to confront her with the challenge of having to step up her game to keep the whole blackmail game a secret. Either she manages to get rid of Easton once and for all or she’ll be discovered which could also be very interesting. Because then she’d have to position herself well enough within the ranks of the Montagues to not simply be killed off for treason. Actually, I’d prefer the second option because it’d finally make her realize what she could lose. How important her current position is to her which she’s grown so used to that she doesn’t really value it anymore. All she can see is what she doesn’t have. Even though it might come across a little contradictory to the second plot, in my mind, it isn’t. In my mind, it’d be more a trigger for the second plot to start.

Plot 02: This isn’t her swan song, this is the sound of her wrath coming to everybody who’s ever stepped on or used her. I want her to snap, to finally have enough of being used for nothing but other people’s personal gain. She has a long history in that aspect and although she’s never been satisfied by it, has always known that she’s capable of so much more she’s tolerated it for her family’s sake. She’s married because her parents wanted her to, she’s started working for the Montagues to pay off her family’s debts. She’s allowed Easton to blackmail her to not risk putting the marriage, she’s never wanted in the first place, in danger. She’s done everything she possibly could just to get some of the recognition by her parents she’s been craving for so long. And at some point, she’s finally going to be done with it. She’s going to be done trying to impress people she’ll never be able to impress. She’s going to show everybody that they were wrong by treating her the way they did for such a long time. The last time I played Celeste, I started to put her down the road of starting to harvest her own power. To prove to herself and everybody else that she isn’t just a pawn but somebody with the potential to be powerful. I want her to start making more meaningful alliances around the Montagues, to build connections that could be of personal use to her in the hope of moving up the ranks. Also, I want her to put her on the path of realizing that she doesn’t stay with the Monts because she has to but because she chooses to. Because they’ve become her family, a place where she can grow and flourish.

Plot 03: I want to explore both her relationships with Isabella und Tomas further. The dynamic is quite the intriguing one, after all. Isabella is the love of her life, after all, but right now, Celeste also hasn’t reached the point, where she’d be willing to give up the ideas of what her marriage can do for her, just yet. Not to mention, that I imagine a part of her having grown used to Tomas love. After all, who doesn’t like to be loved and adored? However, I also can’t imagine this whole charade to go on forever. Tomas isn’t stupid, after all. Sooner or later he has to realize that something’s off. At first, she’d definitely fight for her marriage, especially if it should start to crumble at the same time of having her loyalty doubted from the Monts, simply because it’d be the only place where she’d still feel ‘powerful’. I can definitely imagine it to be sort of a cat and mouse game for a while with him doubting her and her trying to prove her faithfulness that never really existed in the first place. Not to mention that the connection Tomas has to Juliana would definitely hurt her ego. Not because she loves him but because the thought of being ‘replaced’ by somebody else, of not being good enough once more, is something she fears. It’s a fear she’s struggled with all her life, after all. However, her heart also craves to be with her lover again, the one person who’s always accepted her the way she is, where she never had to pretend or put on a show. But will Isabella still want her after all the shit Celeste has put her through? Doubtable. It’d actually be quite fun to see to have Celeste be the one doing the courting for the first time in forever, to see what she’d do to earn Isabella back.

Are you comfortable with killing off your character? | Celeste would either demand a dramatic death that steals everybody’s show or sacrifice herself for somebody she cares about, but yes, either way, I’m comfortable with killing her off.

In Depth

What is your favorite place in Verona? | As simple as the question was, Celeste didn’t know the answer. In fact, all she knew for certain was what definitely wasn’t in line for a possible answer and that would have been her parents’ place, the home she grew up in despite it having been portrayed in interior design magazines more than once. Back at school, the other children had envied her for the breathtaking, magnificent house she was living in, had made countless comments on how amazing it must be to have such a house as your home, but how could a house possibly be a home if it was empty of any love and affection? All that came to her mind when thinking of that bloody damn house was how she was never going to be enough. No, the house was just like her parents, pretty on the outside, but cold and empty on the inside. Her current home most certainly wasn’t among her favorite places (or even remotely close to becoming one) either. Another perfect example of how beauty couldn’t always buy your favor. To her, it was nothing more than a cage, golden, yet a cage nonetheless. She might have grown to like it - after all, Tomas had done his everything to furnish it to her likings - if it wasn’t the home they both shared, if it wasn’t just another reminder of everything that kept her in chains. After a moment and after having brushed a strand of fiery red hair behind her left ear as if this had been all keeping her from replying immediately, she finally responded, her head slightly tilted to the right. “I think my favorite place in all Verona is the restaurant The Two Gentlemen. Have you ever been there?” In feigned interest, her eyebrows rose slightly. “Their risotto al tastatal is to die for.” A soft chuckle followed her words as she gave the interviewer a cheeky, kittenish wink. “And nobody can’t possibly say no to a plate of the best food in the city, am I right?”

What does your typical day look like? | The corners of her plump lips tugging up into a smile, the redhead leaned back a little, finding a more comfortable position on the chair. At least this was an easy question, one she could answer without having to carefully choose every single word. “Most days I get up at around 9am. By that time, Tomas has already left work for in general, but the darling that he is he lets me sleep in, even if that means not being able to have breakfast with his wife”, she flashed an (insincere) ‘isn’t he simply the best man a girl could possibly wish for?’ look at the interviewer. “After getting ready for the day, I’ll enjoy a delicious breakfast that’s already been prepared for me by our house stuff - unlike most Italians I actually prefer a proper breakfast with some seasonal fruits, crepes, ciabatta, and some coffee.” Most days she didn’t eat that much, though, she simply liked having a wide selection to choose from. There was no need for admitting that, however. “The rest of my day is usually open, except for some appointments with various charity organizations and causes I support.” There had been a time when she’d spend the day building a fashion empire, those days were long gone though. She hadn’t been working in the typical sense ever since her marriage, concentrating on indeed supporting charity organizations by throwing events of every sort, and, of course, her work for the Montagues which actually demanded most of her time these days. Being a whore with being blackmailed as a side job was pretty time-consuming, she couldn’t help but notice with some bitterness in her mind. Anyways, after all, it wasn’t as if she could let the interviewer in on that. Celeste flashed her best ‘i know you’d all love to be me’ look at him while casually straightening her dress - not that it really needed any straightening, it was perfect, just the way it was supposed to be.

What has been your biggest mistake thus far? | ‘Being born a girl’ was the response that was on the tip of her tongue as soon as she heard the question. Almost just as quickly, defiance took over her thoughts. There was nothing second-class about being a girl. she’d proven time and time again that she was just as capable and impressive as any son could have ever been. Not that her parents cared either way. All her life, she’d heard that her birth alone was a mistake, maybe even a punishment from God because what else could be the reason for it when they’d done everything in their power to ensure they’d get a boy? There was no certainty when it came to bearing a child - apart from the wonders preimplantation diagnostics could do, obviously, and even then there was no absolute certainty -, but, of course, it was easier to put all the blame on the child instead of accepting that it might not have been in the cards for them to get a little boy. Something they’d made sure to let Celeste now every single day. That it was her fault and her fault alone to have turned out such an utter disappointment, such a failure from the very first breath she took. Despite having tried to prove the opposite all her life - mostly to her parents, but also to herself when defiance yielded to insecurity - it still stuck. No matter if she liked to admit it or not. However, there was no fucking chance that she’d ever say that out loud. Especially not in a situation she could be dead sure that it’d be in tomorrow’s newspaper. Thus, the brunette smiled once more, slightly leaning forward in a casual motion and by doing so revealing a little more of her cleavage to the interviewer. If he was into girls, he was bound to enjoy the view - they all did. On many others, it would have been a noticeable movement, one would have known that the girl was trying to hide something. This wasn’t the case for Celeste, though. After all, she’d spent years perfecting this tactic, a little move into the right angle here, a little wink and touch there, it had taken her years to come close to mastering this art, but that was bound to be good for something, right? And she definitely didn’t want him to pester her further until she gave a response to that question that gave him the juicy story he was most likely looking for. She rested her chin on the back of her hand in the most typical thinking pose the world knew, showing off her freshly manicured fingernails. “I think the decision I regret most, if there even is any, is deciding to put my fashion line on the hold after marrying”, she replied, a thoughtful expression in her eyes before she shrugged slightly, “but then again, I don’t really regret that either. After all, I knew this line would take me frequently on trips all across Europe and how could I bare staying apart from my dear husband for so long?” She feigned a soft, girly giggle. “I guess we’re still acting like newly-weds in some ways.”

What has been the most difficult task asked of you? | It was amazing how connected the last two questions were she couldn’t help to realize with some bitterness in her mind. After all, the honest answer to this one was connected to the person who just as well could have posed as the answer to the previous question. In both cases, Isabella Gagliano was involved. One might argue that falling for them could hardly be her biggest mistake for claiming she’d decided to fall for her was claiming the seasons decided to change, that the earth decided to move around the sun. But that was only splitting hairs. Not that it really mattered because there was no possible situation in which she could ever think of her feelings for that gorgeous gift from heaven as a mistake. No matter in what big trouble it got her. And it had indeed gotten her in quite a mess. Even though she’d lived up to the most difficult and painful task she’d ever been faced with. It had been, hands down, leaving them. Of course, it had to be done, there hadn’t been any other way. No matter how tempting it might have been to maintain their relationship on the side, keep them as sort of a mistress when her husband was too busy with work to miss her in his bed. After all, how could she have continued their relationship if the one thing Tomas had asked of her was to be faithful of him? It had broken her heart, no had torn it apart until nobody but them (and maybe not even them) would have been able to put it together again the way it had previously been, but she’d done it nonetheless. Because that was what a good wife, a dutiful daughter, somebody truly worthy of the Duval name did. And she was all of those things. She had to be. Her chin still resting on the back of her hand, the redhead quickly thought of an answer that would satisfy the interviewer without exposing her most vulnerable thoughts. Luckily, she had years of experience thanks to countless galas and press interviews, one of the perfect examples of how practice made perfect (not that being less than perfect had ever been an option for somebody attempting to prove that she was the perfect daughter). “What I’m going to say next, is going to sound incredibly privileged, so I’m begging you not to judge me”, she responded playfully sharing a mischevious, conspiratory smirk with him, “I’m afraid I have to admit I’ve never really been faced with any truly difficult tasks. Most things have been handed on a silver platter to me.” Internally she let out a dry, bitter laugh as couldn’t hardly be further away from the truth. “The burden of being an only child to wealthy parents. I guess my most difficult task is getting dressed each morning and picking out the perfect outfit from the broad collection I’m so incredibly blessed to have.” Those words could have come off as incredibly snobby and spoiled, thanks to her charm she hoped they didn’t however. It was amazing what you could say if you only smiled charmingly enough if you had the right expression in your big doll eyes.

What are your thoughts on the war between the Capulets and the Montagues? If she was completely honest, Celeste couldn’t care less. The Capulets and Montagues could both go to hell for all she cared. After all, none of them had ever really done anything but exploit her. Maybe her hatred for the Capulets was burning brighter at the moment considering the kidnapping they’d recently put her through, considering how they used her even more than the Montagues did. But if it was up to her, both mobs could burn at stake and she’d dance on their ashes with a content smile gracing that famous, rosy lips of hers. Of course, giving an answer that came even remotely close to what was going on in her mind would mean signing her own death warrant. And she had no interest in ending her life just yet (or ever before having truly lived her own life, for that matter). So instead of giving an honest answer, her lips curled up into a charming smile, the sort of smile men fell for as easily as moths were drawn to light. “I’m afraid a young woman like me is hardly capable of giving a qualified answer regarding a complicated matter like this”, she responded, an apologizing expression in her emerald eyes, “after all, how can somebody who grew up as sheltered and privileged as I did really say anything meaningful about that?” Casually she tugged a strand of hair out of her face behind her ear, thus stressing her young, girl like appearance. “If you want to get some qualified insight on the latest Prada collection, I’m your girl, though.”

Extras: I actually came up with a pinterest board and a small playlist for Celeste:

This Is What Makes Us Girls - Lana Del Rey High heels in her hand, swayin’ in the wind while she starts to cry, mascara runnin’ down her little Bambi eyes “Lana, how I hate those guys”.

Human - Christina Perri I can fake a smile, I can force a laugh, I can dance and play the part if that’s what you ask, give you all I am. I can do it.

Chandelier - Sia I’m the one “for a good time call”, phone’s blowin’ up, they’re ringin’ my doorbell. I’m gonna fly like a bird through the night, feel my tears as they dry.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - Chromatics My mother says, “When you gonna live your life right?”, My father yells, “What you gonna do with your life?”

Unstoppable - Sia All smiles, I know what it takes to fool this town. I’ll do it ‘til the sun goes down and all through the night time. Oh yeah, I’ll tell you what you wanna hear. I put my armor on, show you how strong how I am. I put my armor on, I’ll show you that I am, I’m unstoppable.

Believer - Imagine Dragons First things first, I’m fired up and tired of the way that things have been. Second thing second, don’t you tell me what you think that I can be.

Carmen - Lana Del Rey It’s alarming, honestly, how charming she can be, fooling everyone, telling ‘em she’s having fun.

This Is Me - Keala Settle They say no one’ll love you as you are, but I won’t let them break me down to dust.