Obscene's Scratchpad

[Obscene Symphony]

Title Colour Code: a2798f title font fontmeme cursive "precious" size 65, subheader size 40

Colour Code: ADDBD8 -- Isaac
Colour Code: DBADB0 -- Raphael

The Twins

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Attributes:

• Both are 6'5
• Slender, lithe builds
• Fair skin, blue-grey eyes
• Identical aside from Isaac's white hair
• Dress kinda like Alphinaud from FFXIV

TESTTEST
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[Obscene Symphony]

As long as you can remember, you've known you were different.

Don't worry, everyone else did too; the mark around your wrist made sure of that. Some of them looked at you with envy and fascination, others with pity. Maybe a few even shunned you. Maybe the attention bothered you, but you were probably more concerned with that feeling in your chest. That bizarre tug. That longing. That feeling of desperately missing someone. But who?

Maybe you've been searching for them; maybe you're not holding your breath. It's tough, right? Unless you live in a massive city you've probably never even met someone like you, and even then your chances were slim. You probably saw people like you on TV though, in movies, online. Talking about it. That feeling you're missing. About being complete, finding their other half. The movies probably tell you how great it is; celebrities on talk shows might say otherwise. Maybe you've read up on your condition, learned the boons it can grant when things work out. Learned what can happen if they don't.

Are you scared? Excited? Have you been looking at the moon each night, wondering if your other half is looking too? Are you holding out hope that by some miracle your paths will cross? After all, it happens to some people. Why not you?

Well, your chance – probably your only chance – may well have just arrived. You got a letter, in one of those fancy envelopes made out of thick embossed paper, addressed directly to you. It's got one of those cool old-fashioned seals on the back, pink and blue wax swirled together and imprinted with the shape of a lotus. The letter inside looks hand-written, written by people like you, inviting you to attend an event that may well lead you to your other half. Seems sketchy, right? Maybe, but something made you send back your answer, and now you've got all-expense-paid tickets to go spend a week in luxury and take that chance. Think you'll find your destiny?

___________________________________________

People

The Intact

The Intact make up the vast majority of the world's population. They have a whole, "intact" soul and no soulmate. For all intents and purposes, they are completely normal and unremarkable.

The Fragmented

The Fragmented (also known in some places as the Torn or the Marked) are individuals born with only half of a "fragmented" soul. The other half of their soul is borne by another Fragmented somewhere in the world, often referred to as their "soulmate". Despite technically only having half a soul, they're perfectly functional, developed people, with the caveat that for as long as they can remember, they've felt like they're not quite "complete". The Fragmented feel a longing for something they can't describe, and many are driven to wander in search of someone they miss desperately, but whom they've never met. They are all born with an identical mark, a black band around their right wrist.

Public opinion of the Fragmented varies. Some idolize them, either fascinated by or jealous of their bonds with their soulmates, while others shun them under the impression that their partial soul curses them as anything from incompetent to evil. Owing to their rarity, however, most Intact will likely never come into contact with a Fragmented, and thus many have no opinion on them. Fragmented and Reunited often feature in film and television, usually quite romanticized, and some people have taken to getting tattoos of the Fragmented wrist mark, to varying reception from the Fragmented themselves.

The Fragmented bear some psychological and physiological differences from the Intact. See the "Lost" section for more detail.

The playable characters in this RP will be Fragmented.

The Reunited

The Reunited are those Fragmented who have found their other half. Having "reunited" the two halves of their shared soul, the Reunited enjoy better health (both physical and mental) than their Intact counterparts, routinely living to ages upwards of 100; the oldest Reunited pair ever recorded lived to the age of 135. Regardless of their soul bond type, the Reunited are more physically and mentally robust than the average Intact and generally lead happier and more productive lives with their soulmate.

Aside from improved health, Reunited pairs also enjoy more interesting abilities, for better or for worse. Being that they share a soul, Reunited individuals are able to sense the emotional state of their soulmate. This effect weakens with distance, but also strengthens over time. Aptitude varies among pairs from a general sense of the emotional state of one's soulmate to feeling one's soulmate's emotions as strongly and clearly as their own.

What's more, again owing to their shared soul, Reunited individuals are able to communicate with their soulmates telepathically. This usually begins as bursts of shared thought in times of heightened stress, but will evolve over time into coherent communication at will. Some pairs use this ability liberally to the point that they become two individuals with an essentially shared consciousness, while others use it for convenience and nothing more, not unlike sending mental text messages. Many antagonistic pairs have lamented the fact that their soulmates can force their way into their minds given enough practice and resolve.

The Lost

In order to understand the differences between the Fragmented, Reunited, and the Lost, we must do a little theorizing.

If you think of souls as having "sizes", then a Fragmented person's soul, while being half of a whole, is roughly 3/4 the "size" of an Intact person's. As a result, when they find their other half and their soul fragments reunite, they have a sort of shared soul that's "bigger" than an Intact person's. Translating a soul's "size" into something like life force explains why the Lost and Reunited have such different life expectancies and vitality than the Intact.

Now, put simply, the Lost are Fragmented individuals who have either lost or never reunited with their other half. Seeing as their part-souls are less stable than either an Intact soul or a Reunited soul, the Lost suffer physical and mental health issues at much higher rates than their Intact counterparts. They are generally less healthy and more susceptible to premature aging and illness, many leading their lives sickly and frail. The Lost suffer mental illnesses such as chronic depression at much higher rates than the Intact, and generally lead shorter, less fulfilling lives. Lost routinely die of natural causes around the age of 65 or younger, and suicide rates among the Lost are disturbingly high at around 50%.

Fragmented and Reunited individuals can become Lost in a few ways. The most common Lost are Fragmented individuals who never found their other half. Fragmented are usually considered Lost either when they have gone a considerable portion of their adult life without finding their soulmate, or if they have stopped searching altogether. In cases such as these, the symptoms of the Lost set in gradually in a process similar to aging, only accelerated.

Some Lost are Reunited who have been separated from their other half, either by distance or by death. In both cases, the symptoms of the Lost will strike a Reunited much faster than a Fragmented; as of yet no Reunited has lived beyond a year after the death or disappearance of their soulmate. This has posed problems for antagonistic pairs, who often lament that they can't murder or live on the opposite end of the world from their soulmate lest they suffer the consequences (more on that in Soul Bonds).

Marks and Reuniting

Upon finding their other half, Fragmented will become Reunited. For some, this happens the first time they touch; for others, it has happened the first time their eyes met. In that moment, whatever it may be, they experience a near-indescribable euphoric rush as the two halves of their shared soul mend together. The marks on their wrists, formerly identical to every other Fragmented's, will disappear, and a new mark will appear somewhere on their bodies. Both individuals in a Reunited pair will bear this mark in the mirror image of their soulmate's. These marks are unique to every pair and vary wildly in size and colour, though there is no indication that either quality has any meaning beyond aesthetic.

Soul Bonds

A soul bond is the connection between the souls of a Reunited pair (that is to say, the connection between the two halves of their shared soul once it's been fused back together). There are three categories of soul bonds: romantic, platonic, and antagonistic. While there is no external way to deduce a soul bond type, the partners who share it will be able to tell; for some, the soul bond type is evident at their first meeting (antagonistic pairs especially have reported combative feelings toward their partner at the moment the soul bond was made), but most Reunited pairs will have to figure it out amongst themselves. In some cases it can take up to a year for a pair to pin down their soul bond, but they will recognize it eventually.

The specifics of each soul bond type are as follows:

Romantic - "If I had to, I'd rather lose all five of my children than lose my husband. Does that make me a bad person?"
Romantic bonds aren’t as simple as they sound, and can manifest in a lot of ways. Some pairs do become the idyllic power couple who are totally compatible and embody all that the media plays up about the romantic bond, but that's not always the case. Sometimes a pair can be so close that they become cripplingly codependent, with all the consequences that come with that; others might be less than compatible on the surface, but need and desire each other just as much as those who get along. This can lead to the second most popular depiction of romantic bonds in media, the mismatched pair who keep coming back to each other because they can’t stand to be apart. Many romantic pairs, however, fall somewhere in between, dealing with the trials and tribulations all couples face with the assurance that they truly are “meant to be.”

Platonic - "I don't think either of us has done anything without the other since we met. It would just feel... wrong."
Platonic bonds are generally as one might expect, a bond akin to that of close siblings or very dear friends. Reunited who share a platonic soul bond will often love each other like family, but will never experience romantic or sexual attraction to one another (though one amusing anecdote involves a pair who met through online dating only to realize they’d found their soulmate, just not the type they had expected). Platonic soulmates often excel at cooperation, problem-solving and creative endeavours, feeding off each other’s energy to great effect.

Like every bond, though, a platonic bond has its downsides. For example, it’s common for platonic Reunited to struggle with romantic relationships, as often no matter how compatible they are with the people they date, they can never feel as close to them as they do to their platonic soulmate. Similarly, many spouses of platonic Reunited sometimes feel as if their spouse cares more for their platonic soulmate than they do for them or even their children, adding tension to relationships.

Antagonistic - "Eternally fated to find each other through time and space just to say 'fuck you.'"
Contrary to popular belief, those who share an antagonistic soul bond don’t necessarily have to hate each other; while this is certainly a possibility, the true crux of an antagonistic bond is that each half of the Reunited soul is destined to be somehow at odds with the other. This conflict can manifest in many ways, including mutual disdain (by far the most commonly represented manifestation in media, if not the most common in real life), rivalry, and jealousy. Intensity varies wildly, from a relationship as tame as being otherwise cordial but utterly unable to cooperate, to as explosive as violence. Scholars will note, however, that antagonistic soul bonds are one of the most difficult to categorize in general terms because they can take on the widest variety of characteristics by far.

GM Note: I made these purposefully vague because I want you guys to have fun and get creative with your soul bonds! All you have to do is stick to the general themes of each bond type and then you can really make your bond your own. As always, I invite you to talk to your partner when you get one and ask me questions if you have any!

___________________________________________

This RP takes place in the near future of our world, with a few little changes. For one, the existence of souls has been generally accepted by all but the most insistent of skeptics as the only currently viable explanation for the Fragmented phenomenon. Afterlife theories, however, remain as varied as ever.

Miraculously, the world hasn't fallen into anything like nuclear war or environmental ruin, so there are no apocalypses, looming or otherwise, to be concerned about. As well, since we won't be too worried about the state of the outside world, you're welcome to mess with it a little. Want to create a small island nation for your character to be the prince of? Go for it! Fictional huge corporation to inherit one day? Feel free. If you have any inquiries or just want to see if what you have in mind is feasible, I'm all ears.

Technology

Technology hasn't moved past recognition, but some useful and interesting inventions have become commonplace in recent years. For example, it's common for large businesses and high-end shops to make use of holographic displays, fully three-dimensional and shockingly lifelike. Likewise, the second generation of universal translation devices have hit the market for those who can pay; you'll be listening to an AI voice, but the translations are fairly accurate and they process in real time, making them popular among business representatives and politicians for visiting and negotiating with their foreign counterparts. Accessibility devices such as hearing aides have advanced greatly in efficacy and discretion, voice-operated guide sensors for the blind are affordable to the general populace and prosthetic limbs have made great strides in comfort, function, and style, often imperceptible to onlookers and easier than ever for the wearer to operate.

Mythology

The mythos of this RP setting are the same as the real world, with one notable exception. Alongside the mythical figures everyone knows (ex. Hercules, David and Goliath, Sun Wukong, those other household heroes you kinda mostly know the stories of from when you learned them as a kid) were another set of extraordinary people, universally known as the Paragons.

They don't tend to have names in their stories, but everyone knows them. Some were merciful healers, or wise oracles consulted by kings; others perhaps were friends of nature, who could grow entire forests to keep them company. You've probably also heard the old myth of Alta, the paradise city somewhere in Mesopotamia laid low in a single night by a Paragon hellbent on rending untold destruction. Of course, no one has ever found the wreckage, but that didn't stop the endless film adaptations from blowing up box offices all over the world. Some ancient cultures revered the Paragons, some feared and reviled them, but all shared one interesting thing in common: No matter which myth you read, or which culture it came from, the details on the Paragons themselves never change, describing them as tall, long-lived people who wielded power beyond human capability.

Conspiracy theories and History Channel documentaries on the Paragons abound, many trying to argue that the Paragons were more than mere legend. Of course, these arguments usually come from people who also claim to have seen Bigfoot or been abducted by aliens, so...

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Rules ★

General

No god-modding, no metagaming, be civil OOC, take explicit content to PMs, GM word is law, you know the drill. If there is anything at all you're not sure about, just ask me. I don't bite!

I reserve the right to refuse acceptance for any reason. Don't stress though, I'm a reasonable girl. There is a possibility I'll have to restrict character submissions of certain genders or orientations down the line so I can get pairings worked out; I'll make an announcement if this happens.

Put your character sheet in the OOC first. Once I give you the go-ahead, you may post in the character tab. Pretty standard. I recommend using the same post for all your sheets if you're doing multiples.

This RP is largely going to be character-driven, and there's some fun plot in store as well! As a result, despite the lighthearted premise, there is a possibility for darker content down the line. Please contact me if there are any subjects you do not want to breach and I will gladly adjust things accordingly.

Talk! An active OOC is always fun, and as a bonus, makes RPs last longer! Please join the RP discord server (coming soon!) to stay updated on RP happenings, chat, meme, and whatever else you want!

Posting

The partnered nature of this RP requires dedicated players. If you don't think you can commit, then I thank you for your interest but recommend you look elsewhere. Any dropped characters will be puppeted by me until such a time that they can make an organic exit. Thank you for understanding.

Whew, sorry, just needed to get that one out there! I'm not going to jump down your throat if you lose interest later on (it happens to the best of us) but I implore you, if that happens, tell me! Now:

The posting standard for this RP is high casual. 3rd person, past tense, you know the drill. I value quality over quantity and a lean post here and there is no big deal, but do try to give people something to work with. Don't worry if your posts get long; write as much as you feel you need to.

Do your best to use proper spelling, grammar and formatting. We all make mistakes now and then, but at the very least I ask that you proofread your post. It only takes a few minutes and it's an easy way to catch most mistakes -- I make stupid mistakes every other word and proofreading is my saving grace. As with everything in this RP, if you would like help or advice, I would be more than happy to talk to you.

All characters must be posted for at least once a week or they will risk being removed. Due to the paired-up nature of this RP, this is a must. Nobody likes getting stuck because their partner hasn't posted. You don't have to post a novel, but do put out something. If you foresee a problem with this, please bring it to my attention ASAP. To that end...

A weekly update of some kind will be posted by me every Monday. This could be anything from a time skip or event update to a simple benchmark post. You do not have to post every 7 days on the dot, but you must post at least once per update cycle for all of your characters. Speaking of which...

You may have multiple characters, but be prepared to post for all of them. To keep the cast a little leaner, I'll instate a 2-character limit for the time being. I won't accept being swamped with characters as an excuse for inactivity, so make sure you only play as many as you know you can handle.

Please don't include pictures in the headers of your posts. Fancy text headers from places like 1001fonts and fontmeme are welcome and encouraged, but no character images please. To be perfectly honest, this is just a pet peeve of mine. But this time I'm the GM, so I make the rules!

If you have read these rules, please put a star ★ into the "Other" section of your character sheet.

Character Sheet

NOTE: Please do not alter the character sheet. Don't add things, don't subtract things. This is just a basic template so you’re welcome to fancy it up all you want, but just make sure you use all the sections that are listed. Please don't add extra sections; you can add additional info in the "Other" section all you want. As well, because my eyes are stupid, I'd appreciate it if you'd put all your images in hiders. If you have questions, comments or anything else, please don't hesitate to contact me!

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Character image: Non-anime artwork please!

Name: Full name, titles if you have any, include nicknames if you'd like

Age: 20-25 please

Gender: Male or female

Sexuality: I’ll need this to make pairings, so please don’t skip!

Appearance: Extra reference images should be linked or in a hider please! Make sure to include anything we can't see in your image and details like height, weight (this is a good website for figuring out an appropriate weight for your character's height and build!) identifying marks (tattoos, scars, piercings) and general style of dress, as well as any differences from your character image. You know, the standard.
***This RP takes place in the vaguely near future, so it's totally safe to say that fashion has evolved a bit. That is to say, if you want your character to have a wardrobe that's a little more extra than the modern day-to-day, that can be arranged! Don't worry, I'll tell you if it's too much.

Personality: A short rundown of your character's personality. Don't stress too much over this section, there will be plenty of time to demonstrate your personality IC!

Biography: Here's where you're invited to get detailed if you'd like. Your character can be from anywhere in the world and have any background you want, so get creative! Travel, lodging and everything else will be provided and there will be accessibility and translation devices at the manor, so don't worry about expense or communication.

Other: Trivia, miscellany, and anything else you'd like to include goes here! I also recommend sticking your text colour code in here.

[Obscene Symphony]

On the far bank of the lake sit five large guest houses, all sharing a central boat house jutting out over the water. Each is identical, two storeys tall with a finished basement and a panoramic sitting room making up the third story. The main living area features a two-storey vaulted ceiling with a floor-to-ceiling window facing the lake, and the second story loft open to the area below. A diagonal portion in the south houses the kitchen and behind the living room are five bedrooms. To the north of the living area is a spiral staircase leading up the turret into the third storey, which houses a sitting room with glass walls overlooking the mountainside to the east and the lake to the west.

Upstairs are

[Obscene Symphony]

handwriting

Aaron:


Feliks:
hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

^^ homemade apple, 30 (shvets) 31 (vasiliev)

[Obscene Symphony]

Name: Feliks Shvets
Age: 23
Bio:

• Mother was one of the palace seamstresses to the Romanovs, father was a brief fling, never seen again
• Grew up in a servant house near the palace, spent his days there keeping busy doing odd jobs while his mother worked
• As a ten-year-old he goes looking for his mother one day, finds her doing a fitting for an extravagant gown with princess Katerina. Sees Katerina in the dress, with her blonde hair, and thinks she's an angel.

Siege:
Siege happens when Feliks is 11 and Katerina is 9, the Bolsheviks storming the palace in the middle of the night in winter. Feliks' mother was staying at the palace that night, working hard with the other seamstresses to complete a set of new ball gowns for the princesses for an upcoming Christmas ball; Feliks, meanwhile, sleeps on a pile of fabric in the drafting room. Amidst the chaos of the siege, Feliks is separated from his mother. As he searches for her he sees Katerina running and Bolshevik troops chasing after her and he follows, scared that they might hurt her despite only having met her up close that one time. When Katerina is cornered, he intervenes by kicking out the knee of the guy chasing her; the shot the guy was going to fire at Katerina misses as a result, breaking the window behind her. The guy turns and hits Feliks on the head with his gun to knock him down, shooting him quickly, but this gives Katerina enough time to escape out the window, getting cut on the leg on the way out by a shard of glass in the frame. Meanwhile, the shot fired at Feliks had been poorly aimed, hitting him in the leg near his hip. The blow to his head knocked him out, and he bleeds from his gunshot wound; Bolshevik troops find him in a final sweep looking for Katerina. Thinking him dead, they haul him out and pile him up with the other bodies, where a commoner finds Feliks still breathing and takes him to a hospital.

Meanwhile, Katerina has fled into the city slums, and passes out in an alley after having a bit of a breakdown. She's found in the morning by a worker at a local orphanage, who finds her practically frozen and takes her in. The Bolsheviks had seen evidence of a gunshot and blood trailing off in the snow, and assume Katerina was shot and bled to death wherever she went. Satisfied that there's no way she could have survived a frigid winter night with a gunshot wound, they presume her dead and do not search for her. When Katerina wakes up in the orphanage, her mind has blocked out her trauma, leaving her with no memory of who she is or where she came from. Her nightgown is tattered from the window, and embroidered with the name "Katya" on the sleeve, so the orphanage assumes she is a street child who took the nightgown from somewhere and, with nothing else to call her, dub her Katya.

Weeks later, when Feliks has finally recovered enough for the hospital to let him go, he immediately returns to the castle in desperate hope that he might find his mother. He searches the whole place, but there is no sign of her aside from a bloody smudge on the floor of the corridor leading to the drafting room. Elsewhere in the palace he finds another former servant, a teenaged boy, who tells Feliks that he saw his mother get shot dead. Utterly shocked and feeling guilty, thinking he might have been able to save her had he not chased after Katerina, Feliks wanders the palace in a daze, eventually coming upon the room where he had helped Katerina escape. He sees the stain of his own blood on the floor, the broken window and the blood on the glass. On the floor near the window, though, he sees a necklace; the pendant is in the motif of a jewel-encrusted Faberge egg on a long gold chain. Fascinated by it, he keeps it.

Plot:

• Feliks grows bitter and cynical over the years, never getting over his guilt surrounding his mother's murder and regretting helping Katerina in lieu of finding her; he considers selling the necklace multiple times, as it is a painful reminder of his mistake, but he can never bring himself to do it. He never tells anyone about what happened that night, instead always saying that he was at home in the servant house during the siege.
• He gets a job as a tailor's apprentice to honour his mother's memory, and by the time he is an adult he is a skilled tailor. However, the communist regime left the people poor, so the market for tailoring is very bleak; needing money, he figures out that while tailoring is dead, forgery is a booming business, as people are desperate to escape the bleakness of communist Russia.
• Hates the Bolsheviks and what they've done to Russia, but won't join any dissidents because he thinks nothing will come of a revolt but bloodshed.
• On the same day the rumour starts to spread that Grand Duchess Katerina might still be alive and that her grandmother, the Dowager Empress, is offering a reward to find her, Feliks happens upon a woman named Katya, who is looking for papers to travel to Paris. Seeing that she looks remarkably like the Katerina he remembers and surprised that she has no memory of her own past, Feliks has an idea that he could pass her off as the Grand Duchess for the reward money.
• He takes her back to the palace, where he hasn't been since he went back that day after the siege, and shows her around; when they pass by the section of the palace containing the drafting room and the room where Katerina escaped, Feliks gets emotional and says there's nothing down there for them. The pair continue on past and find archives about the Romanovs, deciding to study up so Katya can pass as Katerina. They decide to set up a little encampment there, Katya having no place to live and Feliks currently wanted and more or less in hiding, and stay there for some time, Feliks teaching Katya everything he remembers about royal manner.
• At some point he shows Katya the necklace, and she immediately opens it, revealing that it's actually a locket containing pictures of Katerina and the other Romanovs.
• At some point Katya decides to explore the part of the palace that Feliks has been avoiding, finds the room where she escaped and it triggers memories of her trauma and she freaks; Feliks comforts her and distracts her by telling her the story of when he saw Princess Katerina and thought she was an angel. Katya puts herself in Katerina's place in the story, thinking she's making up the details until she realizes she's actually remembering them, recalling a part of the story that Feliks hadn't told her. Feliks realizes she really is Katerina, and doesn't know what to do.

Misc:

• Feliks has a thin scar on his forehead above his left eyebrow from where he was pistol whipped during the siege, and he walks with a bit of a limp, his leg never having returned to full function after the gunshot wound. His injured hip hurts him when he gets up in the morning (feeling better once he gets moving) and if he has to walk a lot, or if it's cold or rainy (it's got hella arthritis but he doesn't know that).
• He's a smoker, and drinks when his leg is really bothering him
• Secretly misses tailoring
• Still sometimes thinks about Katerina even though he resents her (despite thinking her dead)
• While Katya is so focused on her past, Feliks claims to have forgotten the past and only care about the future, even though he's been dwelling on the past his entire life and still hasn't gotten over it
• The tailor he apprenticed under was a former tailor to a member of the imperial court, and he retained his stuffy high-society mannerisms out of spite for the Bolsheviks. He required that Feliks learn to be a proper man ("You must be a man of class to dress one") and taught Feliks proper poise and manners, and also how to dance. Feliks was never a good dancer, impeded by his limp, and hasn't danced since he first learned, though he'll find that he does remember how.

[Obscene Symphony]

Dakota Zahn - old port

”Don't worry about me. I'm not dying until every goddamn person on earth knows my name.”
“I've seen that kid stare down sorcerers twice her size and power without so much as a blink. All I know is, I'm glad she's on our side.”

The Basics

Name

Dakota Anne Zahn

Nicknames

Gearhead - Used jokingly and sparingly by those who frequent her workshop or often use her services as a mechanic/handyman. Also a jab at the literal meaning of her last name, being "cog".
Dakota - Her first name is usually what she goes by.

Birthday

May 7, 1998

Age

17

Gender

Female

Sexuality

Pansexual until proven otherwise

Appearance

General Appearance (unfortunately, no face claim)

Dakota stands about 5'5 and weighs roughly 135lbs, denser than she looks from the layer of wiry muscle that covers her body. Her build is lithe yet strong, bulkier around the arms and upper body. Her skin is light and riddled with moles. Her hair is a brassy blonde worn short, with the sides a near-shave and the top a tad longer and choppy. She's taken it upon herself to dye the tips red. Her eyes are large and flat grey.

Due to her haircut and near-flat chest, Dakota is practically androgynous at first glance; her working clothing only adds to the effect, generally consisting of work clothes such as bulky coveralls, thick work gloves, heavy boots and eye protection. While she's not working, she opts for less heavy clothing such as green cargo pants/kapris, old lace-up boots and an oversized tan jacket, once her father's. One article she never goes without is an old army-green hat with the logo of a Canadian oil company sewn onto the front.
Noticeable traits include a permanent notch in her left eyebrow and a small barcode tattooed behind her right ear. (More on these in History)

Skills

Skills/Traits

• Reverse engineering - If given a foreign object (a salvaged enemy weapon, device, etc.) Dakota can analyze its composition and determine its uses and properties.
• Boisterous - Dakota is confident and blunt, making her an excellent negotiator (she's kind of intimidating and comes across like she knows what she's talking about, even if she doesn't).
• Mechanic - Dakota works as a mechanic and weaponsmith for the Griffins, repairing equipment and weapons, engineering needed upgrades, and reverse-engineering enemy technology. It has made her an invaluable part of the Griffins.
• Capable - Dakota can do just about anything assigned to her and dutifully follows orders.
• Fighter - Dakota knows how to fight, and capably holds her own. She's often underestimated for her size, which normally works out to her advantage. Due to a history of manual labour, she's a lot stronger than she looks.
• Connected - If you need something, Dakota is your guy. She can trade or gamble for just about anything, and makes a good negotiator.
• Hard working - Dakota tends to go on days-long streaks of non-stop working, often forsaking food and sleep in favour of finishing her project.

Digging Deeper

Likes

• Working with her hands
• Figuring things out
• Solving problems
• The sound of weapons cocking
• The feeling of shooting
• All-nighters
• Winning
• Cursing
• Gambling

Dislikes

• Water
• Losing
• Being unable to figure something out
• Distractions
• Mornings
• Mentalists
• Being watched
• People who can't keep up with her
• Tough customers (people who won't haggle/negotiate)

Habits

• Picking at her fingers (her fingertips are often bloody or bandaged)
• Rubbing her tattoo
• Shaking her leg
• Pacing

Hobbies

• Tinkering
• Crafting (she likes to make things out of waste material)
• Collecting parts (she insists that one day she might need them)
• Sketching
• Gambling

Fears

• Drowning
• Losing her freedom
• Going blind
• Being controlled/influenced
• Losing her mind
• Being forgotten

Personality

The first thing one would notice about Dakota is energy. She's a firecracker in every sense of the word, and combined with her undiagnosed ADHD, she seems to practically vibrate with energy. She can't sit still and avoids sleep as much as she can, claiming it a waste of valuable time. For her, multitasking is a necessity, and organized chaos somewhat of an art.
Her temperament is similar to her overall buzzing demeanour; she doesn't half-ass anything, be it work or emotion. She feels every emotion deeply, be it bursting with joy, seething with anger, or giddy with happiness. One emotion she rarely gives into is despair, preferring to convert her sadness into anger. Often, she replaces unshed tears with angry grumblings and violent outbursts - although, the victims of these outbursts are rarely anything other than foliage. Or enemies. Or stubborn projects. More often than not, however, she channels her more negative emotions into her work, as her father taught her.
Fiercely loyal and straightforward, Dakota takes no shit. Her blood boils when people are treated unequally, and despises nothing more than being controlled or limited. She'll stand her ground against an army if she has to, and having such a hard time backing down has often become trouble for her. She's the type to rebel against the gun to her head, regardless of how much smarter it would be to cooperate.

History

Some Info on Canada

Contrary to Canada's pre-SWO reputation as a more socialist and inclusive country, the implementation of the SWO changed the country in droves. With the help of a proxy ruler installed by Lucille Laurent (a hateful, spiteful woman by the name of Stephenie Harp, who takes all of Laurent's orders to the extreme) Canada became even more segregated than the US in many ways. There normal humans, called Mundanes, were entirely segregated from the sorcerer community. They were moved to exclusively Mundane towns situated around factories and power plants which they were then forced to operate. Mundanes born in Canada were (and still are) marked with a permanent notch in the left eyebrow, so that their identity as Mundanes would be obvious if they were to venture into sorcerer-only areas. Mundanes assigned to factories (many often born into them and working as soon as they were capable enough to hold a mop) were tattooed with barcodes, which could be scanned for factory assignment and position.
Mundane neighbourhoods suffer frequent losses of commodities such as electricity and clean water, tightly patrolled by police and held under a strict 10pm curfew. Mundane workers often receive little to no pay and poor treatment. It isn't rare for injuries and death to occur on factory grounds, and many establishments are outfitted with suicide preventative measures.

TL;DR Canada sucks now. :(

Dakota was born in Newfoundland, situated in a town built around an oil refinery. Her father was a mechanic for the refinery, one of many charged with the nigh-impossible task of keeping the old machinery in working order. Her mother died in childbirth. Luckily, after her mother's death, Dakota's father did not become distant, but instead embraced her and adored her, both as a beloved child and a living remnant of his wife. From the time Dakota was first able to wield a wrench, she was working with her father. She was one of many child workers, popular with the mechanics for their ability to fit into small spaces and for running tools and equipment back and forth. This was when Dakota began wearing her hair short, having learned the hard way that long hair and active machinery don't mix.
In their precious spare time, Dakota and her father worked on small inventions; tiny robots, low energy lights, often little commodities to make life in the Mundane ghettos a little more fun for a child. This tradition continued on throughout Dakota's adolescent years, but as she got older, Dakota became increasingly aware of some of her father's other habits.
In order to maintain a better quality of life for his daughter, Dakota's father had been systematically stealing from the refinery and selling the stolen items on the black market; it was never much, just some parts here, some crude oil byproduct there (used in homemade ammunition by small rebellion forces), occasionally even housing smuggled goods for a profit. He never wanted to get Dakota involved, but she had no love for their 'employers' and insisted on helping whether he liked it or not.
Eventually, the company got wise to the small yet steady losses and, although they were stealing what was already trash, had Dakota's father arrested. They would have taken Dakota as well, but her father insisted she had nothing to do with it. The last she saw of her father was him being hauled away in a police van, and to this day, she doesn't know what became of him.
After the loss of her father, Dakota fled the refinery, took her father's savings and bribed an oil rig shuttle boat for passage into Maine. From there, now a wanted escapee, she bribed and snuck her way to the west coast, hoping that the rumours that flew about Griffins and revolution were true. She was fifteen when she ended up in the Redwoods, and since has proven herself a valuable member of the Griffins for her mechanical skills and knack for smuggling, trading, and negotiating.

Other Stuff

Dakota is somewhat hard of hearing due to her many long hours of enduring loud noise. As such, she's often the loudest in the camp and it takes a few tries to get her attention. The best approach to getting her attention is to make yourself visible to avoid startling her.
Dakota also speaks sign language, as did many factory workers, out of convenience and necessity. Signing was easier than speaking in factories where they could barely hear each other over the noise.

Theme Song

Lone Digger - Caravan Palace
_{Let's end your time to lay low
Your knees are bending, so
It's time to get up and let go}

[Obscene Symphony]

Forrest Maevyn - old port

Name: Forrest Maevyn
Being: Human - Witch
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Appearance:

Hider

Forrest stands at an even 6'2. He's not a muscular man, being tall and lean and light. His hair is black, shining brown in bright light, with a thin silver streak near the front (a birthmark.) His eyes are a dark brown. His attire normally consists of semi-formalwear in public (a pair of good pants and a nice shirt). At home, his clothes are much more relaxed and 'exotic', a nod to his magical heritage. Under his shirt (or just plainly when not in public) he wears a few long necklaces. These hold pendants and charms given to him by his grandmother, who believes they help balance the soul and augment his magical ability. The feather earring and rings are also a nod to his grandmother, and though he'd never wear them in public, he wears them at home, to visit her, and while performing particularly advanced magic.

Powers: Forrest is a skilled witch for his age. He can cast an array of simple spells without a word but still relies on a reference for more complicated and powerful spells. He’s particularly adept in potion making and medicinal uses of witchcraft.

Bio: Forrest comes from a long line of witches, though he is the first boy in his family to show any magical ability. His grandmother and two great-aunts raised him, and taught him everything he knows.
Currently, Forrest attends university for medicine. He aims to become a doctor and find a way to combine both medicinal witchcraft and modern medicine in an effort to improve them both, and to save lives.

Personality: Forrest is an earthy and decent fellow, a smart boy without a mean bone in his body. He’s clever and witty, well in touch with his feminine side, but mostly remains genuine and courteous. Being a man raised in the early 1900’s he’s chivalrous and polite to all he meets. He has his gloomy side, as all people do, and his angry side as well. Though, more often than not he won’t be the one starting the fight, rather trying to break it up. He can definitely be a worrier, and sometimes he cares too much for his own good. He remains devoted to the sanctity of life and dislikes harming or killing anything without a reason.
He also takes pride in his magical heritage and steeps himself in it. It helps that he still lives with his grandmother and aunts in a large, old house filled to the brim with everything a witch needs to practice magic. He's become somewhat of an apothecary among his friends, who simply think he's good with home remedies.

[Obscene Symphony]

Hider

[Obscene Symphony]

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Ariella Landry

Eldest daughter of House Landry

Female | | 20 | | Riverman

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Birthplace: Willow Wood, but Fallow Hill is home.

Allegiances: House Landry, House Tully

Occupation: Noble

Relationship Status: Unmarried

Sexuality: Heterosexual

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History

Hider

Born in Willow Wood soon after her parents' marriage, Ariella was the first child of Edwyn and Priscilla, followed a mere ten minutes later by her twin brother Morgain. Coming in so early meant that she was able to enjoy Edwyn's younger years, when he played more the role of a father figure than he did with his subsequent children (though she always suspected that being the only daughter earned her a soft spot in her father's heart).

Ariella had a childhood fairly typical of noble girls, though she and her twin were absolutely inseparable. She took well to womanly arts such as sewing and embroidery, never having shown much interest in fighting beyond watching tournaments, though she shared a passion for riding with Morgain. The two had taken to the sport as soon as they were old enough to sit on horses, and it was a rare day that they didn't tack up at least once for a ride through the trails at the foot of the Mountains or across some great expanse of harvested field. Often the two would take some meandering path and simply talk about anything and everything, though Morgain had been known to goad his sister into racing. Though Ariella formed bonds with all of her brothers, it was unquestionable that Morgain was the one she held the closest, even as their interests deviated in their teen years.

Always a well-behaved and surprisingly cooperative child, Ariella was a pathological mediator, often trying to break up fights between her brothers, even when there was no real conflict to be had. Her even temper and cooperative attitude served her well as she grew, the girl soon becoming a natural diplomat, popular with visiting nobility as she was talented at forming and maintaining relationships and avoiding and diffusing conflict. This skill became even more useful as her parents began drifting apart; Ariella is perhaps the only of Edwyn and Priscilla's children to maintain a relationship with both of them, often acting as a sort of go-between, trying not to let the rift between her parents split the family any further than it has.

When Ariella was 16, it was decided that she would wed Ser Rodrik Blackwood, son of Howard Blackwood and brother of Liliana, a young man of only 19 at the time. Initially upset to be leaving (as she is quite attached to both her home and her family) Ariella took the news in stride, more than willing to fulfill her duty as a Lord's daughter and hopeful that she could forge the alliance that the marriage was meant to create. She was sent to live with the Blackwoods in Raventree Hall prior to the marriage, and to her pleasant surprise, Ariella found Rodrik to be a fine young man, and found nothing objectionable about marrying him. She didn't exactly love him, but he was a good man, and they did become something like friends during her stay at Raventree hall; Ariella held out a hope that love could grow over time.

Sadly, Ariella's hopes were dashed when, almost two years into her life with the Blackwoods, Rodrik was killed in a joust, devastating Ariella more than she would have expected. With her betrothed dead, Ariella was sent home to Fallow Hill, then 18, where she learned that Morgain had gone missing. Still grieving from Rodrik's death and then faced with possibly her worst nightmare coming true, Ariella fell into a deep sadness, unable to sleep from the worry gripping her and losing all desire to eat. She became thin, gaunt, and weak, and for a few months became reclusive, often simply refusing to get out of bed. All she could think of day in and day out was Morgain, worried absolutely sick about what fate could have befallen him, and heartbroken from his absence.

After a few months of this, Ariella finally got some kind of grip on herself and forced herself to rejoin the living once again, resolving that Morgain must be out there somewhere and that he wouldn't want her wallowing in sorrow. However, his absence still gnaws at her, and although she is healthier now, she hasn't quite bounced back to her former self.

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Personality

Hider

Ariella is very much her father's daughter; measured, tactful, stable and dignified, she took his teachings of honour and duty to heart, and is every bit what a proper noblewoman should be. It was often joked by her caregivers that she and Morgain were one soul in two bodies; all the fire had gone into Morgain, leaving Ariella to act as the cool-headed voice of reason, a serene presence to balance out her brother's dynamic personality. This was a great help as children, Ariella being the one usually breaking up fights between her brothers, and has continued into an effective diplomatic tool, the woman having a talent for diffusing conflict. However, unlike her father, Ariella used to be a touch more alive, warmer, not so much stoic as simply calm and patient.

However, in the time since her twin's disappearance, Ariella has lost some of the life in her, having become withdrawn and a little sullen. She'll still put on a convincing brave face and fulfill her duties as needed, and still greet her siblings with a warm smile (she always has time for them), but as of late it seems as if it's more for their sake than her own, seeming like she's not so much living, but going through the motions. Losing Morgain made her feel as if she lost a part of herself, though it's the uncertainty as to his fate that gnaws at her the most. She holds out the hope that she'll see him again, but in the back of her mind, she fears the worst. She doubts she'll truly have peace until she sees her brother again, dead or alive.

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Appearance

Hider

Ariella is an earthy young beauty, with auburn hair that falls in gentle waves, a little lighter in colour than her brothers, and smooth, fair skin. A young suitor once told her that her eyes were the colour of an early frost; a pale, icy green inherited from her father's hazel. Her middling height of 5'6" is made all the more apparent by the towering height of her brothers, though she holds herself as tall and proud as any of them.

Once healthy and vibrant, since her brother's disappearance Ariella's distress has manifested physically as well as mentally. While not exactly sickly, Ariella has an air of exhaustion about her; she is thinner than her maester would like, her appetite having all but disappeared, and she's often seen with dark circles under her eyes. Her beauty is still there, but grief has dulled it.

In terms of dress, Ariella dresses as finely as is typical of her station, not letting her despair affect her image. Her thinness has attracted her to more covering garments, as despite her loss of appetite, she's self-conscious about being bony. She's fond of styles from the Westerlands, thinking their colours and patterns more exciting than the styles typical of the Riverlands. She wears her hair many ways, often wearing whichever new style her handmaiden wanted to try, though the theme is usually to let her hair fall largely free, tempered with braiding.

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Notable Possessions

Hider

• A large, dapple gelding named Thunder
• A dagger carried within the layers of her skirts. It isn't exactly her 'style' to carry a weapon, but when she left for Raventree Hall, Edmund and Morgain both insisted that she not be totally helpless, and she has carried it ever since.

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[Obscene Symphony]

⚜ Respects /// ☯ Neutral /// ☮ Friends /// ♫ Close Friends /// § Tense /// ♥ Interested /// ⚤ Significant Other /// ☠ Enemies /// ♦ Unsure

Ariella's Relationships

⚜☮Edwyn Landry☮⚜
Ariella and her father share a sort of understanding, Ariella being possibly the only remaining member of their family to maintain a personal relationship with the man. A largely unspoken bond, it's likely that Lord Edwyn has a soft spot for his only daughter, whereas Ariella seems to see the love her father has for his children more than the rest of the family can. She greatly respects him, and enjoys spending time with him, riding and occasionally talking, knowing a certain gentleness in him that her brothers aren't so privileged to experience.

§Priscilla Landry§
Ariella's relationship with her mother is difficult to explain. While they get along on the surface, and there is love there, there has often been an odd tension between them, Ariella tending to be uneasy around her mother for reasons she herself can't even explain. She is loath to form a rift in the family though, and remains as respectful and friendly as any good daughter should be, but there often isn't much to be said between them when they are alone. Ariella always felt closer to her father, but she is saddened by his and her mother's estrangement, and tries to act as a sort of go-between for them to try and prevent them from drifting further apart. Secretly, Ariella wonders that Priscilla isn't as saddened by Morgain's disappearance as she should be.

♫♫Morgain Landry♫♫
Ariella's bond with her twin cannot be overstated. The two were inseparable into their teen years, acting as everything from playmates to mutual advisors to confidants; so close were they that Morgain often joked he'd never let their father marry Ariella off to anyone who lived more than an hour's ride away. The two truly did seem to be "one soul in two bodies," often balancing each other out in personality; Ariella was often the only one who could calm her brother once his temper had flared, and Morgain remains one of the only people who could rile his sister out of her habitual calm, either for an argument or a raucous laugh. Morgain's disappearance has been more than the loss of a brother and dear friend; for Ariella, losing Morgain has been like losing a lung.

☮Edmund Landry☮
Despite being fairly close in age, Ariella still considers Edmund a "little brother;" stature notwithstanding. While Edmund might object to the idea, Ariella thinks he's more like their father than he realizes, and sees the same hidden gentleness in him that she sees in Edwyn. She is greatly impressed by and proud of his skill as a Knight, and enjoys spending time with him when she can, though she disapproves of his womanizing and hopes he'll clean up his act after his marriage to Liliana. To Ariella's chagrin, deep down she resents his eagerness to take the mantle of Heir (even if he is resentful of the position himself) as it seems like he considers Morgain dead, a concept Ariella is not yet ready to accept.

☯Willam Landry☯
Like her other brothers, Ariella adored Willam when he was a child, taking delight in his antics even if his rivalry with Ashton occasionally (needlessly) bothered her. However, his lengthy absence during his formative years have made him somewhat of a stranger; the two are still fond of each other, but they don't know each other as well as Ariella knows the rest of her siblings.

♫Ashton Landry♫
Ariella loves all of her brothers, but towards Ashton she is particularly gentle. Many, many times she's counseled the boy in his fits of worry, careful not to coddle him too much (lest he feel condescended to) but offering him an ear to speak to and a shoulder to cry on should he need it, not to mention no shortage of older-sisterly advice. She has enjoyed watching him grow (though she regretted being away during some of his most formative years) and is impressed with the young man he is becoming, but she would caution him not to shoulder the burdens of manhood quite so soon.

☯Ser Baldric Durant☯
Only really having observed her brothers' training in the yard and watched him in tournaments, Ariella has had very little personal interaction with Ser Baldric. She respects his skill and appreciates his expert tutelage of her brothers, as well as his loyalty to her father.

☯Liliana Blackwood☯
While Ariella did live with Liliana's family at Raventree Hall for almost two years, their age difference was fairly pronounced at the time and as such, they didn't interact much on a personal level. Ariella is fairly fond of the girl, as she never gave her any reason to dislike her, and since her warding at Fallow Hill, has tried to familiarize herself with the girl who will wed her brother. As of yet, though, their relationship is mostly formal in nature, with little in the way of personal familiarity.

☯☮Robert Rivers☮☯
Save for the time she spent at Raventree Hall, Ariella crossed paths with the kennel-and-stablehand near-daily on her way to either retrieve Thunder for a ride or one of her favourite hounds for some excursion. While she always thought he had a funny way about him (owing largely to his cavalier attitude with others) she found him overall pleasant, always having taken good care of Thunder and never having shown any disloyalty to the House. As of late the two have grown a little friendlier; Ariella has taken up secretly paying Rob to search for information on Morgain during his patrols, and she isn't blind to his attempts to cheer her up, either. She's particularly fond of his little friend Wight, probably more than Rob himself is.

[Obscene Symphony]

Ariella I

[Obscene Symphony]

Max
Feliks

[Obscene Symphony]

_{Interacting with: [Hero] [Scribe of Thoth] mentioning [Trainerblue192]}

Aaron kept his eyes on the group in the seats as Varis explained, and hearing him refer to Salem as Count Astorio’s “pet” finally jogged his memory. He’d seen the tall vampire in Affinity Mastery, up on the balcony. He hadn’t paid any mind to him, but now Varis was talking as if Salem belonged to him. But that didn’t make any sense. Salem was Lucan’s vampire. Right?

He was tempted to ask, but Varis only paused in his reprimanding to snap his fingers at him and issue a command, claiming Aaron’s attention. Making a mental note to ask Lucan about all of that later, he shoved his concerns aside in favour of his task, offering only a dip of the head in acknowledgement before he set off up the steps. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it out of earshot in time to miss Eris and Varis’ conversation picking up.

“Unfortunately, I feel you would enjoy him far too much to train him properly. I believe it's best he stay with me; although, you are more than welcome to visit him if you wish.”

Enjoy him? How? That stone in Aaron’s stomach grew heavier, and the reactive side of his mind immediately remembered their “preparations” before dinner, and Varis’ lewd suggestion on night one. It took a conscious effort not to look back, Aaron instead looking to Salem and Lilie. Lilie was still visibly uncomfortable, and when he caught her eye he shot her a serious look, darting his eyes toward the exit in a silent signal he hoped she’d understand as “leave.”

Salem, on the other hand, was stressing him out. Had he learned nothing from their ordeal at dinner? He’d already lost so much standing on his soap box with the Queen; was this really the hill he wanted to die on now, preaching respect for mages to an Astorio? Because Aaron wasn’t sure Salem knew how legitimate a possibility that really was. He sincerely hoped Salem learned well from those etiquette lessons Princess Ryner had placed him in; if he kept carrying on like this with nobility - or any vampire, really - he was liable to end up getting himself killed.

As much as Aaron would have loved to drag Salem out and knock some sense into him, he’d have to leave that task to whichever etiquette instructor he ended up with; “immediately” meant “immediately,” and Aaron was already all too familiar with Varis’ objections to hesitation. By the time he reached Max he’d only half-heard whatever sarcastic comment went with that tone, though the look of utter contempt on his face was clear as the moon in the sky. Aaron kept quiet until they were out of the building, waiting until the door had fully closed behind them before giving Max an incredulous look of his own, gesturing back at the lecture hall. “What was all that about?”

[Obscene Symphony]

Eliza Marks

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Character Summary

Name: Eliza Marks
Aliases: Liza, Marks, Boss
Age: 23
Birthday/Zodiac: Leo - August 17
Gender: Female
Occupation (Pre-Infection): Trail Guide, Infantryman

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Appearance

Height: 5'6"
Weight: 125lbs (originally 140lbs - lost ~15lbs of leg)
Build: Wiry
Eyes: Pale amber (were brown before infection)
Hair: White (was blonde before the infection)
Skin Tone: Medium-pale.
Tattoos: A thin black line extending from the nape of her neck to the crest of her tailbone, a series of thin black lines around her ankle, and a right sleeve tattoo of a forest scene.
Scars: Most notably, Eliza is missing her left leg, amputated just above the knee. She also has a multitude of minor marks and scars on her arms and her remaining shin, but none of them have any incredibly interesting stories to go with them.
Piercings: Standard earlobe piercings, one upper-ear piercing.
Clothing: Liza prefers clothing that is easy to move in; cargo pants and tank tops are her general go-tos, as well as a worn pair of hiking boots. In cooler weather she'll don a hoodie or a denim jacket, but she doesn't seem all that bothered by the cold. She still has a few sets of fatigues, but doesn't wear them much.

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Psychology

Steadfast / Blunt / Protective / Hardened

Personality: (This is probably the most important thing so I expect a good amount of detail here)

Fears:
Succumbing to the disease -

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Skills

Pre Infection Skills:

• Navigation - Eliza always had a good sense of direction and good navigational skills. Even hiking through unfamiliar areas or on training missions with faulty equipment, she has yet to get lost.
• Decisive - Eliza was always able to think on her feet, capable of making quick decisions that tended to work out for the better. She doesn't flip flop: she makes a choice and commits to it.
• Combat skills - From her military training, Eliza is very familiar with various types of firearms and is capable in hand-to-hand combat. Now that her military days have ended, the usefulness of these skills at the level she possesses them is unclear.
• Leadership - Even as a child, Eliza was a natural leader; other children would follow her lead in anything from sports to group projects. Her military training helped her sharpen these skills.
• Discipline - Perhaps not so much a skill as a necessity, Eliza responds well to discipline, leading a regimented life and encouraging similar practices in others.

Post Infection Skills:

• Senses - in the years that her disease has progressed, Eliza has developed senses beyond her human capability, particularly hearing and smell, with smell being the stronger of the two. She can distinguish species by scent and is learning to distinguish individuals the same way.
• Empathy - Eliza has developed a reliable sense for people, able to get a fairly accurate 'read' on them. This has made her sensitive to emotional changes in others; she calls it their "vibe."
• Influence - Due perhaps to a combination of her former personality, military training, experience in animal behavior and later progression of her disease, Eliza has developed a knack for getting fellow infected to fall into line. A sharp glare from her and some subconscious posturing can calm rowdy infected, and she has an air about her that commands respect. It's debatable whether this is a true post-infection development or if it's just a combination of a previous talent for leadership and Eliza having learned how to better deal with fellow infected over time.

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History

History Before Deadware: The only child of two veterinarians, Eliza grew up around animals of all shapes and sizes, from pets to livestock to exotic animals. Much of her free time as a child was spent shadowing her parents on calls to farms and zoos, watching the animals with wide-eyed fascination. It was there that her love affair with nature began.

Unlike her parents, Eliza never showed interest in veterinary medicine, but more in the animals themselves, their habitats, and their behavior. With dreams of someday becoming an animal handler for a zoo, Eliza first set her sights on domestic species as a teenager before she would move on to learning about handling exotics after high school. During high school she took a job as a trail guide, leading tourists on hikes through the scenic expanse of Jasper National Park that could sometimes last multiple days, teaching her wide-eyed clients about the local environment and wildlife along the way.

However, after graduating high school with few academic prospects and little direction, not to mention realizing that seasonal work as a trail guide was unsustainable as a career, Eliza enlisted in the military. Almost immediately, what had originally been a choice made out of necessity became a passion, and Eliza took extremely well to her training and to military life in general (of many things, she was amazed and delighted to find that strict organization and living in a Spartan environment helped her think more clearly). She quickly showed potential for leadership, her squadron members almost naturally looking to her, and Eliza was actually excited for her first deployment, eager to get out on duty and serve her country.

Eliza's first deployment was fairly simple; her platoon was working with relief workers, guarding supply and transports, and helping administer aid. Unfortunately, both her deployment and her military career were cut short when an undiscovered IED detonated beneath the a transport vehicle she was

Recovery and rehabilitation took months, but eventually Eliza was able to stand and walk again with the help of a new artificial leg. However, when her hair started turning white soon after her recovery was completed, she was tested for Lycanthropy. The result positive. The doctors hypothesized that some of the blood she'd received in her initial surgery was to blame, and just like that, all of Eliza's future prospects were abandoned, and she was sent to Deadware.

That was five years ago.

History Since Diagnosis/Arrival: In the years since making the lengthy trip to Deadware, Eliza's disease has progressed slowly, and she's fallen into a sort of leadership role with some of the residents. Drawing on sage advice from an old mentor (one who has since passed the point of no return), her own previous experience and her experience with her own progression, Eliza tries to act as a mentor for new residents, doing all she can to advise them on coping with their disease. There is also a particular group of fellow lycans who look to Eliza for leadership and order, though there are of course others who either reject and oppose her supposed authority, or who simply have no dealings with her.

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Extras

Other:

Her prosthetic looks like this.

[Obscene Symphony]

Feliks Vasiliev

Name: Feliks Vasiliev, né Shvets

Appearance

Height: 5'7
Eyes: Steel grey
Hair: Black
Build: Thin

Age: 34

Gender: Male

Element: Metal

Personality:
Feliks is intelligent, proud, and no-nonsense, often coming across as rudely blunt and cold. He scowls more than he smiles (with the exception of being in his wife's company) and tolerates disrespect only from those he can't get away with dressing down. Luckily, his position as the husband of a Viscountess and a sought-after designer affords him the privilege of respect from those who otherwise might afford him none. He can't stand self-pity and will call it out when he sees it, though he isn't blind to real suffering either.

Around his wife, he is a different man, loving and gentle and passionate. The disapproving glares and vicious gossip of the upper class bother him none, but he feels for how it hurts her.

Bio:
Feliks had a humble beginning, born to a single human mother in a city in the frigid north of the realm, deep in traditionalist territory. Vampiric harassment of human communities was commonplace, though of course never outright recognized, and most of the populace accepted grim reality and did their best not to exacerbate the problem. Once he was old enough to understand it, Feliks quickly grew jaded and resentful as he watched vampires toy with the lives of humans who were poor enough off as it was, but he was smart enough to keep his head down.

After his mother, a seamstress, died of illness in his preteens, Feliks spent a brief stint on his own before an acquaintance of his mother, a man named Mr. Ivanov, took him in. Mr. Ivanov was a tailor, a human man who had somehow managed to impress some of the lower ranking nobility in the territory, earning him a certain amount of consideration under the otherwise iron fist of the Astorio-aligned family that controlled the area. Immediately Feliks was fascinated, in awe of how the territory at large could live in such fear of the vampires who ruled them while people in Mr. Ivanov's part of town seemed to live their lives in relative peace. The man had a type of power that Feliks didn't understand, and it was tantalizing.

When Feliks showed interest and talent in tailoring, Mr. Ivanov took him on as an apprentice, the boy learning quickly and soon falling in love with the craft. By the time his eighteenth birthday rolled around, Feliks had graduated from doing alterations and otherwise assisting Mr. Ivanov to taking on commissions in his own right, building rapport with Mr. Ivanov's clients and even gaining a few of his own. He had a promising career ahead of him, until his Awakening crystal lit up.

Somehow he ended up paired with a mid-tier noble in the territory, a young Viscountess named Katya Vasiliev, only just reaching maturity herself. Feliks had no love for vampires - quite the opposite, in fact - but he knew resistance was pointless and only liable to get him beaten or killed, so he resolved to obey quietly and find some private way of coping with saying goodbye to all his hopes and dreams. However, he was shocked to find in his new mistress a kind and gentle soul, the Viscountess not taking after her family at all. She was sweet and patient with him, even eventually encouraging him to keep practicing tailoring. Feliks was slow to come around, justifiably suspicious, but gradually he came to see that perhaps every vampire wasn't an uncaring monster.

First she convinced him not to resent his magic. Eventually she got him to quit smoking. After a year, she befriended him, and Feliks started coming out of his shell. After three, he'd fallen in love; with magic, and with her.

Their relationship had to be kept under wraps at first, the pair of them knowing Katya's family would despise it. However, after the pair were ambushed and Feliks injured in the midst of fleeing wider political conflict in their homeland, they decided that life was too fleeting to live in secret and made their relationship public. As of now, they've been married for ten years and with tireless work and Katya's support, Feliks has been able to progress in his craft to become one of the most sought-after designers in the realm, patronized by celebrities and nobility alike. Even Princess Ryner herself is a fan of his work, and has worn dresses of his design on a few notable occasions.

Likes:

• Smoking
• Working
• Warm weather
• Antagonizing, when he can
• Hot tubs
• His wife

Dislikes:

• Smoking
• Ugly clothes
• Eris (it's a love-hate relationship)
• Cold/wet weather
• Being waited on
• Mistreatment of humans and mages
• Self-pity

Habits:

• Searching his pockets for cigarettes when agitated (he doesn't have any, he stopped smoking years ago)
• Using magic for mundane purposes
• Looking at people's clothes before looking at their faces
• Drinking when his leg hurts more than normal (he's trying to find a better way to cope)
• Vicious sarcasm
• Glaring

Other:
Feliks walks with a limp owing to an old injury to his left hip, which left him with limited mobility in the joint and chronic pain. He can walk fairly normally with the use of a cane; without it he can still get around, but his limp is much more pronounced.

He has a thin scar on his forehead above his left eyebrow from a small wound inflicted during the same event as his leg injury. He also has an ugly spiderweb of deep scars cross-hatching his back, dating back to his early years under the Vasilievs.

Feliks took Katya's last name when they married, as part of a complicated bargain with her remaining family not to get her disowned. He really doesn't mind; his maiden name was ugly anyway.

Text colour: 8FA1B4

[Obscene Symphony]

_{Interacting with@Hero and @Scribe of Thoth}

Aaron all but jumped back when a hiss sounded from behind the study door, followed a moment later by an off-the-cuff insult and a threat he didn’t care to think too hard about. Comparatively gentle to what he expected, all things considered, and he was content to hurry back into his bathroom and out of his clothes without further inquiry. Nope, he did not care for Varis’ “guidance” again. But at least his first instinct had proven true, he’d remember that for the future. “Hurry the hell up when Varis is hungry” seemed like a safe enough bet.

He showered quickly, though he did remember Varis’ tip about leaving his conditioner in longer and paid careful attention to his neck, and soon enough he was out, putting clothes in his hamper and pulling out fresh ones. This time he chose a pair of black slacks and another white shirt - luckily he had no shortage of those - but didn’t put it on just yet, opting for the long-sleeved black crew neck from earlier. An awful combination, obviously, but only a temporary one for feeding, just like he’d planned that evening.

Only about ten minutes had passed by the time Aaron returned to the study door, knocking a little more hesitantly this time. “I’m ready whenever you are, Master,” he called, before remembering what he’d been told on his first night. “Emotional state is… generally fine. Slightly nervous.”

“Enter and sit.” Varis ordered as he looked over the page he’d written, ensuring everything dried evenly. He had been concerned about the section that the boy interrupted during but his worries were unnecessary. It was perfection. As if he’d produce anything less. Varis looked up as Aaron settled, eyes immediately drawn to his neck as his hunger made itself known again. He still remembered the taste he had the other night and he strode over to Aaron.

Varis stood in front of Aaron for a moment more before using the boy’s chin to expose his neck, tilting his head back and away to give the Count easier access. The darkness in his eyes faded and they slowly brightened as he put a knee on the chair between the mage’s legs to support himself. Tightening his hold on the boy’s head, Varis pressed his fangs gently against the boy’s neck and held it there for a brief second to give the boy time to prepare himself. Then in a single movement, Varis pierced the boy’s skin and drank.

He closed his eyes and gave an involuntary groan of appreciation as the warm liquid burst over his tongue. Orange and cloves overwhelmed him with that perfect kick that bottles always missed, the pleasant zest of living. Varis let himself indulge, drinking just a bit deeper knowing he wouldn’t let himself have this again in the next few days. He lapped at the wound hesitantly, sucking out what last bit he could get as the wound shut itself, and he sat back against the boy’s desk with eyes closed to revel in the sensation of fresh blood in his body again.

Holding very still, Aaron was actually grateful for the Count’s grip on his head as he aligned his fangs; the consequences of misplaced punctures weren’t fun to think about, and he didn’t want to be accidentally moving. After the initial butterflies and burn of the bite, though, Aaron’s nerves faded away, body and mind overcome with a pleasant warmth. His head got light as his body got heavy, whatever tension was left in his muscles relaxing. His headache was all but forgotten as he allowed himself to savour possibly the only moment of serenity he’d have that night, eyes sliding closed as a grateful sigh escaped him.

To his chagrin, the feeling didn’t linger quite as long as the first time, and he mostly came to his senses shortly after Varis drew back, though a pleasant calm did still linger. As he gradually came back to his senses he noticed a red smear on the still-entranced Count’s cheek, however, accompanied by a drip down the side of his chin. Automatically his hand went up to his neck and absently prodded the spot where he’d been bitten, more curious than alarmed. The wound was healed, of course, but wet; when he brought his hand away, his fingers were stained red.

“...Ah-ha…” Aaron murmured, still a little dazed as he examined his hand. A knock on the front door made him look up, and he stood, making his way out of the study and down the hall to the door on autopilot. In the remnants of his feeding stupor he opened the door without a second thought, only to be greeted with the sight of Eris and Max.

Bloody neck forgotten, Aaron blinked at the pair for a moment, eyes a little glazed and wondering if feeding had made him more confused than he’d thought. Still, he turned back into the dorm just the same. “Master, Mr. Samael is here,” he called, glancing back at Max inquisitively, “with... Mr. Alderman.”

Varis originally ignored the knocking, reveling in the feeding and expecting the boy to send the interloper quickly but that name made him sigh. He'd brought this on himself after all. He ran a hand over his clothes, smoothing out any wrinkles that popped up during the feeding, and forced himself to move to his own desk. He wasn't about to let them see him so defenseless after a feeding. He picked up his quill, put the other page in front of him, and began working on the next letter.

“Send them in. Tell Eris I'm in the study.” He responded calmly as he worked. He felt the euphoria fading far faster now that he had a task to do.

Aaron turned back to the pair in the doorway, stepping aside and beckoning them in. “Master’s in the study, sir,” he parrotted, offering a dip of the head to Eris before closing the door behind them. Once they’d gone through he went straight to his room to clean up, loath to present himself so poorly in company any longer. On his way through the doorway he reached to close his own door behind him, only to come up empty once again.

[Obscene Symphony]

T̸̻͚̳̗̟̜͇̫̻̠̝̝ͮ̂ͧ̄̒ͭ͛ͮ̂͐͑ͤͬ̅̈́̇ͤ̂͗͠͡͞ͅͅE̶̷͖̰̳̩̺̝͙̖̭̝͈̝̖̳͙ͣͧͧͨ̈̐͛̉̉́ͬ͛ͧ̋ͯ̚͞͡S͙̹̗͍̳̬̹̖͍̝̞̅ͯͯ́͊̓͐͋ͤͨ̇̽ͥ́͝Ť͗̅͝͏̮̠͍͙̯̖̞̮͈̪̹͕̠̰

[Obscene Symphony]

[Obscene Symphony]

Somewhere out of a memory
of lighted streets
on quiet nights

[Obscene Symphony]