#Auntie cleos it's better than nature

[mentallyima-frog]

I love a little bit of Art absolutely hating the board :D (clicking the image makes it less grainy :D)

[auntiebioticslab]

I didn’t get any asks for this but that’s okay because unfortunately I am WELL capable of infodumping without anyone’s permission. so here’s the unplanned variable ask meme by @outervvorlds

read mores do not work on mobile because tumblr is garbage from a toilet and my computer is currently on a UPS truck to California. I am so sorry.

Basics! Name, age, personality, etc. What do they look like? Are they a new or old oc? 

Her name is Rocket Alexandria Hawthorne! Formerly Rachel Holloway back on Earth but I’ll get to the reason for the name change.

She’s extremely vague about her age (her go-tos are “older than you” and “over a hundred” which are both technically true due to the “being on ice” thing) but she can pass for anywhere between 30 and 50 appearance-wise and the timeline of her Earth memories pretty reliably pegs her as late 30s-early 40s.

She’s a really effortlessly confident and funny person, which is the main reason she could probably talk her way out of her own execution. Also because I have a disease that makes me project my brain shit onto every oc I have she’s prone to hyperfixating due to an Unclear But Definitely Present Brain Thing so she knows a lot of things about a lot of things. Also she’d never openly admit it but she’s a sucker for romantic things and definitely cries at weddings.

This is her:

Her mom was Pakistani and her father was Black but she usually just says she’s from Baltimore.

What are their attributes, perks, and flaws?

She’s got high charm and intelligence, average strength and temperament, and good everything else.

I got her up to level 30 my last play through, do not make me list all her perks. Most of them this go-round so far are buffs to vendor prices and boosts to movement speed.

She has weakness to both plasma and physical damage!

What do they believe in?

Religiously, she’s agnostic but she kind of likes the notion of Philosophism. Morally, she believes that there’s no reason for people to pointlessly suffer just so someone at the top can hoard money, and also that the colony would be better off if Byzantium suddenly burned to the ground.

...she did not burn Byzantium to the ground, don’t worry.

How did they react to becoming Captain of the Unreliable? Are they much of a leader?

She always kind of wanted to be a cool spacefarer, but she hoped it would be under different circumstances. She told ADA that the real Hawthorne was killed by marauders, offered the poor bastard some dignity in death.

She is a pretty effective leader but that’s because she doesn’t really see herself as one? The crew aren’t subordinate to her, they’re her friends.

What was their life like before being iced?

It was boring! She was stuck in a shitty line cook job which wasn’t terrible but also felt like a waste of her education, and she was barely scraping by anyway. That’s why she applied for the Hope initiative.

Did they have any family before becoming Captain? Do they think their crew as family? 

Obviously she had parents growing up; they werent as present as they’d have liked to be because Work but she never once felt like they didn’t care for her. They didn’t live to see their daughter off when she boarded the Hope, but that was because of natural causes.

She also had four older brothers! Darren, Brice, Gene, and Andre. She was closest to Andre because the age difference between them was only a year. He’s actually the one who gave her the nickname “Rocket” in the first place; when they were kids they would pretend to be space explorers and their pretend names were Astro and Rocket.

None of her brothers were on the Hope. Darren actually was doing pretty well for himself in a low-level government job and didn’t feel the need to leave the planet, Brice didn’t want to uproot his wife and kids, Gene, well...she still has no idea what Gene was up to when she boarded the Hope because he took a job in another country and lost contact with his siblings years prior. Andre had been dead for years, unfortunately, having died in a work accident a week before Rocket was due to graduate college.

It still nags at her that while she can at least assume all her other brothers died peacefully and surrounded by loved ones, she knows EXACTLY what horrible thing happened to Andre.

As for the current crew, ohhh yeah, they are definitely her family. She cried when Felix said “I’ve got a family” to Clyde.

What’s their fighting style? Who do they bring along?

Ironically for a timeline where Roosevelt was never president, she does practice big stick diplomacy. Well, it’s usually small stick diplomacy because she prefers one handed melee, but still. If she can avoid direct conflict (through stealth or negotiation) she prefers to. The only exception was Tartarus.

There’s no real rhyme or reason to who she has in her party because from a Me As The Player standpoint I just go with whoever gives me boosts to the stats I need for the quest I’m doing. Which, in practice, usually ends up being Parvati and Felix because of that sweet sweet Persuasion buff.

Is Spacer’s Choice their only choice? What do they think of the corporations?

She is...not a fan of the amount of power they have. Spacer’s Choice in particular has a special place in hell as far as she’s concerned. If you held a gun to her head and asked her to pick a favorite...she’d probably ask you to just shoot her. Or she’d choose Auntie Cleo’s because their jingle is the least annoying.

What do they think of the factions? Are they liked or disliked by any?

Rocket has to make an actual effort to get on someone’s bad side so she’s in pretty good standing with most of the major factions. She made an effort with the Board, though 😁

For her part, she’s especially fond of the folks on the Groundbreaker.

What’s their favourite place in Halcyon? Least favourite?

She likes the scenery on Terra 2 and the people on the Groundbreaker, but as corny as it sounds her favorite place in Halcyon is the Unreliable. It’s home to her, and it’ll stay that way forever.

She doesn’t hate Edgewater per se but being there fills her with rage because of how...indicative it is of the way the rest of the colony is being run.

Do they have a favourite alien creature?

She definitely has never done extensive research on the care and feeding of leather boas because she hyperfixated on the idea of getting one as a pet before realizing that recreating the necessary habitat conditions on the Unreliable was impossible, or at least way too expensive.

No, I’m not projecting the amount of times I have done something similar for bearded dragons.

Did they save The Hope?

FUCK yeah she did.

What do they want to do afterwards? - but do they get a happy ending?

She finally gets some use out of her degree; she’s qualified to be a food scientist, like a real actual food scientist, and that’s probably what Halcyon needs more than anything.

Considering a few other things that happen in the epilogue, she doesn’t get a perfect end. But it’s enough.

What do they think of the companions? Friendships, crushes, dislikes, etc. 

She immediately thought “now I’M the big sister” after recruiting Parvati and Felix, so there’s that. Probably accidentally called each of them by the name of one of her brothers a few times. Convincing Ellie that she actually cares about her as a person is her white whale of sorts, and she empathizes a lot with Nyoka given her own history of loss. Logically she realizes that Max is a fellow capital-A Adult but also she feels like she’s holding the leash on a feral dog whenever he’s with her. She likes to tell SAM he’s doing a good job.

How do the companion quests go?

Golden ends across the board, babey. I’ve never been one to half-ass shenanigans.

What’s their love language?

Gifts and acts of service!!! She always tries to play it cool until she’s ready to admit her feelings though, so there’s a lot of pretending she just HAPPENED to find this thing she damn near tore the planet apart looking for.

Also she especially likes to flirt by cooking. Even back on Earth she got into a fair few relationships by being like “hey neighbor, I underestimated how much this recipe makes, interested in taking some leftovers off my hands? ;)” when she knew damn well how much the recipe made and doubled it so she had an excuse to see her cute neighbor.

Are they in a relationship? Do they want to be?

She has a crush on a certain rogue scientist, and unfortunately for her it is such an intense crush that she actually gets tongue-tied around him sometimes, which isn’t something she’s used to and that stresses her out a LOT.

Damn now I want to write an immediately-post-game-but-WAY-pre-epilogue fic with the crew trying to get them together so they don’t have to listen to Rocket blasting classical music and frustratedly screaming into a pillow every time she leaves his lab.

How to win them over?

She likes to look into someone’s eyes and see a fire, you know? I mean this in both a platonic and romantic sense—if someone is downtrodden but still determined, she probably at least respects them.

Also if someone she has feelings for does some kind of tender touch thing like brushing her hair behind her ear she McDies. Just completely short circuits. Cannot handle it.

How to break their heart?

If she found out someone important to her was using her or going behind her back it would destroy her. Unwilling betrayals as a result of being under duress are one thing, but deliberate, calculated manipulation? That’s her absolute worst nightmare.

How did those cows get onto their ship??

She wanted to try making homemade cheese and didn’t trust the bottled milk to actually be from a cow after what she learned about the saltuna cannery in Edgewater.

Ok technically she just agreed to deliver the cows to a facility on Terra 2 after the actual ship carrying them had engine troubles on Groundbreaker but she liberated some of the milk while in transit. Not like they’d notice.

A song that reminds you of them,

Sucker Punch by Die Mannequin!

Three random facts about them.

She got that burn scar during her time on Earth. Be careful with hot liquids, kids.

She’s tall—like, 6’5” tall. People who don’t receive proper nourishment don’t get very tall so she towers over most of Halcyon.

After the events of Don’t Bite The Sun she went back to Stellar Bay and told Raymond “I’ll teach you my recipe for breded cystipig chops with mock applesauce if you’ll teach me how to make that casserole”. Good trade for both parties.

[theouterworlds]

Transmission has been received. Gameplay can be seen thanks to the crew over at @gameinformer who have put it up with commentary: https://youtu.be/J3cRpYGVPsU

And remember, Auntie Cleo's makes the best pharmaceuticals in Halcyon. Better than nature!

[noctepythonissam]

[Bio Info]

Name:

Luane Lopez del Castillo

Aliases:

Lua (by Lygia)

Sis (by Luciana)

Lu (by Bella)

Auntie Lulu (by Catarina)

Ophelia Dolores (Pen Name )

Lunar Order (pseudonym as a witch)

Birthday:

February 12th

Age:

25

Sign:

Aquarius

Race:

Human

Gender:

Female

Appearance:

Luane in some physical features is no different from Solange: The same golden eyes, pale skin and some facial features, but softer and gentler making her be compared to a muse. She has short wavy hair, her bangs braided to the left side and two strands dyed green, besides being the tallest of all the sisters, being 179 cm tall.

Commonly wearing a blouse with hollow shoulders with social and adorned with a black collar and a black bow tie in addition to other black details and a green pleated skirt in emerald green next to a pair of light beige sandals. In her reading moments or when she is working on her literary works or poetry or in her moments of studying magic she is commonly seen wearing round glasses.

Personality:

Luane conducts herself in a composed manner. She is one of the loveliest Castillo and also sensitive, insightful and generally the voice of reason among the quintuplets until she conflicts with her insecurities about Solange.

Her insecurities are due since childhood to the fact that many family members favored the oldest of the quintuplets who had natural talents while Luane failed miserably in her learning as a user of magic. This makes her feel nothing but a shadow of Solange, just like the stars who name her.

Even with her insecurities Luane loves it or better, she has an insatiable thirst for knowledge, which is evident by the overcrowded collection of books that covers various topics and appreciates the classic and popular arts. Part of this is how to show her commitment and persistence and years of trial and error to receive due merit even if she do not have natural talent.

In addition, she is very fond of animals, defending well-being and pampering them with toys (her favorite animal is cats). She also loves dramas of all kinds, especially detective ones. As a fan of them, she also showed great ability to analyze the situation. Endowed with a high I.Q her skills are comparable to those of a criminal expert and her deductions are generally never wrong. When she is really angry, she can seem severe and unforgiving.

Luane almost constantly hungry she has a voracious appetite capable of rivaling the Avatar of Gluttony and is also a glutton when it comes to sweets (especially macarons) and likes to enjoy them with tea, always participating in afternoon tea as way to enjoy a moment of peace. She considers this moment sacred and does not like to be interrupted in her delight, which makes her sulky if it happens without reasonable justification and is frighteningly violent and unforgiving when she goes into a rampage for some fool to eat her sweets without her permission.

Likes:

Books, dance, cats, sweets, poetry

Dislikes:

Share her sweets

[Biography]

Luane is the fourth oldest daughter of the Castillo family and the second oldest of the quintuplets. She being the complete opposite of her older sister, Luane was born with an affinity for magic White Magic and Order Magic, however, devoid of great magical talents and with difficulties in controlling more basic techniques.

Growing up under the demands and criticism of older members and assisting her older sister with favoritism, Luane had to make up for her lack of talent with a lot of persistence and hard work by earning the deserved (and still frustrating) position as the third best user of magic main family.

Her magic affinity for White Magic comes from the purest sources of energy giving her the ability to help others by healing the individual's mind, body and / or soul. Luane tends to focus on helping others, purifying evil spirits, undoing curses, creating medical potions and respecting all rules about what is prohibited and what is not.

Regarding her Order Magic, Luane is able to manipulate and undo all the damaging effects and changes caused by Solange's Chaos Magic, regardless of what they are and restoring the natural balance. However, in respect of the natural order Luane limited herself to only to healing people and restoring objects that have suffered damage, etc., as long as these were caused by the powers of her older twin sister.

Although her powers are based on order, harmony and purity and the environment of demand and favoritism, the source of all her magic is surprisingly the sin of gluttony that also improves her physical abilities with magic.

Like her sisters she was under the tutelage of some gods of Greek mythology, these being: Mnemosyne goddess of memory and the gods of various attributes Hermes and Apollo. The three gods helped her reach the peak of her powers, but she never failed to be humble and respectful to her mentors. Of all the sisters, she was the only one who shared with Lygia the fact that she was under the tutelage of the same god (Apollo).

Of all the gods who were her tutors, she was closest to Apollo who practically took Luane and Lygia as daughters and being the closest father figure that the young witches had and to Hermes who took on the role of older brother teaching them several of his gifts and who likes to play tricks on the human while Mnemosyne was the maternal figure in her life.

Luane cooperates with Stephanie to try to keep the family together and also to hide the Castillo in the modern world, for this she opened a chain of cafeterias in the Cat Café style to also rescue stray cats or victims of abuse and where she exposes her work as writer and poet under the pseudonym of writer Ophelia Dolores never relating publicly to her "character".

[Personal information]

Family:

Mother (deceased)

Father (deceased)

Cleo (older half sister)

Stephanie (older sister)

Luane (younger twin sister)

Lygia (younger twin sister)

Luciana (younger twin sister)

Bella (younger twin sister)

Catarina (niece)

Others:

Miriel (family housekeeper)

Hermes (tutor)

Mnemosyne (tutor, maternal figure)

Apollo (tutor, father figure)

Kiyomi (best friend)

Trivia

She and the quintuplets did not have a relationship with their parents, because her mother died in childbirth and her father was murdered by an envious rival;

Although she does not have many talents related to magic and under the influence of Apollo's tutelage, Luane became adept with a bow and arrow;

She also practices ballroom dancing, Latin dancing and knows some wrestling moves;

Kiyomi's best friend is Apolo's biological daughter, born out of the god's relationship with a Tennyo;

Despite being a glutton that rivals the Avatar of Gluttony and she is constantly hungry and a large intake of food, Luane has a much healthier physique than expected thanks to her love for dance and her wresteling practices;

Due to the influence of sin that is the source of her magic, there is a negative effect on her that causes an eating disorder that was named by Hermes "Limos" in reference to the entity that represents hunger in Greek mythology;

“Limos” is the state in which she is obsessively in relation to a particular sweet, leading her to an irrational state and increasing her physical strength compared to that of Beelzebub;

While she is in this state, she will destroy everything in her path (including her own sisters) only calms down once her desires are satisfied and does not retain any memory of her actions during her rampage.

[vonreuter]

Obsidian's next RPG will be announced at The Game Awards

Auntie Cleo's is 'Better Than Nature!'