#a little bit of tender : astaria

[infernusvacua]

@ open : astaria + ? (post event)

It had been a quiet evening, the first she’d had in a very long time. Most of her clients were off at that loathsome party the fallen angels were throwing. Once upon a time, Astaria would have been first in line for such an event, dressed to the nines with a fallen angel of her own on her arm, ready for whatever debaucheries were on the menu for the evening. But that life was long gone, and since the angel in question was no doubt attending the party, Astaria had ardently avoided it like the plague. She had different ideas of fun that did not require putting her kinks on display for everyone and their grandmother to see. Well... alright, voyeurism was one of her kinks, but she wasn’t about to display it where Lysander might be able to see it.

So when the frantic texts began flooding her phone, the madame was comfortably ensconced at home in The Black Dahlia, sipping on a glass of finely aged poet fresh from the source, with her beloved Arsène draped over her shoulders. She didn’t want to look up from her re-read of Le Rouge et le Noir, but the texts kept coming, followed by phone calls that would not stop no matter that she kept sending them to voicemail. With a haughty sigh, Astaria finally unlocked her phone and began perusing the messages in earnest, stroking Arsène’s head absently. With each one she read, first one and then the other eyebrow began to rise.

Twenty minutes later, having carefully bookmarked her place and put the python back in his enclosure, Astaria stood on the roof of a building a few blocks away from The Inferno. Even in crisis, she refused to come any nearer to the place than was necessary. One manicured hand rested on the handle of a rolling metal suitcase packed with blood, just in case. The Night Court was splintering off to escape. From what she could tell, the King was, at the very least, safe and unharmed. But other members might not be so lucky and in need of sustenance. She’d made sure her most valued clients knew where to find her, those who were answering their texts at any rate.

She didn’t turn her gaze away from the part of the club she could see from here, even when the rooftop door opened behind her. “I see you made it out of the lion’s den,” Astaria said, her rich, blended accent rolling through the air.

[ex-courtofshvdows]

tag dump 2 / 4

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★ ASTARIA LUX ★ — Task #2: Mischief Managed

WAND

Aspen “Wand-quality aspen wood is white and fine-grained, and highly prized by all wand-makers for its stylish resemblance to ivory and its usually outstanding charmwork. The proper owner of the aspen wand is often an accomplished duellist, or destined to be so, for the aspen wand is one of those particularly suited to martial magic. An infamous and secretive eighteenth-century duelling club, which called itself The Silver Spears, was reputed to admit only those who owned aspen wands. In my experience, aspen wand owners are generally strong-minded and determined, more likely than most to be attracted by quests and new orders; this is a wand for revolutionaries.”

Dragon Heartstring “As a rule, dragon heartstrings produce wands with the most power, and which are capable of the most flamboyant spells. Dragon wands tend to learn more quickly than other types. While they can change allegiance if won from their original master, they always bond strongly with the current owner. The dragon wand tends to be easiest to turn to the Dark Arts, though it will not incline that way of its own accord. It is also the most prone of the three cores to accidents, being somewhat temperamental.”

14 ¼ in. Long “The wands measuring more than 14 inches are very unusual. Wizards and witches who have great self-esteem are preferred for these wands, because these owners mostly seek recognition and like to exhibit their prowess, being very honest about their personalities to everyone around them. They may, however, not consider their own points to be amended in some cases. If these wizards and witches come to accept some characteristics as flaws and learn how to hold them back eventually, the wand will increase in magical efficiency.”

Reasonably supple “'Stable wands' include those characterized as slightly yielding, slightly springy, reasonably supple, and all swishy wands. These tend to choose owners who seek perfection in their magic and try to plan things for a long-run. ... The perfectionists may be chosen by reasonably supple wands, for these wands perform consistent magic without getting tired of repetitions and keep improving their results each time.”

HOGWARTS HOUSE

Slytherin — cunning, ambitious, resourceful, shrewd, determined

Astaria would be reasonably pleased to be placed in Slytherin, given her love of snakes and her extremely ambitious streak. She fits perfectly amongst the cunning students of this house—she’s a calculating and intelligent woman who gets what she wants when she wants it. She has put great effort into achieving the lavish lifestyle she currently enjoys. But where a Hufflepuff would put their back into it and work hard, Astaria has gotten to the top through keen business acumen, stepping on others when needed, and taking advantage of opportunities when she sees them. She’s not one to roll over when the going gets tough; she just prefers to find less troublesome means of meeting her goals. Work smart, not hard, as the saying goes. Additionally, Astaria is extremely loyal, though she tries to temper this as her ability to get attached to others has gotten her in trouble in the past. Nevertheless, once she deems someone worthy of her time and effort, she will commit herself to them in every way. There’s no telling the blood madame ‘no’. She’ll just find a way to make you say ‘yes’.

It should be noted, however, that Astaria would have attended Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and not Hogwarts, due to being French. And as such, she would have a very strong sense of superiority over anyone from Hogwarts that would nevertheless fit well with Slytherin.

PATRONUS

Arctic Fox

“Associated with cunning, the fox has a place in many ancient cultures’ folklore. Foxes are sometimes thought to be tricksters, leading the unsuspecting down a path of demise. The calculating fox can outwit its enemies with strategy and adaptability.”

Astaria’s patronus is no common red fox. Though she might not cast it often, on the rare occasions that she does so, the small stature and shining white fur clear of any markings would immediately reveal it to be an Arctic fox. Arctic foxes are remarkably hardy little creatures who endure some of the harshest environments in the world. They dodge predators much larger and more powerful than themselves to survive, and have keen senses of smell that both alert them to other predators and allow them to find even the most elusive prey under 2 feet of snow. They are very opportunistic hunters, and while it is rare, some very lucky individuals of the species can live up to 10 years in the wild, double the life expectancy of the red fox. It’s no wonder then that this beautiful and resilient beast is a perfect match for Astaria.

OTHER

Amortentia — Nighttime Garden Some of Astaria’s fondest memories are evenings spent enjoying a beautiful garden with friends. Flowers in bloom all around her, filling the night air with their heady perfume, while cherry blossom petals float gently around her and soft candle- or lamp-light illuminates the scene. Roses, lilies, lavender, peonies, and the subtle fragrance of daffodils all around her. Notes of a flavorful red wine or a strong tea blend in with the more recent addition of fresh blood, making Amortentia smell to her like a Parisian night of vampiric delights.

Boggart — Rats Astaria is the thing people fear in the dark, with fangs and sharpened nails waiting to strike. But even she is afraid of something, and that something happens to be rats. Rats and mice are much easier for her to deal with when they’re already dead and just being fed to her snakes—live ones are a totally different matter. A boggart confronting her could either present her with an enormous, rabid rat waiting to chew her face off, or it could split into a whole colony of them, ready to swarm over and suffocate her to death. Either way, at the first sign of a bald tail, Astaria would be shrieking her head off.

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For Astaria: # Itanya

Your muse’s name in mine’s phone

Itanya 🩸

Your muse’s ringtone in mine’s phone

Debussy’s “Deux Arabesques - I. Andantino con moto”

My muse’s last text to your muse

i heard about the raid, are you safe darling?

Your muse’s picture in mine’s phone

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Astaria: Introduce all your snakes (also previous ones) with photos and names, please and thank you.

“Ah, mais bien sûr, mon chéri. I always love talking about my darlings. They are my pride and joy, even those whom I have outlived. I can’t cover all of the snakes I have ever owned—that would be a massive list, as I used to have a bad habit of simply taking snakes whenever I saw them and keeping them, regardless of whether or not they had owners already. But I will cover the most important darlings in my life, who really became family more than they were pets.”

“My first python was this exquisite little beauty. I called her Fleur-de-Lys. This was long before ball pythons were even considered eligible to be kept as pets; they were mostly being imported for zoos and private collections. An acquaintance of mine in the very last years of the 19th century had acquired Fleur and showed little interest in her except as decoration given her strange coloration. I felt a sort of kinship to her situation and took her off his hands. We spent some months traveling together while the investigation into his murder was underway. She was about a year old when he bought her, and she passed away in 1926.”

“Next came Erik, mon petit fantôme. His pattern looked like little ghosts, non? I had just read the newly published Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, so the name felt very fitting. He was also a rescue from an unfortunate situation, sent to a zoo that had no idea how to handle snakes. They didn’t even think he was a ball python because of his pattern. When I brought him home, he was around two years old and very malnourished, but it didn’t take long for him to flourish. He passed in 1943.”

“Fate also brought us together with Christine, who I found in the collection of an intolerable bore of a man who absolutely did not deserve her. Since she looked similar to Erik, the name came naturally. It was truly perfect; they got along so swimmingly together that I think Christine’s little heart broke when Erik passed, because she started doing poorly after that and passed herself not long after.”

"However, I think Fleur and Erik must have had an affair at some point, because that’s the only explanation for how little Curieuse simply appeared in my home. She was born in 1924, and she was one of my longest-lived snakes, not passing until 1969. I originally named her because her markings looked like question marks, but she turned out to be quite the explorer and troublemaker. Sweet little thing, though.”

"Curieuse was my only companion snake for a long time, but then I was introduced to Étoile. Around this time, the piebald variation was discovered, and the couple responsible for Ettie had been hoping they would get some in their latest clutch. When she came out, they were somehow disappointed in her, I supposed because she was neither piebald nor albino. So I immediately took her off their hands. I believe she was born in 1963, and she passed in 2000.”

"That prompted me to see if I could find any others like her, and that lead to my beloved Milady. She was born in 1979 and only passed three years ago. I don’t like to pick favorites, but I think Milady might have been the one I’ve loved the most. We just connected very deeply. She never bit me once—all the others have had at least one accidental snap when they’ve been in feeding mode, but not her. She was too proper for that. I miss her dearly.”

“And that brings me to my current three bébés. By this point, ball pythons had taken off as a more mainstream pet, and breeders were starting to embrace the strange and beautiful morphs their snakes were showing, as well as giving them names. I got Arsène in 2005 from a very nice breeder. They called him a black chocolate python, which I rather liked. I named him after the greatest gentleman thief in all of literature, and though he’s not a thief, he is quite the gentleman.”

“Cosette is my third blue eyed leucistic, now that I know what the term is. She’s only seven years old and extremely shy compared to Arsène and Bijou, but she’s a doll and I love her dearly. The moment I saw her, I knew I had to have her—I mean look at that pink tone! Absolument magnifique!”

“And last but not least, ma jolie petite princesse, Bijou. She is still a baby at two years old and I spoil her absolutely rotten. She really is a little jewel, and although she can be demanding, she is the easiest snake I’ve ever had when it comes to handling. I think she loves it, to tell the truth. Being held is just another way for her to show off and have people swoon over her.”

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✥ lightning in my veins ✥

Oh come with me, I'll show you how to live for free. Nobody got a thing on me, done singing in the midnight street.

(Alternative Link)

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Astaria, do you have a best friend?

“No, not really. I have… friends, yes, I would call them friends. People I have become close to over time. But a best friend is too close for my comfort. I have to maintain some space, for my own sanity. I’ve gotten too close before, and I simply cannot risk a repeat of last time. It’s better that way. Besides, many casual friends are better; it’s much easier to fill up a party that way.”

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tag drop ! 1 / ?