• This section is for roleplays only.
    ALL interest checks/recruiting threads must go in the Recruit Here section.

    Please remember to credit artists when using works not your own.

Fantasy 𝐑𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐒 — THE CAST

Main
Here
OOC
Here
Other
Here









OPEN

SEASON II APPLICATIONS




scroll






SEASON II APPLICATIONS.


In advance of Season Two, Rogue Waves has reopened to accept new applications.

Below this post will be new characters from both existing writers and potential new writers. This is to make my life easier when it comes to reading, accepting and creating discord channels, as well as to integrate newcomers with a familiar batch of new faces.

At acceptance, characters below will be placed in a little Orientation Week area in the server where we will have activities and icebreakers to help integrate you into our writing group.

Optional, but I request my existing writers keep the new application below here for a week or two after acceptance before they are moved into a tab in a previous post. You do not have to move them if you do not wish to.


ADMISSION DATE IS THE 16TH OF DECEMBER.






♡coded by uxie♡
 
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as is tradition with this code, obligatory heads up that in the third tab (portrait icon) there is extra information stored away in the three clickable circles along the top
CW FOR EMOTIONAL ABUSE, DRUG ABUSE & ADDICTION, MENTAL ILLNESS, DEATH, SELF-ENDANGERMENT, GORY WRITING.













  • CLICK












    GRAY



    THE CRYPTKEEPER.














    FIRST DATE



    SHAYFER JAMES.





































    FULL NAME


    GRAYSON B. MOYER







    Nicknames


    NOT GRAY







    age


    THIRTY-THREE







    P.O.B


    ZENITH






    PRONOUNS


    HE/HIM






































































nine lives

 
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Knox Hood, Quartermaster
















#The Archer




# Barry Keoghan










♡coded by uxie♡











Knox Hood









The Archer










01.



02.



03.














  • 01.




















    01


    name.


    John Knox Hood







    02


    a.k.a.


    Knox







    03


    age & birthday.


    2#, December 16th







    04


    gender & pronouns.


    Cis Male; He/Him







    05


    sexuality


    Fluid/Pan; Romantic







    06


    Occupation


    Quartermaster onboard The Leviathan; Currently contracted by The King







    08


    Place of Birth


    A village in a forest outside of Zenith







    09


    Face Claim


    Barry Keoghan




















    visage.







    weight.


    158 lbs






    height.


    5'8"






    build


    Slim, with a strong upper body from climbing, archery, and cutting firewood.






    eyes


    Blue-Grey; Bright and Expressive; Sometimes deep, sometimes shallow, possibly making one wonder: What’s he thinking about right now?






    skin.


    Fair; Prone to burning from the sun and the wind; His cheeks and nose flush when it’s cold out.






    hair.


    Short; Brown; It just has a way of settling where it wants, no matter what he does; On occasion, there is a cowlick on the back that has the habit of acting up.






    body mods.


    Red Feather Tattoo, Upper back of his right arm [x]






    distinguishing features & style.


    With his strong jaw and downturned mouth, Knox could often be perceived as a solemn and serious person, until he cracks a wide, sunny smile. He has a comfort oriented style, opting for colours found in nature (browns, greens, oranges, blues) with a fondness for knitted sweaters. His hands are worn from years of working with them.


















♡coded by uxie♡

 
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the paladin.















scroll

Adrian



Bishop




ㅎㅎ














01.

full name




Adrian Bishop








02.

age




36








03.

P.O.B.




Empyra








04.

sexuality




Demisexual








05.

status




High Society | Earl of House Bishop




































  • Courts are levelers.



    Our courts have our faults, as does any human institution, but in this country our courts are the great levelers, and in our courts all men are created equal.













♡coded by uxie♡
 
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Arata Fukuda
















# The Drunk Cupid




# Mackenyu










♡coded by uxie♡






fluticasone fluticasone
Requisite & Appearance
name
Arata Fukuda (or just Arata)
Alias
Eros of Solas, Cupid, Akito
Age
Twenty-Six (26)
Gender
Male (He/Him) [unlocks he/they at a later time]
Sexuality
Rumsexual somewhere on the ace spectrum, probably demi
P.O.B.
Freymoor
Faction
N/A (affiliated with Stygian Order at some point)
Status
Low Society -> High Society
Arata’s scruffy black hair is soft to the touch from meticulous care. Though he keeps the locks combed (when half-sober), it often appears messier. Two parts of his hair simulate bangs by his temples, strands that occasionally fall into his eyes. Brown, bloodshot irises peek through hooded eyelids to reveal the boredom of intoxication. Considering the frequent drunkenness, his eyes are not always bloodshot, as he seems to have no liver anymore. His tall frame is always swaying slightly, balanced until he decides to make a complex movement that requires more thought. He dresses plainly, despite frequenting high society, but then the Eros of Solas needs very little introduction. His favorite color may be green, but there is usually a red sash around his waist to signify his profession as a matchmaker, not that he chose that for himself.
personality
Perhaps when he was a child, before it happened, Arata was a happier boy. He might have even smiled. Nowadays, smiles don’t grace his face unless he is completely shitfaced. Even when highly amused, he lets out a sound that roughly resembles a bark. Perhaps a meow if he’s feeling feisty. In his heart of hearts, he doesn’t believe he’s worthy of happiness, and so he cannot allow himself a smile, not so long as he lives this curated life of a man whose true life has been robbed from him. Apathy is his true nature, save for when he’s completely shitfaced—in which case he’s a party animal.
Rum is literally his lifeblood. He’s not sure how, but it saved his life twenty years ago, and now he repays the debt by drinking. Every second. Every day. How he manages to subsist on little diet save for said rum is a mystery, and not one he’s willing to look into. When not drunk, he’s yearning to be. Most of his sentences contain the word “rum.” It is quite possible he’s an alcoholic. (Everyone knows he is, but he has yet to admit it.) His usual state is that of drunk, and so he does not enjoy being sober. He’s much less fun that way.
As he entered adulthood, he discovered a knack for detecting romantic connections. That is, even while drunk, he can sense when two people would work well together. Thus began his life as Eros, drunkenly pointing to two nobles and declaring that they should get married. He always managed to stumble into another party before those marriages fell apart, but thankfully, no one has seemed to care about that part of his ability. After all, he does not dictate others’ actions (and he wouldn’t want to), nor does he make their decisions for them. Except the marriage bit. (He’s opposed to marriage, ironically.)
history
Content Warning: Underage drinking. VERY. Underage. Alcoholism. Seriously, if alcohol is not a thing you're okay with, do NOT read this guy.
Arata Fukuda was one of several farmer families in the village of Freymoor, though he was never all that interested in farming itself. He would someday take on the mantle of the Fukuda farm, but he wasn’t too pressed about it as a child. How could he be, when he had greater aspirations? His adventures began whenever he stepped foot outside.
Along with his best friends—Bruno, Abigail, Gabriel, and Milo—Arata would play Pirates. He was the first mate to Bruno’s captain, though he was one of the lazier crew members on their pirate ship. Still, though he was terrible at showing it, Arata loved his friends deeply, as they were everything to him. Making them happy was his greatest goal in life, greater even than taking over the family farm.
When Arata awoke, he wasn’t in the barn. He wasn’t really sure what had happened, but he knew that the bodies of his friends next to him were not alive anymore. How was he still alive? And what if the killer came back to finish him off? So confused and distraught was he that he completely missed the absence of Milo’s body. Instead, he fled the village before the burial.
For a while, Arata wandered aimlessly. He’d never been outside of Freymoor, and so he didn’t know where to go. He ended up in Zenith, alone on the streets. Luckily for him, a nice couple took him in, or so he thought. They were a couple of criminals who needed a third, particularly someone small enough to crawl into tight spaces. For a time, Arata went by Akito, mostly because he did not entrust these people with his birth name, but also because he did not trust the guild to which they owed their allegiance. The only reason he stayed with them was to avoid living on the streets. Well, that and the alcohol they let him drink.
He stayed with the thieving couple for a few years, enough to truly get a taste for the alcohol he was stealing with them. By the time he was eleven, he was old enough to realize he didn’t want or need them anymore, and so he ran away. He was found again, this time by a lower-ranked noble family. They took him in, fed him, and educated him. But they wouldn’t give him anything to drink, which was a shame. Still, he was safe. And he let them call him Arata.
For years, he was relatively happy. Sure, he had very few friends, and sure, he couldn’t tell anyone that’d survived a massacre by drinking rum, but… well, at least he was safe. He didn’t emote very well to begin with, so it wasn’t as if he was looking for a spectacular change.
After he’d turned 18 and was finally, FINALLY able to drink again, he showcased a strange talent at a fancy party. While halfway drunk, Arata took a look at two nobles conversing and said: “Those two would make a great married couple.” What he meant by this was unknown, even to him. But it set off a chain of events leading to his current occupation.
His first match was true. They realized they were perfect for each other and married soon after. Arata was asked to try his magic again for a smarmy second son, whom he pointed in the direction of an angry looking noblewoman who turned out to just have a sour face. He made match after match after match, and all ended in marriages. Whether those marriages worked out was not important, only that he had produced results. Despite the inevitable failures and scandals that followed the couples post-Arata, he was highly sought after during the social season. Despite always being drunk when making his brilliant, if ill-advised, declarations, he was renowned as the Eros of Solas. He still wasn’t sure what that was all about.
Although he had no need for it, families paid him handsomely for his work, allowing him to buy his precious rum. Hearing of a ship sailing the seas of Solas, Arata decided to take a much-needed vacation and perhaps escape one marriage season. So he bought a ticket, not knowing that the ship would bring to him a ghost from his childhood.
misc
Likes & Dislikes: Rum, Rum, Rum, Sleeping, Rum, Green | He’s not really capable of dislike. However, he will not tolerate anyone who harasses Milo.
Fears: He used to fear that the man who killed his friend would come for him. Now he’s more afraid of running out of rum.
Habits & Hobbies: This man is so boring, he literally only drinks or sleeps. Rum is his passion and his hobby, which just. Someone send him to rehab please.
Strengths & Weaknesses: Arata is a great matchmaker (ignore the scandals) and can tell when a couple would work out. Yet he’s terrible at social interaction as a whole and has no defense mechanism against alcohol. How does his liver still work?
Reputation: Known as the Eros of Solas, Arata is renowned for his matchmaking skills, which he thinks is bullshit. Still, he’s not complaining about the money, nor is he about to turn down offers for free drinks to get people married out. Good for them!
Why Did He Board the Leviathan? Arata desperately wanted to escape the marriage season and hopefully have a nice break to just drink and sleep. Can he please not be the be-all end-all for someone’s romantic life? PLEASE?
How Did He Get on Board? Arata will be boarding the Leviathan at Antares, which he considers the Party Capital of Solas. Yes, he’ll definitely be drunk as he boards. Sorry everyone.
 
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  • Cosette Martel
















    # The Erudite




    # Tamika Fawcett










    ♡coded by uxie♡





 
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CW: Depictions of family death, grief, abuse, and light sex work found in the history sections. Allusions to suicide, mental illness, and religious trauma throughout the personality and history section.













  • GRAHAM



    THE BEREAVED.














    Someone New



    Hozier




























    FULL NAME


    GRAHAM FLYNN BYRNE







    ALIAS


    FROECH







    age


    TWENTY-FIVE






    BIRTHPLACE


    THE CANALS






    PRONOUNS


    HE/HIM







    SEXUALITY


    "UNPICKY"






    ROLE


    THE BEREAVED





































































nine lives

 
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Rhian Llyr
















-- The Scholar




-- Abbie Hern










♡coded by uxie♡










XI.
the scholar
scroll.















late bloomer
the secret sisters

rhian llyr —
the scholar, played by sollie


Ear presses to small chest, searching for sound. Searching for life. The ear is much larger than the small chest. The ear is familiar to the small chest. The ear of a mother, trying to quiet her own heartbeat as she searched for the heartbeat of her last child.

A thump.

A pause… a pause.

A thump. A thump.

A pause. A thump.

The ear recoils as a cry bursts from the fuzzy haired child, shocked by the sudden squeals and screams of the newborn. Bloodied, breathing, yet out of breath, perfect, yet imperfect.



GENERAL
name — Rhian Llyr
aliases — Lady Rhian
role — The Scholar
age — Twenty-Six

place of birth — Empyra




APPEARANCE
height — 5'5”
weight — 125 lbs
sexuality — huh
eyes & hair — brown

scars/markings — Aside from the occasional beauty mark littering her skin, her complexion remains untouched by sun damage, wounds, scars, or even the tiniest little cut.

appearance — Even as a child, tight, dark curls sprouted from the precious head of Rhian Llyr. Thick, well maintained, well cared for hair hangs past her shoulder, cascading in healthy dark tresses. Only the finest oils may touch even the tips of her hair. Her complexion, as dubbed by Gwendolyn Llyr, a mother who knows not when it is her place to step back, was that of a hazel fay, warm and bright. Well-fed, well-groomed and bright in nature, and boasting the warmest honey pool so full of curiosity and joy, Rhian's beauty is prized very little by herself. A vibrant mind is where true beauty lies.



PSYCHE
personality There hasn't been a moment in Rhian's life where she hasn't had to fight to get where she is. Though her teeth never grew sharp from fighting for her place, her resilience and optimism shine through and color her unique naivety to most situations. Things work out in her favor because she worked hard to get them. No matter what her luck in life, she will come out on top. Miss. Girl is very ADHD which makes her good at what she does (science) but bad at holding conversations if you get her talking. Despite her reserved and often skittish nature, the minute you get her yapping about a rock or a bug or a creature, she's gonna tell you a story about when her siblings raced to do math problems and whoever succeeded got ice cream for a week or something.



VICES

codependent

— naive
— sheltered
— self-centered

— lacks any sense of danger
— reckless

— overly trusting
— lack of self control

— social awkward


VIRTUES
confident in science!
highly intelligent
problem solver
uniquely charming
quiet
— amicable
— optimistic

— resilient


LIKES
thunder storms & rainy mornings (the worms will come out if ur on land)
learning new things (any new thing seriously)
color pencil drawings of swamps, marshes, plains, or any other epic landscape.
any library
eavesdropping
mineral talk <3
— dogs


DISLIKES
pity
loud enviorments

physical alterations
bad food
the cold
doctors

needles
FEARS There are two things Rhian fears most in this world-- her heart stopping and any sort of doctor or physician or individual who wishes to tell her news she wishes not to hear. They are connected, of course, as her fear spawns from a natural place. Perhaps there are also a few childish fears of food and the darkness outside of a room.

HABITS She is glued to her journal which acts not only as a documentation of her discoveries and musing, but also as the occasional personal journal. Most of the time her personal connects with her scholarly thoughts however and it is a jumbled mess of words, drawings, diagrams, and findings.

STRENGTHS Her mind is as sharp as a knife, containing logic, reasoning, science, literature or any information you could possibly want. What's that? You just ate a strange fruit. What did it look like? Oh, turns out you most certainly ate something poisonous. Perhaps you're crossed with a strange creature. Oh not to worry, that creature is harmless. Rhian also finds herself fearless when it comes to creatures and critters. She is the type of person to capture a spider in a jar rather than crush it.

WEAKNESSES She is desperate to prove herself and beat her sickness. She's willing to break her body down in order to prove to her academic onlookers (and her mother) that she is worthy of treatment akin to what they give her classmates. That she is just as good, if not better, than those around her. She also heavily idolizes Claudia Martel-- and she hopes to base her success off hers and one day overtake that intellect with her own hard work.


HISTORY

REPUTATION
The daughter of a well acclaimed Professor of Culture and Arts in Empyra and a top prosecutor, Rhian's shoes were weighty to begin with. Unfortunately claiming a fragile disposition, Rhian often mistakenly gets identified as a gentle creature with a lack of desire for excitement. Despite her ignorance, each experience is a pursuit from knowledge. Socially clumsy, more bashful than a blushing flower, and a tad smarter than she knows what to do with, what she lacks in social competence, she makes up with in odd, clumsy charm..


STATUS ROYALTY -- Daughter of Duke Osian Llyr of Empyra, Marquis of Ziron. (This doesn't matter much in Empyra though.) KINGSMAN -- It is only natural a daughter spawning from royalty would support royalty. Though, when it comes down to it... knowledge is power and she lacks knowledge in such area. Politics simply don't interest her at the moment. Passive allegiance to the Crown.




The Martel’s were not a mighty family with the most resources, but Martel’s were hungry rats, scrounging on anything to make their belly fat with whatever they craved. And Gwendolyn craved position most of all. She hated the feeling of being the underbelly of Empyra, vermin not to be respected or looked upon. Trash. And Gwendolyn Martel was not trash.

Her nails were sharpened from desperation, using only the resources she could to attain her status in Empyra. Her sharp wit and her need for more fueled her climb to the top. She learned what she could from those she could, and where she couldn’t find knowledge, she scavaged for it. Old textbook, discarded worksheets, pages ripped from notebooks and furled into a ball.

Anything she could to know what it meant to bask in the sun of enlightenment with her fellow like minded peers.

The parasites of her family wished to leech off her success. They wished to trade her hard work and dedication in for their own success, rather than fighting for it like she had. Her family didn’t fight for her, not one of them, choosing to live a life of dull laboring like the other thick skulled leeches that waited for their children to bring them the life they never could bring themselves.

She needed to purge these toxins from her body, to flush the parasites away so they could never steal from her again.

Of course, Gwendolyn’s success allowed her to continue her pursuit of fairness in the world. She’d always had a particular gift when it came to the concepts of law. Her mind worked unlike many others, retaining the information as if the picture from the textbook appeared written in front of her, though it was only memory. She could twist a breakage of the law with only a few words, and it was apparent to her mentors that her potential exceeded what they could offer. With an extraordinarily high score on the Exam, Gwendolyn found certainty that she would be the greatest prosecutor in all of Empyra.

Osian Llyr, on the other hand, found himself diametrically opposed on all fronts to the very essence of who Gwendolyn was. Born in a life of comfort, the youngest child of a very elderly father, he found the loving embrace of his mother from an early age. She fostered his love of the arts, shaping his form into a tender, loving being. While his focus remained on the creation of his own art, and the study of others, he found himself naturally intelligent, and an excellent taker of exams. Far better than his brothers, his mother boasted to all his friends during Sunday luncheon’s.

He was a sensitive boy, ever fragile to failure. And his mother’s preference for him led her to affording him only the best education. A professor of history at Empyra Academy, her academic resources were overflowing, If his own sharp mind hadn’t allowed him to top the exam, his mother’s endless stream of support (and money) pushed him to success and presented him with the opportunity to stay in the warmth of the Empyrian sun.

Osian and Gwendolyn, as opposites as they were, found a tenderness in each other during their youth. Osian lacked her fastidious nature, and Gwendolyn contained very little sensitivity. Over the course of their time in university, Gwendolyn found a softness for Osian. Though very clumsy and admittedly a bit less focused than herself, Osian was charming and knowledgeable in the areas he was passionate about. They shared very few classes in their post secondary education, as law and culture and arts had very little intersections. But their way home was too similar to ignore after the first few weeks.

It began with a small hello. A wave and a smile– the smile and wave were both from Osian, of course, but eventually, after many months, from Gwendolyn too.

Their conversation minimal. What did they have in common? Gwendolyn lived alone, isolated from her family, isolated from everything she’d grown up in and plunged into a new environment. But Osian’s natural curiosity egged him forward in pursuit of her life.

Clueless as he was, began a bond with Gwendolyn, Friendship or something more complex, not even time could tell. The evolution of Gwendolyn and Osian found itself taking different shapes and forms. At once friends. At once lovers. At once enemies. At once spouses. At once strangers.



“Might I remind the jury of Mr. Nelson’s callous and witless behavior? The defendant knew the law, as he was practicing it at the time, and he understood very well what his actions would do. The defendant entered the Solas Archive with the intent to break the law. The only thing the defendant could not have intended is for our enforcers of law to clamp down so heavily on his wrongdoing. My recommendation to the court–” The calculated words of Gwnedolyn Llyr came out sharp and confident, flowing smoothly until they were interrupted by a small gasp. Eyes were on her, eager to see the ever polished prosecutor stumble once. Her perfect memory couldn’t save her from being human. But even in this moment, she conducted herself.

“10 lashings..” She mustered out, holding herself upright, rigid and tense with stress. “Your Honor, I would like to request a recess. I am currently going into labor.”



Rhian Llyr was born four hours later, and no less than twenty-four hours after her child’s birth, she was back in court wrapping up the trail for Mr. Nelson against Empyra. Her newborn daughter could wait, justice, however, waited on no man– or baby.

The youngest of the Llyr families, the birth of Rhian held little significance to Gwendolyn. Her work could not be halted by a child and the near act of birth had nearly tarnished her unsullied reputation. An attentive mother clearly held no difference in the development of a child, as perfectly exemplified by their perfect daughter and son Alys and Rhys.

Both six and seven at the time of Rhian’s birth, they thrived as independent thinkers and high achievers in Gwendolyn's eyes, though Rhys seemed distant and distracted if his ideas ran away without guidance. Still, he was the most intellectually potent child in the Llyr family. Alys was dull and unexcited by knowledge, preferring the social element of her education rather than the academic. Aeron, old enough to hold conversation but young enough to be destructible by butterflies, was yet to show as keen an aptitude as Rhys. Gwendolyn held onto the assumption Rhys would bring further glory to their family.

Rhian would have received the same lack of attention from her mother had it not been for the numerous illnesses she’d been born with. A few hours after her birth, the physician noted a strange heartbeat in the child, lacking rhythm and also erratic and strange in nature. But most children were born with some kind of strangeness.

But this strangeness exceeded what her other children had experienced.

Rhian would cry for hours on end, gasping for air. Her tiny arms would become swollen, and her eyes puffy, even aside from the crying. Osian finally drew the line when Lorna, the elderly ward of all of the Llyr children, discovered Rhian breathing quick and troubled and her lips and fingernails a cool blue in color. No longer could he stand idly by while it appeared his young child was being ignored and lured into the cold embrace of something otherworldly.

And so a physician regularly assessed Rhian’s condition. She was monitored, constantly attended to, and never left without a person with extensive knowledge of medicine in the room. His precious child would not be forsaken, however illusive her initial condition appeared to be.

Test after test conducted by the best physicians in Empyra revealed no definite cause to her plethora of symptoms but one fact was made in unison between the physicians; Rhian had an extraordinarily weak heart and without careful monitoring and delicate action, it could cause her demise before she even turned ten years old.

Their youngest daughter, deficient in every way.

But there was hope for a healthy future. Steps taken that could ensure Rhian succeeded with very little impact on her life. And so Osian’s watchful eyes became fully peered on the youngest Llyr, turning a blind eye on Rhys, the son so closely tucked at his side.

Rhian flourished under her father’s wing. Every moment she wasn’t actively learning with rigid teachers, her life was being enriched by the knowledge Osian consumed in his studies at the Solas Archives. Each new piece of text her father would read, she would be perched at his side, scanning along with him.

The Solas Archives offered a less stimulating environment than home at times. Her father feared even school was too threatening to risk, but with an aptitude like Rhian’s, he couldn’t take away her chance at a secure future, even when he wasn’t around. Gwendolyn, while loving her children fully, had such a definite sense of right and wrong and he feared if her children tripped, she would make sure they fell on account of justness.

Books of Empyrian culture and arts quickly turned to other subjects. Science and History quickly enraptured Rhian in school. As she aged, she left her father’s side and began exploring each interest that bloomed in her. Hours she spent reading through the texts that the Solas Archive offered.

Her fixture in the libraries of Empyra became permanent. Polite, well-mannered, and incredibly articulate for each age she passed through, her reputation among her father’s peers was colored by kind smiles and memories of a young Rhian tucking herself behind her father anytime too much attention was put on her.
Her sixteenth age passed, and a seemingly dormant condition remerged in worsening severity.

Rushed away from a lecture on the first century of Empyra, Rhian spent nearly 12 days recovering from the strange episode. 12 days lacking enrichment. 12 days in falling behind her peers. And after those 12 days, an ever eager (and desperate) Rhian returned to school under special circumstances enforced by her father– her interaction would be limited. Social, physical, otherwise. Her time would be confined to the classroom and to the personal libraries of their own home, with the occasional outing to the Solas Archives. If her childhood had been considered confined to solitude, this age of her life was basic isolation.

Sheltered and kept to her books, her hunger for knowledge and understanding grew more insatiable while her relationships with her family began cracking and crumbling.

Rhys Llyr’s path to success had been handcrafted for him early in life. But as his father’s attention drifted from him, his success dwindled. Rhys was distractible, easily angered, and poorly behaved in the classroom. Where he once shined, he now cast a shadow on his peers, making it easy to spot him as the troubled child of the Llyr’s.

Though hope was still held for Rhys’ success, the eldest Llyr was always destined to fall from the sunlight. He was mad. Osian suspected Rhys was not himself when the events unfolded, but Gwendolyn, the prosecutor against her son, found any defense of madness or otherwise fallible and untrue.

Pressure built on Rhys, his life attempting to force him into a diamond. But rather than becoming a diamond, Rhys was crushed.

Smothered by the need to succeed, Rhys broke and found himself stumbling through the Exam Halls, voice crying out in protest as his peers raced for the best. “Do you not understand?” He began slowly, rising from his seat. The room was quiet enough you could hear the heartbeat of your neighbor.

“How insane this is?” His voice hoarse, desperation laced poison into his words. “This is fucking wrong! I don’t want to live this way. I don’t want them to live this way–” Arms grabbed Rhys, tugging him aside as his words continued to echo throughout the Exam Hall.

Disgrace. Dishonor.

Rhian couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen Rhys, though she had to admit her visitation with all her siblings was limited. The minute Aeron passed his exam, he was off to his secondary education. Law, just like mother had intended for him. Alys was on a worse track, having fallen behind her siblings and disappointing an already harsh mother to her first born daughter. She remembered her last goodbyes to Alys being bittersweet and all too short. Off to Zenith, for a better life. Where she didn’t have to remember her brother falling for grace, where she didn’t live in shame because she couldn’t test well.

While she couldn’t share her sister's sentiments, she could feel her heart ache that Alys would be so far away in Zenith. A city that would never rival Empyra. Rhian could only hope her sister could flourish in the dark.

Rhian continued forward, the last daughter to succeed in the Llyr family. Aeron pushed forward, sinking his teeth into his education and crafting himself more and more into his mother’s image. Gwendolyn’s Aeron was a picture of rigid perfection, dangerous and sharp with snarling teeth that discriminated against no one.

But once it was time to surpass him, she did it with flying colors. All that time spent tucked at Osian’s side paid off, and with exhilarating results, her path was set forth. Academic revelations struck Rhian daily as she pursued her passion, competing alongside Aeron as they ventured towards true intellectual success.

The faster Rhian went, the harder her body tried to keep up. And the more she pushed, the more her body pushed back. She began missing more and more lectures, unable to stay away from a physician for too long. She’d grown into a woman, now tired of being doted on and watched. She lacked freedom and comprehension of the universe at large and now with a brick tied to her ankle, she would drown if she continued to sink.

And so, the headmistress stepped in, whisking Rhian away from studying the minerals that made up Empyra’s unique landmass. She was faced with an ultimatum– Either Rhian began rapidly improving and attending classes or she would be forced to withdraw. Clever as she wished to be, she knew the chances of her suddenly being healed was little to none.

She could, however, propose an alternative….

Over the course of her years studying, she knew the world’s capability for surprise and discovery was overflowing. Studying a region of Solas to the very furthest reaches from Empyra led her to believe there was a land bursting with biological potential. Not only creatures, but minerals, flora, and perhaps unique and never before studied landscapes.

“Give me time-- um, and also a grant... probably..." She cleared her throat, straightened her shoulders. "I’ll bring you back something that shows you how worthy I am of this program. Let me show you I belong here.”

The only way Rhian could get there was to find a vessel to take her. Etched in her fate was the name of a ship. The Leviathan.


FOR GAO

WHAT I WOULD LIKE MY CHARACTER TO ENCOUNTER/EXPERIENCE/DEVELOP IN THIS ROLEPLAY ARE Rhian is a person that has been sheltered her entire life. She has been treated like a glass trinket her entire life, never to leave the shelf and only to be observed and admired. Her current goals are to make a splash in the academic realm for discovering something of great importance. Be that a creature from the depths of the sea or a completely undiscovered ecosystem untouched by scholar or adventure alike. I want you to take her off the shelf and break her.

IF NOT SELECTED IN THE FIRST ROUND OF APPLICATIONS, I AM WILLING TO BE CONTACTED AT A LATER DATE IF THE GM FEELS THERE’S A FITTING OPPORTUNITY FOR MY CHARACTER TO MAKE THEIR GRAND ARRIVAL
Yes absolutely!!



GALLERY










rhian llyr.


designed by bad ending. & coded by xayah.ღ
 
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gao this is all ur fault >:c






the beastmaster
















i submit to the wolves and feed them my heart




fc Park Taemin










♡coded by uxie♡






  • 04
    03
    02
    general
    jinara
    full name
    Jinara Ahn
    nickname
    Jin
    role
    The Beastmaster
    age
    27
    p.o.b
    Sirocco Sands
    Status
    High Society
    Factions
    None
    fc
    Park Taemin
    sorry, too, for letting you name the lamb/ before i slit its throat
    Reputation.
    The Ahn family holds a certain prestige to the sound of their name. Their animals are, without competition, the highest quality to be obtained within all of Solas. They're known for their worship of the Panther, an animal closely linked to their heritage and to them--their success.
left
 
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Duchess
Violetta Frankfort
  • ATTACK
    DEFENSE
    SPEED
    INTELLIGENCE
    The hunt is the best game there can be.
    Nickname
    ...
    Alias
    None
    Gender
    Female
    Birthplace
    The Cascades
    Age
    30
    Status
    High Society/Royalty
    Appearance
    HEIGHT: 5'2"
    BUILD: Slender
    HAIR: Black
    EYES: Deep Blue like the deep ocean
    IDENTIFYING MARKS: Small mole under left ear
    Personality
    GENERAL PERSONALITY TRAITS
    Generally very reserved and calculative, Violetta runs her Duchy with an iron clad hold filled with order and organization. She likes to be involved with the workings of her duchy, but also tries to make herself known in High Society by attending as many balls and tea parties as possible. While in society, she is very social, fluttering around and making as many connections as she can.

    CHARACTER LIKES/STRENGTHS
    Organizing and building up her duchy's strength and power is one of her many strengths. She also finds talking business quite easy, if it is to benefit her. While at home, she likes to sit in her library, surrounded by silence, and mull over her thoughts while watching out over the gardens. She also enjoys some challenging games of chess, though she has not found an individual in her home that has been able to provide that challenge anymore.

    CHARACTER DISLIKES/WEAKNESSES
    Violetta has a hard time socializing outside of talking business or forming connections to help her duchy. When she does chat outside of these confines, she is usually mentally determining whether or not the talker is beneficial to her or not. She also tends to find it irritating when things are not timely or planned out. While she can understand some things are out of her control and can delay things, she has more of an issue when the problem comes from something that can be easily fixable.

    CHARACTER FEARS
    The fall of her house and end of her bloodline. Her fear is very simple, and one she is trying to protect by strengthening her Duchy.



Royal Personal Knight
Monte Greyfin
  • ATTACK
    DEFENSE
    SPEED
    INTELLIGENCE
    I will not let you go into the unknown alone.
    Nickname
    Knight of the Stars
    Alias
    Sir Lloyd or Canbridge
    Gender
    Male
    Birthplace
    Zenith
    Age
    30
    Status
    Royal Knight
    Appearance
    HEIGHT: 6'2"
    BUILD: Lean, but muscular
    HAIR: Dirty dark blonde
    EYES: Dark Brown
    IDENTIFYING MARKS: Ankles and wrists covered in old scars
    Personality
    GENERAL PERSONALITY TRAITS
    Monte is a silver tongued, quick fighting man who takes his job very seriously when he is with Violetta. He is usually one who is very obedient, but also quick to defend when someone tries to slander his master. When he is not around his master, he is often quiet and observant to his surroundings and likes to stand guard near where she is.

    CHARACTER LIKES/STRENGTHS
    Monte has not shown any interests on his own in much except for sword fighting and shooting guns. He has shown he is exceptionally good at combat, and so the family put him in charge of protecting Violetta when she was young the moment they discovered his talent. He also likes to take interest in the things his master does, and therefore has attempted to dabble in the hobbies she does as she does them.

    CHARACTER DISLIKES/WEAKNESSES
    Monte hates talking about his past, and finds the entire conversation very uncomfortable. When he is berated for being a common man, his mood becomes dark and he finds that his hand is on his weapon before he knows it. These reactions are generally when he is alone and not when his master is around, for she becomes his everything. He also has a hard time listening to people slander his master and attempt to soil her reputation, making a note to get back at them.

    CHARACTER FEARS
    Monte fears that harm will come to his master or his family in Zenith. He also has a fear of fire and storms, though he will push through them regardless.
 
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Don't mind Ren's quote being here for some reason orz. I'm planning on using the same IC code and will change them later






  • THE ABEL.















    scroll

    Ephraim



    PROKOPIOU




    ㅎㅎ















    01.

    full name




    ephraim prokopiou








    02.

    alias




    simply "frey"








    03.

    age




    twenty-two (22)








    04.

    p.o.b.




    valdioro








    05.

    status




    kingsman




































    • HERETIC BOY,




      you should know: hate misshapes even the most woodland into something that would rather die in captivity than domesticate.













    ♡coded by uxie♡

 
Last edited:




































oathbinder

...Look up and now angel see; you have seen inside me; sheer and spooky







































  • requisite.







    full name

    anna h. luukas






    age

    twenty-five






    gender

    female






    sexuality

    pansexual






    place of birth

    the cascades






    role

    the devout ↓






    faction

    covenant of aethera






    status

    high society















    visage.



    scroll




    height

    Five feet, nine inches.






    hair colour

    Blonde.






    eye colour

    Blue.






    build

    Slender, very long, wrists like tree branches etc. When she moves it's with the naturalness of wind.






    scars/markings

    Barely any, so you really notice the ones she has: on her cheek, and a few old scrapes across her right shoulder.






    faceclaim

    Hunter Schafer.





















♡coded by uxie♡
 
Last edited:











  • the cain.















    full name

    Kohen Prokopiou






    role

    The Cain






    age

    Twenty-six






    p.o.b.

    Valdioro






    faction

    None






    status

    Kingsman


















    style








































    faceclaim

    Evans Nikopoulos






    height

    5'10"






    hair

    Straight dark brown hair that's kept short and neat for both respectability and practicality.






    eyes

    Brown framed by a pair of thin golden glasses that help compensate for his myopia. He wears them extensively, having grown used to them during childhood.






    build

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.






    attire

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.



































    title




    artist











    req.

    req.














    a little quote here!



    Kohen is, above everything, a man who choked on expectation. He shies from responsibility like a moth that has learned to fear the heat, quivering wings held in place only by the weight of familial expectations. After all, he’s already given it all for his heritage, so what’s a little more?

    If he loses it now, he will have nothing, having hollowed himself out to make room for the wishes of his parents. Even now, his skin feels too tight around his body to fit the conflict within. Seeing his brother stand under the light of success, the love he once cherished has long since collapsed under the weight of his longing and awe. Now, the same warmth has turned into a fire running through his veins, scrambling against his straining flesh to escape in warped streams of twisted envy.

    He is scared of what he will become if he goes through with this. He is terrified of being eaten alive if he doesn’t. (In the end, the ones he loved sealed him into his tomb with his heart still beating, so surely it’s only fair if he returns the favor?)













    likes


    Entomology, collecting diagrams and specimens, watching the life that crawls in the dirt. Fresh air, working with his hands, the sight of movement.








    dislikes


    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec vestibulum dui eget diam sodales lobortis. Nulla fermentum purus fringilla hendrerit tincidunt. Quisque ullamcorper fringilla augue, a laoreet ligula vehicula vel. Nulla aliquet massa a felis viverra iaculis. Praesent ac tortor quis diam efficitur consequat non id eros.








    fears


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    habits


    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec vestibulum dui eget diam sodales lobortis.








    hobbies


    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec vestibulum dui eget diam sodales lobortis.








    strengths


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    weaknesses


    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec vestibulum dui eget diam sodales lobortis.
















    pers.

    pers.
















    birth



    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec vestibulum dui eget diam sodales lobortis. Nulla fermentum purus fringilla hendrerit tincidunt. Quisque ullamcorper fringilla augue, a laoreet ligula vehicula vel. Vestibulum laoreet tristique sem, vel malesuada nunc congue quis. Nulla aliquet massa a felis viverra iaculis. Praesent ac tortor quis diam efficitur consequat non id eros. Nullam malesuada quis nisl vitae consequat.

    Ut iaculis, est sit amet laoreet fringilla, leo neque pharetra tellus, vel hendrerit lorem neque eget diam. Vivamus varius libero vitae nisl consequat egestas. Ut viverra lorem purus, egestas sagittis nulla dapibus et. Aenean ornare nulla non mattis luctus. Quisque accumsan nec mi in semper. Curabitur dignissim pellentesque dolor, ut malesuada urna interdum iaculis. Integer vulputate risus justo, nec volutpat turpis accumsan a. Nunc at aliquam leo. In vel sem et felis aliquet rutrum. Aenean eget maximus ipsum, fringilla semper velit. Donec tempus porta mauris at rutrum. Phasellus tincidunt, mauris id commodo varius, lorem nisi tincidunt dolor, sed tincidunt quam nulla eu enim. Ut fermentum elit vitae magna dignissim bibendum sed eu mi. Integer non semper mauris. Cras egestas orci quis rhoncus vulputate. Integer vestibulum congue justo vel eleifend.








    part. 2



    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec vestibulum dui eget diam sodales lobortis. Nulla fermentum purus fringilla hendrerit tincidunt. Quisque ullamcorper fringilla augue, a laoreet ligula vehicula vel. Vestibulum laoreet tristique sem, vel malesuada nunc congue quis. Nulla aliquet massa a felis viverra iaculis. Praesent ac tortor quis diam efficitur consequat non id eros. Nullam malesuada quis nisl vitae consequat.

    Ut iaculis, est sit amet laoreet fringilla, leo neque pharetra tellus, vel hendrerit lorem neque eget diam. Vivamus varius libero vitae nisl consequat egestas. Ut viverra lorem purus, egestas sagittis nulla dapibus et. Aenean ornare nulla non mattis luctus. Quisque accumsan nec mi in semper. Curabitur dignissim pellentesque dolor, ut malesuada urna interdum iaculis. Integer vulputate risus justo, nec volutpat turpis accumsan a. Nunc at aliquam leo. In vel sem et felis aliquet rutrum. Aenean eget maximus ipsum, fringilla semper velit. Donec tempus porta mauris at rutrum. Phasellus tincidunt, mauris id commodo varius, lorem nisi tincidunt dolor, sed tincidunt quam nulla eu enim. Ut fermentum elit vitae magna dignissim bibendum sed eu mi. Integer non semper mauris. Cras egestas orci quis rhoncus vulputate. Integer vestibulum congue justo vel eleifend.


















    best friend





    name here

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec vestibulum dui eget diam sodales lobortis. Nulla fermentum purus fringilla hendrerit tincidunt. Quisque ullamcorper fringilla augue, a laoreet ligula vehicula vel. Vestibulum laoreet tristique sem, vel malesuada nunc congue quis. Nulla aliquet massa a felis viverra iaculis. Praesent ac tortor quis diam efficitur consequat non id eros. Nullam malesuada quis nisl vitae consequat.









    best friend





    name here

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec vestibulum dui eget diam sodales lobortis. Nulla fermentum purus fringilla hendrerit tincidunt. Quisque ullamcorper fringilla augue, a laoreet ligula vehicula vel. Vestibulum laoreet tristique sem, vel malesuada nunc congue quis. Nulla aliquet massa a felis viverra iaculis. Praesent ac tortor quis diam efficitur consequat non id eros. Nullam malesuada quis nisl vitae consequat.









    best friend





    name here

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec vestibulum dui eget diam sodales lobortis. Nulla fermentum purus fringilla hendrerit tincidunt. Quisque ullamcorper fringilla augue, a laoreet ligula vehicula vel. Vestibulum laoreet tristique sem, vel malesuada nunc congue quis. Nulla aliquet massa a felis viverra iaculis. Praesent ac tortor quis diam efficitur consequat non id eros. Nullam malesuada quis nisl vitae consequat.













    reputation

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.






    why did they board the Leviathan?

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.






    How did they get on board?

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.






    Opinion on royalty

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.






    Opinion on piracy

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.













    hist.

    hist.








    scroll














    ♡coded by uxie♡

 
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Ravinder Coving
















#the explorer




#dev patel










♡coded by uxie♡





content includes: reference to potential child abuse, sexism in business, unplanned pregnancy, traumatic brain injury, reference to potential spousal abuse, implied alcoholism

Full Name: Ravinder Coving
Nickname: He almost exclusively goes by 'Rav' or 'Ravi'.
Role: The Explorer
Age: 28
Place of Birth: Zenith

Face-claim: Dev Patel
Height: 6'2"
Eye & Hair colour: Ravi has dark brown eyes, only a shade more coopery than his curling brown hair.


Personality:
One might expect someon of Ravinder's past to be... Jaded. Scorned by his family, spurned by his wife.

But instead the man is unfailingly kind. He opens the door for anyone with their arms full, regardless of class, and will offer to carry something while he's at it. He gives coins to beggars on the street, and sometimes the coat off his back. He laughs at the nonsensical jokes of children, and asks nods at appropriate intervals when the elderly prattle at him.

He has an unsatiable thirst for knowledge- About the world, about people, about about anything at all. He will listen enraptured to the expertise of a dockhand on how to best load crates of cigars, or to a botanist's description of ancient megaflora.

He can be a bit absent minded at times, and had a particular tendency to forget where he placed physical items as a child. This is mostly better these days, but can be quite stressful when it does happen, and he is quite good at finding other things to panic about as well. While he is good at navigating other people's distress and helping them work through it, he is miserable when stressed himself and can never seem to snap himself out of it. He usually just tends to ride the wave of anxiety until it exhausts him.

He knows how to be a polished gentleman when necessary, and can come across as quite refined and cultured. He perfected this art in his early twenties while traveling with his uncle and having to meet with business partners and potential business partners so often. However, he has fallen out of this habit recently and it takes a more conscious effort to play to the part.

Likes: Getting to know someone. Colorful fish to look at. Listening to a musician. Speaking new languages. History and geography.
Dislikes: Gossipers. Eating fish. Playing an instrument. Those first few weeks of learning a new language. His own penmanship.
Fears: Failing his loved ones. Heights. Dogs. That there is nothing beyond the horizon.

Habits: One lock of hair in the front of his head seems to grow faster than the rest of it, and he often finds himself blowing it out of his face or brushing it back, especially when animatedly discussing some new topic.

Hobbies: Reading old books, mostly. Recently, drinking.

Strengths: Ravinder's kindness has allowed him to make many unusual friends- Not always in the places the Coving family might like, but making friends in expected places can be a bit of a bore. His curiousity has been a great asset as well, and he is never afraid to change his opinion based on new information. He is hardworking and studious, and always sees a task through once started. He is generally quite respectful, as though it might have been beaten in to him.

Physically, he seems to have a remarkably robust immune system and rarely gets sick when others do. He also throws a pretty good punch considering his minimal training and could probably be a decent enough fighter with some practice- Though practice isn't really something he's interested in.

Weaknesses: In many ways, Ravi's strengths are his weaknesses as well. He is sometimes too kind and forgives too easily, making him a target for those who wish to take advantage of him. His curiousity often gets the better of him, and he finds out things he might rather have not known. His studious nature means he cannot give up on a project, even when it is beyond him. More than he would like, he relies on social order to determine who or what is 'right', rather than stand up for his values and risk offense.

He has recently discovered that while he can drink with dinner like most of his peers, he does not handle strong liquors very well. At all. He almost certainly has carpal tunnel, and squints much more often than he really needs to on account of losing his reading glasses so frequently.


It was Ravi's great grandfather, who bought the first boat in the Coving shipping fleet, but it was his grandfather who built it into an empire. The man worked tirelessly, expanding the trade routes and currying favor with nobility and other merchants alike. Things were good, in those days- Before the boom in piracy, back when the seas and even Antares still belonged to the crown.

The old man meant for his eldest child to inherit his business- That she was his daughter made little difference to him, even if some might scoff at it. Including her brother, who felt it was his right and his privilege to take over Coving Lines. He had grand schemes on how he would improve the business, and had even began investing his own private money into these ideas.

Imagine his delight when his sister's pregnancy began to show. Their father demanded she name the child's sire, or at the very least consent to marry one of the sons of his business partners. Amala refused, publicly.

The rumors spread even faster than her waistline- Was it one of the sons from the upper echelons of society? It had to be, of course, they gossiped, looking down their noses at their peer's young heirs, self-assured that their own precious boy could not be the culprit. Unless... Well, what if- What if she had truly debased herself, had fallen in bed with a commoner. A servant perhaps, or a solider, or even one of those young knaves that had taken to lurking on the street corners of Antares.

Scorned by their peers in Antares and eager for a fresh start, the Covings moved their home and their business to Zenith. There, Ira began to learn the knowledge he'd been denied about how to run his father's empire, and Amala was sequestered away in a private facility to have her child.

In her isolation, her only visitor was her old rival. Perhaps Ira felt badly for how things had turned out, or embarrassed that their parents could so easily set their daughter aside. He came to see her once a week. He was there, when she fell.

One of the nurses found them at the bottom of the stair, Ira cradling his sister's split skull, the blood pooling red on the white marble floor.

Rarely has a carriage made it so quickly through the cobblestone streets of Zenith as the Coving's did that day. Amala's mother held her hand while she suffered through her stress induced labor, her father and her oldest brother pacing in the hall. Hours later, her son breathed his first and was declared to be in perfect health. Amala's prognosis was less optimistic.

Tearful, the new grandparents pledged they would do right by Ravinder. He would be a member of the family, entitled to anything and everything their own children and future grandchildren enjoyed. From the corner, his uncle looked on.

----

In a now distant port, the estate where the Coving family once lived burned. Antares fell to the rule of the Red Baron. Those that had looked down at the Covings' family misfortune and mocked them for running to Zenith wished that they themselves had had the good timing to leave Antares when the Covings did.

With their fleet and fortune safely intact while so many others' sunk into the depths, the Covings wealth and influence only grew. When your field is cleared of your competitors, the market is yours for the taking.
____

His grandparents may have promised him all the advantages of their lifestyle, but they were not affecionate people, and Ravinder grew up... Lonely. When his uncles and aunts began to marry and have children, the little boy was hopeful for friends. That was not to be the case.

He may have had the Coving name, but his cousins made sure he knew it was out of obligation and nothing more. Despite being he eldest, he was the brunt of their jokes, the object of their bullying and a constantly singled out. If there was blame to be passed, it went to Ravinder. When he did worse than them in his lessons, it was because he was a mere bastard. When he did better, he was being an arraogant upstart.

He learned to spend his time alone, burying himself in books of history and geography and scientific studies. A few of his tutors took notice of his inqusitive nature, and advised his grandfather that the gangly young adolescent might have a future and Zenith Academy one day. This appealed to Ravinder greatly, but less so to his grandfather. What use was a scholar, when their was a business to run and pirates roaming the seas?

Since moving to Zenith, Ira had taken more and more control over the Coving business, and expanded it greatly. They were not just in the transportation of goods these days, but the storage and the creation and the selling of them too. They had bought a mine in the mountains surrounding Valdioro, ranches in the Canyon, warehouses that lined the docks of Zenith and many other investments besides. Perhaps Ravinder's intellect could be applied to the Coving empire, his grandfather decided, and so it was that Ravinder began to travel with his uncle.

Traveling through Solas was a great adventure for Ravinder- The sights to see, the foods to sample, the people to talk to! Even working with his uncle had its merits, and teenaged Ravinder swelled with pride on the rare occasion that Ira would clasp him on the shoulder and tell him he had done well. He knew the people they met with still whispered about his bastard origins when they thought he couldn't hear, but the Coving name had become so influential that it hardly mattered.

It was the great irony of his life, he began to realize. As the Coving bastard, people would respect him. As the Coving bastard, his family would not love him. His uncle might have tolerated his presence for the time being, but Ira's own sons would be old enough soon to travel Solas with him instead of Ravinder, and Ravinder knew he would be forced to make his own way in life soon.

He spoke of these concerns to his mother during several of his regular visits, holding her skeletal hand in his own. As always, she stared blankly ahead at the wall, her head lilting to one side.

He was at a crossroads, with no sign to point which direction he might want to head.

But then- He met her. Irene Saville. And it seemed like everything might be clear, for once.

They courted for nearly three years, an astonishingly long time. Presumably due to the long and sometimes tense negotiations between their respective heads of family: Ira Coving, now that Ravi's grandfather had died, and Irene's father. The Savilles were among the oldest noble families in Solas, but had depleted their fortune over the generations. The Covings had plenty of wealth, but a titled member of the family would be a true feather in their cap.

If only that member wasn't the bastard.

But the lovebirds won out eventually, and were married. It was not exactly the event of the year in Zenith, but it was well attended by most who mattered in their circles, and perhaps more importantly, the couple enjoyed it. They moved into an elegant townhome to start their life together, and seemed to be quite happy. Ravinder split his time between his new wife, his dwindling responsibilities with Coving Lines, and exploring the Saville's massive library. It had ancient texts in it, the sort of knowledge he had only dreamed of. His new father in law that even the famed Academy of Empyra lacked some of his rarer scrolls.

And then, just after their first anniversary... Ravinder moved back to the Covings' estate and Irene to the Savilles'.

The rumors flew even before the townhouse went up for sale: She'd had an affair with another man. He'd had an affair with another man. She was infertile. They'd fought over finances. They'd both had an affair with the same man. Their families had forced them apart. He had hit her.

Even that last whisper, Ravinder did not respond to, hurtful though it was. He bore the rumors same as his mother once had- His head held high, his face passive and uncaring. They went to court to divide their shared assets, but for the wealthy those records can been sealed, and the status of their marriage became another source of speculation for those of status in Zenith. Divorce? Or perhaps... Annulment?

A source of never ending scandal and embarassment for the Covings, his uncle scolded him. Make yourself useful in your exile at least, he was told. First, to Antares: To assess the estate outside the city that had been abandonded, and see what might be done with it. It had no doubt been looted and burned and whatever they had not packed those 30 some years ago was gone. But the land deed still belonged to the Covings, and might be sold.

Then, to someplace he might make no trouble, or at least none that would shock their well-bred peers: Empyra, to study for the rest of his years. Perhaps he might rank well in the Exams and give his family some small reason to be proud.

Ravinder packed his bags- including some rather unusual items, kept under lock and key-, took the papers and purse of money from his uncle, and left Zenith without looking back.


Reputation: Unfortunately, Ravinder is much more well-known than he would like to be: His family name is stamped onto ships and crates and boxes and various goods all over Solas. At least his the circumstances of his birth were not well known by those outside of his family's immediate circle, though. But then the gossip rags all over Zenith published headlines about the 'Coving Bastard' and his catonic mother and his failed marriage. If someone has been in Zenith in the last year and pays even the slightest attention to the scandals of the upperclass, they've probably heard his name.

Why did he board The Leviathan?
After concluding his business with the family home in Antares, Ravinder has his orders from his uncle to get himself to Empyra post-haste, where he will sit the exam and once (if) he passes, he will join the Academy and hopefully live out the rest of his days learning and perhaps teaching, and not causing the Coving family any more stress. But it's not Empyra that he's packed his bags for.

The truth is: Ravinder is running. From something or to something?

How did they get on board?
Ravi has a ticket, paid and purchased and everything- Isn't he such a fine upstanding gentleman?

Faction:
None specific, but presumably loyal to the Crown, the nobility, and to the mercantile class and interests.

Status:
High society, but somewhat ostracized from it due to scandal.

Opinion on royalty:
Ravi bows deeply to the titled, just as he has been taught. They are wise, gracious, benevolent and they protect all of Solas, do they not? If he has any less than charitable thoughts on how nobility and the elite have treated him throughout his life- or how they treat others- he is clever enough to keep that to himself.


Opinion on piracy:
The topic of piracy came up often at Ravi's family home as a child, and he is well versed in how much the 'scourge of the seas' have cost Solas- and Coving Lines- in both money and lives. He is somewhat more pragmatic about those that pursue piracy than his peers might be. He knows that not everyone has their life handed to them on a silver spoon, and that survival can be a fight. He's even dared to express this aloud a few times. All the same, he finds excessive violence distasteful and thinks the exponential rise in piracy over the last few decades is a bad thing, if only because he has personal reasons for wanting travel across the seas to be safe and accessible.

My hopes/dreams for Ravinder:
I'll be honest- Ravi is a very new character to me, and I'm just excited to explore what's going on with him! (And with the details of his past I haven't quite figured out!) I have some vague ideas about what he's looking for out there in the wide world (maybe some sort of fountain of youth/healing he's read about in ancient texts?) but it really depends on what I learn about other characters and the lore and what sort of connections can be made. For his emotional journey, I'm hoping for him to get out of the shadow of his past- His bastard status, his uncaring family, the gossip around his marriage. He's a very genuine person and knows how to stand on his own two feet, but he definitely needs more practice at it.
 
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lara crane
















#the cook




#joani johnson










♡coded by uxie♡




content includes: reference to miscarriage

Full Name: Lara Crane
Alias: You think the two of you are close enough for nicknames?
Role: The (other) Cook
Age: 67
Place of Birth: Zenith
Face-claim: JoAni Johnson
Height: 5'4"
Eye & Hair colour: Lara has large but often inexpressive brown eyes, and silvery gray hair that she wears down straight or in a long braid when she's working. As she is almost always working, it is usually in its braid.


Personality:
Lara has been described as 'curt', 'somewhat abrasive' and even 'downright rude', and these are all correct. She might describe herself as 'minding her own business', and encourage others to do the same.

Lara has not always been as she is now, though. She used to care quite deeply about others. She still does actually, which is why she takes such great pains to not get attached to anyone these days. It's easier not to care, though she slips up more often than she'd like, especially with those she spends the most time.

Historically, Lara was an excellent judge of character, but these days she often allows her own bias to determine what she thinks of someone rather than give them a chance. She is also hardworking and methodical, and rarely deviates from her plans. She is somewhat stuck in her ways, but perhaps she might still be pried out...

Likes
  • Citrus flavors.
  • Working with her hands.
  • The satisfaction of seeing people well fed.
  • Clean and well kept spaces.

Dislikes:
  • People asking her questions. About herself, about how to do something, or even what tomorrow's weather might be.
  • Overly sweet things.
  • Singing. She had a beautiful voice once, but has not used it in quite some time.
  • Excessively wide open spaces. She tries not to spend too much time on deck, looking out at the endless sea.
  • Nearly all animals, though there have been a few mousing cats she's been annoyed to be fond of over the years.
  • Scholars, particularly scientists. Always meddling with what they shouldn't, in her opinion.

Fears:
  • Losing people.
  • The Cascades and whatever the hell goes on in that city. If the Leviathan docks there, Lara will need a damn good reason and maybe some extra pay to get her off the ship.
  • Getting too attached to anything or anyone that could be taken away.
  • A recurring nightmare she has where the Lowry catches fire, and she can't get out. She thought she'd stop having that dream after she sold the place, but no such luck.
Strengths:
  • Very perceptive and observant, especially in social situations.
  • Great cook, pretty decent baker as well. (Her skills are largely wasted on the Leviathan, and that isn't just her thinking highly of herself.)
  • Managing expectations and following through. Lara never bites off more than she can chew. She'll say exactly what she thinks she can accomplish, and then does it.
Weaknesses:
  • An aging body. Her knees are shot to hell- amongst other things- and her sense of hearing is going in the left ear.
  • No physical defenses. She has no experience wielding weapons or being in a physical fight.
  • Does not take orders well, and can be argumentative in situations where it would really be best if she wasn't.
  • Charisma. Even when she was younger and considerably more naive, Lara has never had the gift of speaking eloquently. Do not expect any rousing speeches.

History:
Chop, and the fish's head goes into one basket, the body into another.

It's not that she's against telling her story. She just has no idea why you want to hear it. It's not much to tell.

If you can convince her you are just genuinely curious- no ill intentions, you promise- perhaps she'll share.

What, are you going to just sit there? Here. These potatoes need peeling.

She was born in Zenith, to a couple that owned a lodging house in a reputable if not flashy area of the city. They catered mostly to artisans, new merchants, and visiting scholars not able to find lodging within the Academy. It was not a particulary excting childhood, she will tell you. She learned to cook, to make minor repairs, to balance the books. Her parents died young, and she was in her early twenties when she was running the Lowry mostly by herself with the help of some parttime staff.

A few years later, she met the man who would become her husband, Captain Theodore Crane. He wasn't a captain at the time anymore than he was her husband yet, just another man in the city guard marching by on parade. She threw a flower into their ranks, and stifled a laugh when it landed on his face.

She won't tell you that detail.

He came back to the Lowry the next day, a boquet of those same flowers in his hand, and they were married a year later. The years went on- He got promoted, she ran the inn. Eventually, after several miscarriages, they had twins: Two identical sons.

Who taught you to peel potatos? Your blind grandmother?

The boys followed their father, and entered into military service when they came of age. They joined the ranks, and the ranks did not return them.

The fond bickering she had enjoyed with her husband turned to shouting matches. They began to sleep in seperate beds.

She won't tell you those details, either.

Very slowly, she began to grow around the grief, the abrasive edges of it sanding down with the grains of time. The Captain quit his job to join a private security detail for some minor noble family, so they might have more time together.

Maybe they could have fixed things.

Except, that minor noble family had a daughter. A precocious thing, who became the daughter the Captain had never had. Who replaced the sons they'd had.

The next fish head is severed neatly from the body, and flies across the counter, missing its basket by a good two feet.

She definitely won't tell you those details. She won't tell you that he moved on, when she could not. That she could not forgive him for the sin of leaving her behind in her heartbreak.

He moved out, and she kept running the Lowry. Ran it straight into the ground. Not financially, she'll make sure you know. But it was an old building by then, and there was only so much repairs that could be made. She sold it to someone who would rip it down and rebuild it will all the modern amenities.

Oh, give those damn potatoes back. Here, take the knife- Surely you can cut the head of a fish, can't you? An idiot could do it.

She joined a merchant's vessel, feeding the crew. Low standards for fine dining, ones she could easily meet. But the King's ship pays better, and it's much better armed. Plus, she gets to make a more varied menu. Gruel for the crew, of course, but fine fair for their privileged guests.

She'll purse her lips at you, but refrain from insulting your grandmother this time. The fact that you do not how to use the knife is implied.

Are you waiting for more? There isn't any.

And then she'll tell you the dishes need doing too, so if you are going to keep taking up room in the kitchen, at least make yourself useful.

Reputation: Lara has a slight reputation on the Leviathan, for being a good cook and a poor conversationalist. But it is unlikely anyone would have heard of her before boarding.

Why did they board The Leviathan?
Weren't you paying attention? She sold the boarding house. She needed a job. The King pays better than a private enterprise, and has a lot more cannons.

How did they get on board?
She was hired in Zenith and has been onboard this whole time. It's hardly her fault you haven't noticed her.

Faction: Lara is pretty much loyal only to herself.

Status: Lara is probably considered 'low society', as she does not have great wealth or status. However, she did not grow up poor and has rarely struggled to make ends meet.

Opinion on royalty:
Lara does not care for the royal family or for their panting little lapdogs, the nobility. They killed her boys and broke her family, and she will never forgive them that.

Opinion on piracy:
Lara doesn't like pirates, either. They killed her boys and broke her family, and she will never forgive them that.

My hopes/dreams for Lara:
Lara is a character who refuses to move into the future, or even into the present if I'm being honest. She allows her grief to guide her, and I'd like to see her find a new internal direction- Ideally, by creating some new social/emotional connections. She is a little slow to thaw, but I think she's at the point where deep-down she knows her anger isn't serving her anymore and is ready to begin caring again.
 
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Place Holder! Click Image !
FC—Anna Sawai

  • Dismemberment Song
    Bluekid




    01
    name
    Ayaka Takezawa
    02
    Titles
    Razor. Medusa. Reaper.
    03
    age
    Twenty-Seven.
    04
    place of birth
    Empyra
    05
    Affiliation
    N/A
    06
    Status
    Outcast
    07
    occupation
    Traveling Alchemist/ "Doctor." Etc.
    08
    role
    The Frankenstein
left
right
coded by natasha.
 
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BIIIIIG WIP

like wildflowers; you must allow yourself to grow in all the places people thought you never would
Cleo Lysarius
The Untried
001
002
003
004
  • 001
    basics
    STAT HERE
    STAT HERE
    STAT HERE
    STAT HERE
    STAT HERE
    name
    Clementine Lysarius
    gender and sexuality
    Cis Female, Homosexual
    nickname
    Cleo
    age
    Twenty five (25)
    Class
    answer here
    place of birth
    Rhesson, a small town about an hour from Valdioro
    appearance
    height
    5'07"
    Face-claim
    alycia debnam-carey
    Hair color
    brown
    Eye color
    brown
    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer turpis lacus, tristique eget odio quis, viverra varius magna. Ut ullamcorper auctor nisl, luctus molestie felis ullamcorper sed. Donec nec nibh bibendum, pharetra nunc sed, placerat purus. Nulla a ligula lobortis, condimentum lacus eu, efficitur justo. Donec vitae volutpat odio, sed tincidunt enim. Suspendisse at ante sit amet libero blandit dapibus non in turpis. Vestibulum pharetra feugiat lacus a pulvinar. Nullam eget hendrerit dolor, vitae sagittis lacus. Vestibulum lacinia ex et lectus porta iaculis. Suspendisse interdum a nunc vitae egestas. Aliquam dignissim hendrerit leo sit amet sagittis. Vivamus eget ipsum vitae tellus facilisis aliquet. Mauris elementum eu diam id vestibulum.

    Etiam eleifend metus nisi, ac laoreet nibh tincidunt id. In vel auctor magna, nec porta arcu. Morbi eget mattis justo. Fusce vitae auctor erat, at ullamcorper mauris. Ut pharetra vitae eros sed ornare. Quisque in malesuada elit. Nunc at malesuada turpis. Pellentesque at leo congue, faucibus lorem nec, mollis est.
    personality
    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer turpis lacus, tristique eget odio quis, viverra varius magna. Ut ullamcorper auctor nisl, luctus molestie felis ullamcorper sed. Donec nec nibh bibendum, pharetra nunc sed, placerat purus. Nulla a ligula lobortis, condimentum lacus eu, efficitur justo. Donec vitae volutpat odio, sed tincidunt enim. Suspendisse at ante sit amet libero blandit dapibus non in turpis. Vestibulum pharetra feugiat lacus a pulvinar. Nullam eget hendrerit dolor, vitae sagittis lacus. Vestibulum lacinia ex et lectus porta iaculis. Suspendisse interdum a nunc vitae egestas. Aliquam dignissim hendrerit leo sit amet sagittis. Vivamus eget ipsum vitae tellus facilisis aliquet. Mauris elementum eu diam id vestibulum.

    Etiam eleifend metus nisi, ac laoreet nibh tincidunt id. In vel auctor magna, nec porta arcu. Morbi eget mattis justo. Fusce vitae auctor erat, at ullamcorper mauris. Ut pharetra vitae eros sed ornare. Quisque in malesuada elit. Nunc at malesuada turpis. Pellentesque at leo congue, faucibus lorem nec, mollis est.
code by @Nano
 











The Drowned















full name

Romello Tova Kahnell






Alias

Toska






Age

26






Role

The Drowned






Place of Birth

Zenith






Faction

None






Status

Former Royalty, can no longer claim a particular place in society


















style








































Face-claim

Matteo Martari






Height

6'1






Eye and Hair Color

Dark brown eyes conceal a slight olive hue, while wavy hair falls in equally dark strands without anything to reveal when sunlit.






Build

Carried by a posture of practiced dignity, it is difficult to mistake Romello for anything other than the treasured son of nobility. Athletic talent compliments the grace of a dancer, but he has never, of course, borne muscles that would slant an assumption toward heavy labor. Equally aesthetically pleasing and practical, Romello's broad chest and shoulders are given proportion by his long legs, lending an air of quick-footed sturdiness.

Toska has a subdued way of moving, as if each step could be misplaced and too tall a posture might be found offensive. Though he still bears the fluidity of hard-learned talents, his body is weakened by circumstance and seems to defy any familiarity he tries to establish with it.






Distinguishing Features

Adorning his left shoulder was a blue-ink tattoo, once designed with a mind for easy concealment and the eternal devotion of childish friendship. The tattoo now presents itself toward being entirely forgotten, as the path of a blade has written over it: whether that injury was intentional or not remains a difficult thing to discern.
The other scars on his body cannot be more than six months old, and all seem to reflect a lack of proper medical attention.

All visible parts of the man are well-manicured, suggesting a pampered upbringing that infected his tendencies and shaped him around the importance, the inevitability, of being perceived. A hair is never out of place, his posture never slouches, and no blemish is left uncovered.

Tossed into obscurity and the sea, his skin has been burned by the sun, hair tousled beyond appeal, and hollowed eyes seem devoid of any facade. Though hints remain of the touch of luxury that used to swaddle him, he could just as easily be mistaken for a man who has never known comfort.


































La révolution




Saycet











req.

req.














Yet the only shame I find is I have left oblivion



Romello had a natural ease in carrying out whatever was requested of him, with an ability to leverage knowledge to his advantage, as any good Royal must to gain an honored reputation. The successes of his adulthood afforded him a sense of infallibility, hubris that overcame enough challenges to become his perfect answer to any obstacle. He was not quite charming, but made himself charismatic and eloquent enough for it not to matter. An expert handler of conversation, he was rarely put out of his comfort zone and only held enough imagination for scheming his way through the present moment. He wasn't taken with dreams or hopes, but held steady on the path before him and took satisfaction from excelling at it.

Toska is a reflection of the world as he sees it, easily influenced by the things he's experiencing as if for the first time. His manner is not childish, but void, betraying his newness to the world in each hesitation, every flicker of surprise across his tired face for yet another lesson learned without desiring it.
He has a gentle, reserved manner, yet bears an expressiveness with a traitor's tendency toward the pattern of thoughts in his mind; often rendering them rather painfully visible to anyone in eyeshot.

Toska thinks often of himself, how to conduct each motion and speak each word, knowing despite it all that there must be some natural manner he could rediscover if he tries on every persona, tests them all for familiarity.
Why he seeks his past, he isn't entirely sure, and grows even less so by the day. There is a haunted spectre in every night's dream, and it promises nothing except the usual gifts of ghosts: the betrayals they seek recompense for, or perhaps an atonement for the treasons they themselves carried out. His desires are laced with despair, and he lives each day as an isolated scene in a play, hoping to find finality in the daily curtain close over fraught new memories of navigating a world where every face is a stranger.

Toska reaches ever more hopelessly toward the composure he hopes to have carried once, and marks each source of naivety as a burden to remedy. On occasion, he recognizes something that seems a part of himself and clings to it, in spite of the foul taste it leaves in his mouth. With peace being a rarity in his days and nights, Toska seems perpetually stressed and tired, but then again, chasing mist does wonders for building an appetite for things more tangible.
Toska is the sort of person whose ambition is constantly forced toward the journey, as the destination twists and corrupts itself into something that cannot be aspired for.


Habits

Romello Toska is known to place particular care on hygiene and grooming, with a strong distaste for getting his hands or clothing dirty. This leads to some repetitive behaviors, easily noted, such as washing his hands often, compulsively brushing his hair back from his face, and straightening wrinkles from his clothes. He may also pause by mirrors and other reflective surfaces to check his appearance, though the distant look in his eyes at those times doesn't quite align with vanity.

Without conscious memory to work from, Toska has a hesitance within many mannerisms that could otherwise be completely reasonable. Reading and speaking are particularly likely to cause his movements to slow and a haze to enter his eyes, betraying his concern toward doing things "properly" and checking his instincts twice before acting.



Strengths

- Curious and open-minded as anyone going through life for the first time might be, Toska gives fair and careful consideration to all options presented to him.
- He still carries the strength and elegance of a dancer, a treasured instinct that remains intact. While the physical memory of swordplay is equally stuck within him, those experiences were limited to polite sparring and technique, rather than practical application.
- The memory of lying skillfully has also returned to him, and he willingly feigns ignorance when it may be to his advantage.
- Similarly, he is a perceptive conversationalist, capable of speaking with concealed intention to unveil the goals of his opponents and leverage them to his own purposes (unfortunately, he has lost the motivating factor of having goals of his own).



Weaknesses

- Toska does not know many of the things that might be useful, or even crucial, for an independent adult in the world to know. He is constantly learning, second-guessing himself, and seeking old knowledge that may no longer be relevant for him to know.
- He can be trusted to know nothing of anyone's reputation, building an impression of people based solely on the things they reveal to him and nothing else. A blank slate, given meaning by others' writing, his wariness is unlikely to save him from being a pawn if the tale is convincing enough.
- Hesitant to act, yet unfamiliar with making apologies, he is likely to fall into awkward and poor manners when something ruptures his veneer of competence.
- As memories slowly begin their return, his sense of obligation may become a burden he no longer wishes to carry. Toska is naive in many ways, but he still knows better than to extend his loyalty recklessly.



Reputation

Romello was a charming bachelor of the King's court, yet held enough distance between himself and all others to ensure that duty authored control over passion. His past diplomatic efforts and business savvy had not gone unnoticed, so it is only natural that his retreat from Royal circles has incurred some intrigue. Few dare to ask questions or presume any cause too confidently, but gossip has not yet run its course.
And yet, it won't be long before his name fades into blurry memory, for high society moves quickly and waits for no one.



Opinion toward Royalty

A slight indiscretion in his youth gave Romello the only taste he needed of bitterness toward the Crown. For many years, his opinion was compelled most willingly toward favor and respect for his King. By nature of all his experiences, Romello believed the power of Royalty might be the only salvation that could keep the world in motion.

Toska has no opinion toward Royalty.



Opinion toward Piracy

Piracy, to Romello's mind, being both good and bad for business, became simply another variable to consider in any worldly pursuit that crossed the seas. He would comfortably sympathize with nobility who had lost valued property to pirates, but from the delicate language of courtly negotiations, Romello molded a savvy twin to his advantage during sparring matches of wit with less savory partners, to prosperous effect.

Toska has no opinion toward piracy.















likes


Unique fashions, dancing, and skillfully cooked foods still appeal to Toska in some half-remembered way, but the call of the ocean waves has captured his fascination and tainted any feelings of attraction with fear and uncertainty.








dislikes


Toska has an instinctive discomfort with having dirty hands.
He will go to great lengths to avoid reading out loud or around others, and becomes withdrawn in conversations where he seems to be lacking important information.
For many things, he is, as yet, unaware of his own feelings.








Fears


A taut wire connects Toska's fear of living without a sense of self or purpose to his fear of regaining his life, only to find it isn't worth returning to.
The sense that his loyalty has lost its direction just adds to the fear that he is unworthy of this second attempt at a life, just as he must have been undeserving of the memories he lost from the first.








Hobbies


Romello was a skilled dancer and sword-fighter, generally enjoying any activities that involved physical movement rather than the tedium of socializing and paperwork. He also engaged in many of the activities appropriate to a young royal at court, including poetry, hunting, playing piano, horse-back riding, reading, and attending social gatherings.

Toska doesn't know of any activities that he might find enjoyable to engage in.








Headcannons


- Occasionally found in a mutual feud with his body, Toska has a touch of a stammer, particularly when he is nervous or taken by surprise. This can lead to him blushing or tearing up a little, and at a certain point, the only option he can think of is to walk away and hope he never sees the person again.
- With that in mind, he will avoid conflict at any and all costs, but may be willing to make a single attempt to help resolve conflict between others.
- Can be found staring out into the sea at any time of the day or night, and won't immediately notice someone calling out or approaching him.
- After nightmare-ridden nights, Toska will refuse to sleep until the point of absolute exhaustion in an effort to keep himself from dreaming again. Though the flashes of memory don't occur every night, their incomprehensible nature often turns his stomach against letting himself fall unconscious.

- Has mastered the arts of: staring off into the middle-distance; assuming a defensive posture during conversation; missing the point but nodding wisely; having an hours' long delay before coming up with a response or understanding a punchline.

(His brush with death flipped a little switch in his brain, and now, he's not quite hungry for adrenaline, but the sensation of death breathing down his neck? Yes, this is fine, thanks.)
















pers.

pers.
















The Golden Spoon



Born as the first son, Romello was bathed in every generosity of wealth and status afforded by his father, Marquess Orpheus Kahnell. Bearing eventual responsibility for an estate that bordered the sea, trade and business ventures were the prime focus of all schooling from his earliest days of youth.
A serious, studious child soon morphed into an audacious and intrepid youth, who took every opportunity to flout his father's wishes: with all measures of secrecy, of course.
Somewhere within him, his sensitive soul had not yet come to terms with the complexity of the world, and he still respected the way of things too much to defy them openly.

It was a kind, energetic friend in his boarding school days who walked with him as he learned how to sneak out in the late night hours, to wander the streets without catching the attention of guards, and to paint rather lewd messages on the city walls proclaiming the King to be unfit as a ruler.
Aurora Phieral didn't know much about anarchy, but the two royal youths would talk to each other and the stars for long hours, imagining how much better the world might be with the freedom to travel and curse and wear undignified clothing, to speak with disrespect when it felt right and to offer respect only by choice.

They had discovered rebellion and romanticism, as if for the first time in all of humanity: yet, that very art form had already been carefully prohibited from all curriculum at their prestigious school.
To their demise, their escapades were uncovered by royal guards before anyone else.

By the King's mercy, Romello was recalled immediately to his father's estate and given a single opportunity to demonstrate his remorse. Without hesitation, or any viable alternative, Romello quickly committed himself to enduring the strict schedule and surveillance from tutors and his father, who re-asserted the acceptable behaviors, manners, and thoughts of a Royal son.

Unbeknownst to him, Aurora was quickly named villainess by his own parents, and her family, already leaning heavily on the King's mercy for other misfortunes, fell entirely from the light of Zenith.








The Fall From Grace



Romello was not, as it turned out, resistant to the fate laid out before him, having experienced such a stern reminder of its inevitability in his youth.
He soon recalled the serious, dutiful path of his early childhood and grew into a young man who harbored no thoughts of wavering from grace again.
His academic years passed quickly in routines and obligations and learning, which neither sparked his imagination nor humored it whenever it arose on its own.

Without the freedom to author his own life, Romello disappeared into the role set upon him, and put considerable effort into proving himself as both a Kingsman and an asset to his family.
The only obligation he evaded was marriage to a suitable partner, but he more than made up for it with his willingness to go to great lengths to accomplish any task set out for him: negotiating trade deals, wooing any unreliable nobles toward more stable ground, bargaining with pirate crews, and quietly removing any indiscretions that might otherwise have shattered reputations or caused concern among the King's subjects.
Romello had made himself valuable, but it only served as atonement for his youthful misdeeds as long as trust went unbroken and new mistakes went unmade.

Despite his careful and skillful navigation through courtly endeavors, Romello had failed to suspect the intentions of two people he had deemed worthy of close counsel, and in turn, became the unwitting conspirator of his own downfall once more.

The first was a friend he had met when he initially entered the Royal courts as an adult: someone who had seemed to offer nothing but well-intentioned advice, yet her mask had finally slipped and the pleasantries proved themselves hollow. She revealed her role as a watchful eye, monitoring the status of his loyalty on behalf of the Crown, when she brought a report of the spy Romello had harbored to the King.

A classmate from Romello's time at Zenith Academy, the other betrayer had similarly appeared to serve him well in the years that followed, yet beneath his mask lay indecipherable loyalties; whether to greed, the Stygian Order, some lesser thieving crew, or selfish desires alone, it mattered not.
The result of the betrayal was costly either way, bringing low the Kahnell name and one of the King's prized investments.

In the night after the snapping shut of the spy's careful trap, Romello Kahnell quickly found himself rendered a traitor by the claim of disguised intentions or such gross negligence that it could be naught but an indication of prior hateful sentiments toward the Crown, and the second son of Kahnell was called upon at once to take his stead.

Unworthy of the light of Zenith, Romello was swept away while all reasonable folk slept, boarding a ship under escort to be thrown upon some hostile shore befitting his apparent low character.








Tarnished Beyond Recognition



Content warning: vague physical violence, murder

With the path removed from his feet, Romello's shock sent him reeling haplessly into the beguiling arms of Antares, where alcohol and gambling offered the only sensations of comfort he could find an escape within.
In spite of his years negotiating all manner of deals and arrangements with such people as he now drank beside, Romello, in his grief, made himself an easy target for the schemes and traps that had ensnared many a tragic noble son.
He lived by any means necessary, and never knew the reason for it: dancing along the line of death with only an animal's instinct to avoid stepping over it.

Though he could only hope against being the subject of a familiar gaze, one did find him: robbed of their innocence and optimism, Aurora's eyes pierced into his and recognized that, after all this time, her own misfortune had found its way into Romello's fate as well.
And, by all appearances, he wasn't handling it very well.

Where revenge and hatred might have been, Aurora's kindness (or perhaps, her guilt) extended protection to Romello, as she was now more of a warrior than she ever could have dreamt in her rebellious youth.
Though she resisted intervening in Romello's reckless ways, she opened her home to him and kept up a distant guard over him as he drunkenly wandered from tavern to tavern each night. She knew, from experience as much as anything, that he had made himself vulnerable to unsavory intentions, and she found it impossible to abandon him.

Romello barely marked the passage of each day, so his chance of seeing the bad luck approaching was even more distant.
When he was set upon by a crew of bandits, hungry for ransom or revenge, it was only Aurora's sharp oversight that stood between him and them.
He tried to sober up, to clench his useless hand around a sword hilt, while she fought for both of their lives, but the thread connecting the two was cursed, rotted, and her name died on his lips just before her heart had throbbed its last.

Romello was dragged away in shambles, sobered up all too late by her loss, and not a little by the pain dealt out by his captors. He was brought out to the turmoil of ocean waves as they became sickening, the world a fickle blur that seemed bent entirely on tormenting his unglued mind.
If death would take him now, he could only imagine it to be a mercy.

A mercy...

But the sea was disinclined to accept such pitiful resignation.


















Father





Orpheus Kahnell

Orpheus was a stern, opinionated man who made his expectations for his eldest son clear at every turn. Their relationship was not quite contentious, but was nearly transactional in nature, with Romello's eventual status and successes at court contributing to the strength of their bond more than anything else.









Childhood Friend





Aurora Phieral

Once a pupil in the same school as Romello, Aurora's stubborn liveliness brought an infectious energy to the stiff etiquette of the only world he had known. When their mischievous antics were discovered by the King's guards, the daughter of lesser nobility was the easier scapegoat, and it was claimed that she tainted Romello's mind with talk of anarchy.
Walking separate lives for many years, the two were reunited after Romello's fall from grace, but her own kindness (perhaps, guilt) became her downfall when she died trying to protect him in Antares.









Mother





Indra Tova

A rather distant figure in Romello's life, Indra spent any time she could at her ancestral home with her own parents, due to the unhappy dynamic of her relationship with Orpheus. She would visit Romello at his school when she could and held genuine affection for her firstborn son, but she preferred the freedom she was granted in raising the younger children who weren't expected to inherit the Kahnell name and fortune.













Why did they board The Leviathan?

Toska required transportation off of grey sands, and had no reason to refuse the help of strangers, without a path of his own to follow.






How did they get on board?

Toska received assistance from the crew and passengers of the Leviathan when he was stranded. While he does not hold a ticket or money to pay for his fare, his boarding was no secret.






Extras

Playlist loading...













hist.

hist.








scroll














♡coded by uxie♡

 
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  • Sergei "Nemo" Valencia
































    # the marionette








    # lucas tønnesen




















    ♡coded by uxie♡






    tw: religious trauma, mental illness, scars & gore, medical experimentations
 
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scroll
nocturne
laufey
Willow
Farchill
persona
&
attributes
strengths
weaknesses
backstory
&
connections
name.
Willow Farchill
age.
22
gender.
Female
pob.
Zenith
role.
The Onlooker
"Happily waiting, all on my own. Under the endless sky, counting the seconds, standing alone."
eyes.
Dark brown
hair.
Hazel, since her husband died, she wears her hair down and straight.
height.
5' 5"
faceclaim.
Alice Nokes in The Spanish Princess

A plain girl with a plain face, most that's said about her appearance is how young she looks. Words that exhaust her to no end. Any thoughts that she's younger than she is, however, are thwarted by the way she holds herself.
overview.
Curious - A curious mind, she’s very likely to leave the party if she finds something else more interesting. She is here to learn, to observe, and if you are close to her, ask questions.

Selfish - One thing she has learned from her mother is to live for herself. She will fight for herself, and will need convincing to fight for anyone else.

Woman of her word - Her words are important to her. If she’s made a promise, she will be sure to keep it. If she feels she owes someone a favor, she will do everything to make it even.

Observational - When put to the test, Willow can figure out how to manipulate the world around her. Her smarts lie not in her interactions with other people, but noticing things about people others might not notice.

Intelligent - A curious mind, she listens and she learns. She catches onto new skills and dynamics quickly, and is always searching for something to nurture her mind.

Aloof - She is quiet, and though she does not hide her expressions, you’re more likely to see a stone face than a smile.

Judgemental - She might not think it out loud, but her mind runs rampant at the words and actions of other people. To her, most men are morons, and women foolish.
"Did it's people want too much, too? Did its people want too much? And I don't want your pity, I just want somebody near me."
likes.
Eating food, exotic foods, music, reading, tinkering, rain, learning new things, writing, pretty jewelry

dislikes.
Sewing, being touched by someone she’s not close to, large events, crowds, early mornings, doing her hair

fears.
Somehow ending back where she started, seeing her mother again, her past acts coming to light, torture

habits.
She holds her hands behind her back when she’s nervous.
Ever since she arrived back in Valdioro, she has a habit of biting her nails.
Eavesdropping. All the time. You have been warned.
If she finds herself stunned or flustered, she begins to hiccup uncontrollably.

hobbies.
Tinkering, piano, writing, Sewing, she is hoping for more.

Intelligent
A curious woman, she listens and she learns. She catches onto new skills and dynamics quickly, and is always searching for something to nurture her mind.
Resourceful
Though limited by her knowledge, Willow will attempt to use everything at her disposal to aid her situation.
Tinkering
Though not very well practiced, Willow can work on and repair the most basics of machinery, and is practicing in her free time to make crafts of her own. She is currently not very good at it.
Sewing
Raised to be the perfect lady, she’s adept in sewing and embroidery.
Observational
When put to the test, Willow can figure out how to manipulate the world around her. Her smarts lie not in her interactions with other people, but noticing things about people others might not notice.
Piano
Her mother insisted she learn at least one instrument, this was Willows choice, her motivation the fact that it was the only choice that didn’t involve strings.
Naive
Understanding people is one thing, but understanding the world around her is another. Her whole life she’s lived in an environment of wealth. She’s never gone hungry, never been too cold. When it comes to life outside of that, however, she might lack understanding.
Not an actress
The most she can do is lie with a straight face. Faking happiness, sadness, or even anger is a talent of her mother, not her.
Weak
She’s a lady, not a fighter!
Temperamental
If you’ve angered her, expect some pushback in ways you don’t expect. She does not care to be friendly with everyone on the boat.
"You can't pin me down, I fear all solid ground. I'd rather be alone at tea, love when nobody's makin me."

history.

Brief Summary
Willow’s mother wanted power, and ended up becoming the concubine of a Count. She pushed Willow to succeed higher than her siblings and marry for power, and ended up compromising their relationship with her father so Willow could marry the son of a Duke. Willow’s married life was just as miserable as her childhood, and after her mother went missing, she schemed to get her husband killed at risk of her own life. Thankfully, she succeeded, and went home to her family in Valdioro.


Willow was born to Luella Hollandse and Upton Farchill, her father a noble, and her mother his concubine. Born in Valdioro, her mother, ambitious as she was, loathed the town and wished for an escape, for power. She used everything at her disposal to force her way into the lives of those wealthier as she made her way to Zenith, and eventually, into Count Farchill’s bed.

Still, as high as she managed to reach, Willow’s mother wanted more. She used Willow’s marriage as her goal, and tears as her tool. Time and time again she crossed boundaries and broke rules, much to the Countess’ anger, and used her past as a way for pity from the Count. As a result, Willow’s life was one of constant defense. She was antagonized by her siblings and the Countess, and pushed around by her mother. Her father, useless when it came to women’s affairs, would only throw a gift of a new necklace or two whenever Willow’s misfortunes were caught. Her only solace came in the few visits her and her mother made to their home in Valdioro. Only twice a year, but the only time Willow could find some enjoyment in her stressful life. She adored her family back home, and always felt a sense of wonder at their inventions. She could not fathom why her mother hated this place so.

Her mothers greediness came to a head when her mother encountered the son of Duke Peyton. In just a few weeks Willow’s honor was sabotaged, and she was forced to marry Wesley Peyton.

The days with Wesley were slow, her new husband was distant and uncaring, her in-laws furious, and her mother, who had infuriated the Count with her actions, was sent back home to Valdioro. A place Willow would not see for many years.

Willow grew lonely and bored, her time spent observing over the nobles who thought her less than them. She read books to pass the time, listened to conversations on the street, fulfilled her role as a wife. As her sadness grew, so did her resentment, and so did her desperate need to escape. She didn’t want to be here, and all it took was the news of her mother going missing for Willow to finally put a plan into action. The weight of her mothers ambition lifted off her back.

Not one for acting, Willow used her wits instead. The wealthy were easy to manipulate, always ready to throw someone under the bus for their own success, ready to spread words of hatred at any moment. Instead, she used rumors to her advantage. She fed the paranoia of those who frequented her husband, of those in higher power. Made them wary, made them scared.

It wasn’t long until her husband was dead. As for who did it, Willow didn’t care. She took a risk and came out alive, that was good enough for her.

Mourning his dad, the Duke gave no attention to Willow, and it wasn’t long until she was sent back to her mother in Valdioro, support from her father long gone.

Willow spent a year there, observing and learning from her family and neighbors. She was fascinated by it, by the different people. She picked up a few tricks of her own from her family, learned the parts of machinery and repairs that they would allow her to learn. She never became an expert, her want for more exceeded her enjoyment of the tinkering. She wanted to travel, she wanted to experience more, see more. And without the watchful eye of the nobility, of her mother, she could do just that.

reputation.
At most, she is known by some nobles that live in Zenith. Her time outside was minimal, save a few balls or events. Those that do know her, however, describe her as cold as unfeeling, and nothing other than a straight, blank face ever crossed her features.

Why did they board The Leviathan?
Exploration, to meet new people, to see new things. She is prepared for anything, or at least she claims to be.

How did they get on board?
Bought a ticket and boarded at Antares.

faction.
N/A

status.
Former high society, any connections near the palace have ceased. She is simply a wealthy woman from Valdioro.

opinion on royalty.
The amount of times Willow has been in the palace can be counted on two hands only. Though she has no pressing opinions of the monarchy, she has no intention of messing with those more powerful than she is. They are not to be messed with.

opinion on piracy.
Just like there are so many different nobles, no doubt there are so many different people that steal. She does not judge, but she wonders for their motives.
Luella Hollandse
Willow's love for her mother quickly ended once she realized her true colors. Still, she let her mother push her around, as it was the life she always knew. Willow felt nothing but relief when she heard her mother went missing, yet still she lives in fear that she might return. Even though her affection for her mother was gone, she is not positive she would be able to deny her if she ever appeared.
Upton Farchill
To Willow, her father was nothing more than Count Farchill. His affection towards her conditional on his relationship with her mother. When he cast her mother out, he never contacted Willow again.
Wesley Peyton
A son of a Duke, and one Willow quickly realized was useless. A man riding off his fathers success, he never paid any attention to Willow, choosing to spend his time in brothels and with concubines. Their relationship was a distant one that Willow didn't mind, no matter how far the rumors spread.
filler

 
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  • 04
    03
    02
    general
    aranyani
    full name
    Aranyani
    nickname
    Yani (to friends)
    role
    The Handmaiden
    age
    21
    p.o.b
    Empyra - Lower Echelons
    Status
    Low Society
    Factions
    None
    fc
    Neelam Gill
    plants and people aren't all that different
    Reputation.
    She has no reputation, being just a maid among hundreds.
left
 
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  • scroll
    common people
    pulp
    [
    bastijn
    van der linde
    persona
    &
    attributes
    strengths
    weaknesses
    backstory
    &
    connections
    name.
    Bastijn van der Linde.
    nicknames & aliases.
    /
    occupation.
    Sculptor.
    role.
    The Innamorati.
    age.
    23.
    birthplace.
    The Cascades / moved to Zenith around age 6.
    faction.
    /
    status.
    High society; sponsored and employed by a wealthy merchant family.
    How frequently do you look in the mirror? Does your face please you? Are you disgusted to detect familial features? Do you consider your image erotic? If you squint, does your reflection become abstract?
    face claim.
    Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Count Vronksy.
    eyes.
    Dark brown, neatly indistinguishable between pupil and iris – two smudges of charcoal powder amongst his otherwise light color scheme, always visible; some would say he has a quote unquote staring problem.
    hair.
    Light golden brown – curls of gilding under lights, he takes great care to leave his hair artfully tousled and falsely carefree.
    height.
    5'9.
    overview.
    Bastijn is a man with an underpainting of golden tones, ivory mixed into his palette with a heavy hand. He stands at average height, built in a way that’s soft; something reminiscent of cherubim – he would say angelic. His skin is unmarred, save for the beauty marks dotting his face and the thin, pale scars on his hands he covers with gloves.

    Hair, pale and haloed, curled and framing the face looking up; eyes as dark as bone black paint; his features are soft, rounded and feathered at the edges as if lined by smudged charcoal – the soft slope of his jaw, showing his age and giving away the pedigree of silver spoon fed milk and honey tipped between straight, white teeth. His nose is his sharpest feature, a straight alpine line casting a harsh shadow, underlaid by a quick pass of a paintbrush, upper lip painted darker than his hair.

    He is an artist first, but a rich man closely second. It is rare to see him not draped in layers of fine fabric, cuts and colors picked with self-described good taste. He prefers dark tones – black, navy, purple mauve – to accent with jewelry of mixed metals. Putting together an outfit is akin to the old masters of baroque with their oils; deep contrast, rich colors, clothing stark shadows against pale skin. He secretly reserves a soft spot for jewel tones.

    He will always appear to others as prim, pressed, and proper with heeled boots to give him the height to look down from his high, high horse. He knows the first reveal of a piece is most important; he needs the gasps, the awe, the standing ovation, and refuses to be seen if anything on his person falls out of place. He presents himself in a way meant to last, emblazoned like a signature in other’s minds.

    overview.
    He can be likened to a raven – drawn to shiny things, shiny people. He seeks beauty in everything. His definition of alluring things differs with the time – he likes strong personalities, hot, sticky rooms, cold night air, the way smoke curls when exhaled, gilded frames, eyes of all colors, mismatched fabrics, rough hands; the list does not end. He is moved by passion, drawn to it in others.

    His own fits of passion come on easy and leave even quicker. He seeks momentary pleasures, is prone to fits of lethargy when they’re gone. His obsession with creating is the only thing that has stuck with him through time.

    His affinity for things he likes and disregard for things he doesn’t is a product of his station, the excess of wealth that allows him to make bad decisions and not think of the consequences. It is rare to find him thinking past the current moment and how it makes him feel; if he is, it is on how to capture the feelings in a block of marble. Vain, materialistic, superficial; all words thrown at him that go directly over his head. He does not care for other’s thoughts on him, save for if they find him beautiful. He preens under the attention of others, expects and demands it, positive or negative. He is charming, easy in conversation but prone to asking personal questions. He doesn’t dislike small talk, but he finds himself falling in love (in the broadest definition) with people easily and thinking of himself as closer to others than he is in reality.

    He is, frankly, pretentious. An inflated ego, his head in the cloud, with no real problems except for bouts of feeling uninspired and the occasional rejection, he has not experienced hardships. For all the charming way he words things, he speaks a lot, often saying very little of substance. He will fill the open air with pretty words, but lacks experience. He loves people openly, but has limited experience with them outside of others sharing his social status.

    He does not take to being denied or slighted well. Another consequence of new money; he wants the world and expects to have it. It’s an immature way of thinking, and something he has not grown out of. He has yet to see the benefits of losing the outer shell of selfishness, and has yet to face repercussions of it until recently.

    With a flair for the dramatic, and great care put into his appearance, it is hard not to see his personality as a performance. And, yet, he is simply acting as he has learned from his art; something meant to be looked at and adored.

    Some wait for angels, while others wait for men -- I wait for a shadow to move across some skin. Light moves fine through fabric that is thin. Good taste gives in to hasteful lust again.
    hobbies.
    A bad habit of starting and stopping things he is not immediately good at – a never ending string of various artistic endeavors, writing (bad) / reading (good) poetry, shopping, collecting (drinking glasses, antique books, dolls, perfume oils)

    habits.
    Asking invasive questions too quickly & always expecting answers, wearing strong perfumes, keeping odd waking hours / sleeping in late, thinking out loud, wearing gloves except to work, chain smoking, overindulging, talking too much, keeping a diary & writing letters.

    fears.
    Being known intimately as a person rather than an artist, death & the dying, aging, horses.

    likes.
    Rich, warm tones, opera & theatre, epic poems, gold jewelry, hand rolled cigarettes, cheap, sweet wine, string music, gossip columns, fashionable lateness, avant-garde.

    dislikes.
    Repetitive noises (clocks ticking, etc), landscape paintings, the smell of turpentine, sunrises, cemeteries & mausoleums, multitasking, nihilism, large dogs.
    humanism
    A deep, deep love for people, surface level and in the great, wide sense; this is the driving force of his art and thus himself wholly.
    charisma
    He is, unfortunately, very charming. He loves to engage in the simple act of conversing with people.
    opinionated
    There is a very short list of things he has no thoughts on, and he is both able and willing to defend them even when they are unpopular.
    flattery
    He has an ego but by God at least he will give you a bigger one with the way he speaks.
    good taste
    in everything but relationships and wine.
    hedonism
    An ache for beauty, in all forms; he yearns to feel silk on his skin, powder in his nose, smoke in his lungs, the stars on his tongue; overindulgence is not a word he’s ever considered to be negative.
    obsessiveness
    What makes him a good artist also makes him neurotic, he has never done anything casually in his life.
    judgement
    He is quick to judge others, as well as critique himself; he has high standards and an inflated self image, both of which come crashing down easily.
    frailty
    He can talk his way into problems but can not fight his way out.
    vanity
    A visual artist who sees himself as an extension of his work, he places a lot of value on physical appearance.
    Oh, don't say you don't, please say you do. I am the last of the famous international playboys.

    history.
    The Repeated Image of the Artist Destroyed: A History in 6 Pieces.

    i. Portrait #76, Johannes van der Linde, oil on canvas. The painting, done in a skilled hand, depicts a family of three – mother and son, easily likened to madonna and child, with the father behind.

    Born of turpentine and gold, Bastijn van der Linde comes from a line of artists. His father, an oil painter; as was his father’s father, and thus up the line. His mother, a gilder, the first in her family. They met and married young, placing careers before family with the aspirations to hang their names among the star artisans of a generation. They found medium success, both talented, but without the connections to make it further.

    A baby boy, then, born at the height of their efforts was not in the plans. The couple was blessed with an heir, a future painter to continue the line but the time required to raise a baby, to begin the shaping of personhood, takes away from the time to make art. A transitional period, silent resentment covered with a layer of varnish.

    ii. Portrait #83, Johannes van der Linde, oil on canvas. A second painting, the family growing; the boy, older, stands at his mother’s side now, father and son now akin to the magi; mother’s lap occupied by a baby girl.

    He is three when his sister is born, under the same circumstances as him; semi-wanted. He is still barely able to think abstractly, but he loves her dearly. As they age, their roles will reverse but for now he is older and assumes his part, as best as a toddler can, as the protector.

    Three years after her birth, the family is changed again. No other children will be born, but their circumstances take a drastic shift; starving artist is a term that will become as foreign to them as their birthplace when they receive an offer of sponsorship from the capital. A merchant, from a line of war heroes, capitalizing off their accomplishments; the founder of Chevalier Arms Company making a gamble on golden frames making him richer socially than his iron. The family is uprooted, the children small enough to remember mostly only the capital city, and the large house they could (almost) think of as home.

    Their care is barely overseen by their parents at all, here. More than happy to get their art, their life back, and with the newly acquired influx of money that is paid in stipends, the children are hovered over by tutors but rarely their own blood. They are caught up on lessons quickly: manners, history, math, science. Most importantly, picking up their trade. Bastijn, ten now, becoming unruly in the wake of parental attention spent his youth contrary and unhappy until he finds a chisel.

    iii. [Name of Important Historical Figure], Bastijn van der Linde, marble. The first sculpture by a young, up and coming artist, sold at auction. The sculpture is nothing special, a man standing in contrapposto. The fabric draped at his waist is imperfect, the folds awkward at certain angles.

    The first betrayal. No oils to stain his hands, no under sketches of charcoal, no mastery of color. Unlike his family, he finds himself in the hard, white blocks of marble, the jolt in his wrist of a hammer, the human figure emerging from nothing. He takes to sculpture better than his lessons; all consumed by the act of creation. He is still uncomfortable with the lack of attention from his parents, an unfillable crack carved away through his veins.

    His sister follows him out of the family trade. She takes up harp with lithe fingers and discipline. More of their time is spent apart, more of it together arguing. They are in the age of petty sibling fights and scuffles. She always wins.

    They go out together, as a family, sometimes. In the day, to meet with men and woman dressed easier in finery than he feels. He tries to emulate them, their easy laughs and soft hands as they talk to his father about the portraits they want. At night, to the theatre. He watches the actors on the stage closely, feels a pull towards them more than the people he meets. He becomes enamored – starry eyed at the costumes, the drama, the way emotions are expressed and felt even by the audience. Later, when he's old enough to make bad decision without his mother sitting next to him, to smoke and laugh and talk to the boys behind the stage, he knows it is the performance of it all.

    He is fourteen and his first work sells. His name helps, his father’s last name tacked on to a new medium. It's not perfect, still, with no touches of a master. And, yet, his art, his youth, is sought after. The word is whispered, quietly, and then said to his face around wide smiles. Prodigy. He knows what it means and weighs the weight on his tongue, in his hands. It feels like nothing, the same as la mazza. He accepts it easily. He waits for his father to say it to him.

    iv. At Rest in the Garden, Bastijn van der Linde, marble. Two male figures, intertwined. They are depicted as angels at rest. The drapery of the last piece is foregone.

    He waits a long time, until his jaw sharpens and the hair on his face starts coming in. He waits, and while he does the world starts to shift. He becomes a man. He sees things and people differently. The desire to capture them in intimate moments, forever caught in marble overtakes him. The desire for intimate moments overtakes him. He waits, and waits for the words of his father, and little longings fester into big ones. He continues trying to be good enough in art but in no other aspects.

    The words he wants from his parents never come, and so he absorbs the arrogance of youth and the boys around him. His dad is rich, he is rich, and he has seen what that allows – an absence of consequences. He knows how people view artists, knows what artists are like; he has lived with himself all his life. He plays the part given to him, makes no thought of if it's nature or lack of nurture. He is neurotic, doesn't sleep, talks too much, works himself up, calms himself back down with drink or smoke or anything he can reach, seeks attention, fears he will be like this for the rest of his life.

    v. Portrait #108, Johannes and Anneliese van der Linde, oil and gold leaf on canvas. The man and woman stand alone. They are haloed in gold but they look unhappy, mouths in flat lines as they clutch into weaponry of polished silver.

    In replacement of the praise he seeks from his parents, he is met with only silence. The occasional lecture, the money moving pockets to keep people that have seen him running errant quiet. He becomes worse. The need to be seen makes his actions grander, the men he seeks out higher status. It overtakes him like a fever takes a town; slowly, then all at once, half the population dead. Death, here, is the social kind.

    His escapades, his affairs find the public eye. He tries to find the love he is missing from his father with a married man of high status and that’s the beginning of the end. Noses are upturned, words whispered – none of the acclaim from his art, only disapproving jabs at his character. He is compared to his sister, recently assigned as a guard, an upstanding citizen. They should have known, taking an artist and giving him the affluence of a boy born into nobility. He has brought it on himself.

    vii. Third Horseman, Bastijn van der Linde, marble (unfinished). A sculpture of a knight, broken to pieces before it was sold.

    He brings his family and his sponsor down with him. The rug is pulled suddenly and completely out from under him. Their names are tarnished and he imagines himself facing the gallows.

    He is given an option that's not an option at all: a boat to take him far away. Marble is too heavy to drag aboard, but he’ll be inspired. The sea air will help, being around people that have never seen the initials VDL signed on a piece of art will help. Get it out of his system. Grow up.

    relations.

    Johannes van der Linde – father, 46, oil painter; Not the worst a parent could be, though mostly absent. Currently, threatening to cut him out of the inheritance if he doesn't shapen up.
    Anneliese van der Linde – mother, 45, gilder; He is not close with either parent. He can't remember the last time he saw her smile.
    Lieke van der Linde – younger sister, 20, prison guard; His younger sister, and the more mature of the two. She wields a sword with sharp precision and an intellect to match. Recently instated as an Ironspire guard.
    Lazare Chevalier – 54, sponsor, head of Chevalier Arms Company; Though the man provided many opportunities for him and his family, he only knows him in passing. The most Bastijn knows of him personally can be summed into two facts: 1. He is in his third marriage and 2. His company’s main product is bullets.

    reputation.
    His father would be more easily recognizable than him, by name. Both of his parents are well-regarded in the art world. His personal reputation has recently taken a hit; a very talented young artist to another rich man making a spectacle of himself. Local reputation as both a playboy and a fool.

    boarding the leviathan.
    He boarded as a ticketed guest, paid for by his father. He was “asked” to leave the capital after a social scandal; he is taking the opportunity to get away from home and the love lost there, to find more inspiration for his art. His motivations are personal, to be away from the exploits of high society and see, for the first time, what lower class people experience (all while staying in the comfort of his pre-paid room…).

    thoughts on royalty.
    He harbors respect for the king and authority, though minimal. Most of his political interest currently is in capitalism & monetary values rather than a question of who is in power. He hasn't had reason to question the powers at play, nor been around lower class people so his opinions are stilted and, currently, begin and end with his own experiences as a man born into new money.

    thoughts on piracy.
    He has absolutely no experience with violent crime; it’s an aspect of humanity he is interested in because he is incapable of enacting violence or holding a sword himself. He has a half-baked, romanticized idea of what piracy really entails.
    headcanons
    ♰ If he were ✨modern✨ he would be trilingual (in Dutch, French, English, from most to least fluent).
    ♰ He writes absolutely godawful poetry.
    ♰ Dorian Gray kinnie (derogatory). His vain ass can not be trusted to understand that beauty can’t be pursued without morality.
    ♰ The literal worst things that has ever happened in his life is that he had a messy gay breakup when he was 20. He needs real problems.
    ♰ Tossing around the idea of him doing drag but no concrete thoughts on that, yet.
    ♰ Unsure what kind of art movement is happening in universe right now but he's a baroque artist to me; RIP Bastijn you would have loved the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa.
    filler


 
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de selby (part 1)



hozier












the heretic















I.

but still the mind, rejecting this new empty space










name


melchior vlisseghem







titles


dr. vlisseghem (unofficial)







age


twenty-seven







gender


cis male, he/him







sexuality


demisexual







role


the heretic (the master)







place of birth


unknown, possibly the canals; raised in zenith







appearance


Unkempt chin-length hair the colour of a night eel frames gaunt, sallow skin, stretched taut over bone. Beneath abyssal eyes sit discoloured shadows of skin, translucent enough for blue-violet veins to seep through. The scientist's frame is slender and bird-like, standing at a mere five feet and seven inches. A black lab coat often covers his shoulders, graceful hands protected by dark leather gloves.






status


outcast













II.

fills it with something or someone





persona
Though Melchior's brilliance burns as brightly as a comet's tail, the fire of ambition in his heart has always been self-aggrandizing, capricious, caught in an endless pursuit of interests and theories that seem to constantly border on extremes. The grandeur of a pedestal had never appealed to him, uninterested in the limitations that such idolizations place on morality. An ethical mind is a shackled one, and true greatness refuses to be subdued. A perpetual black sheep who cares little for tradition or conventional means, he is well acquainted with the mocking laughs and whispers of derision that follow his shadow like a blood trail. Melchior's work never fails to be defined by outliers, it is only natural that he would be one, as well. He takes the road less traveled and wears solitude like a second skin more often than not, content with simply playing god in the confines of a laboratory for his own satisfaction.

The monotony of everyday high society speak only stirs impatience and boredom, yet despite his dislike of idle chatter, Melchior is well-versed in etiquette enough to come across as polite, if not somewhat distant, on a first impression. Though most conversations with Melchior end as soon as they begin, when prodded about specific topics of interest, he readily offers his eager guidance, delivering astute observations in the form of meandering, often incomprehensible sermons that continue long after his audience has stopped listening. To the untrained layman's ear, the scientist might as well speak in echolalic tongues. Avarice makes a monster of him, willing to share truths about everything but himself.

For a man so unafraid to confront the unknown, Melchior is highly disquieted by intimacy. The enigmatic viscera of being seen disarms him completely, rendering him useless in the face of the one thing that logic cannot shield him from. He is resolute on being the only one to hold the knife, the one to cut through vulnerability and tender flesh to dissect the beating heart laid bare underneath. A higher purpose calls to him, and he is not so foolish enough to tarnish his brilliance with the manacles of empathy.

likes
philosophy, maths, Pondering the Orb, treading on uncharted land, the smell of embalming fluid, entomology, the occult, yapping, good listeners, solitude, being the most esoteric person in the room

dislikes
criticism of any kind, incompetence, crowds, lack of privacy, being dismissed or looked down upon, processing emotions, frivolity, rule-followers, blind devotion to tradition

fears
death by humiliation, incompetence, depending on others, being seen as a burden, making the same mistake twice, owing a debt to the wrong person, bats (???)

habits
talking to himself, overthinking and underdoing, doesn't always wear proper lab equipment (shh), people-watching & eavesdropping, horrendous sleep schedule

hobbies
surgical operation, research, alchemy, collecting trinkets, taxidermy, needlework, cultivating the perfect library archive

strengths
self-sufficient, insightful, cerebral, meticulous, resourceful, innovative, curious, earnest, opportunistic

weaknesses
over-reliance on logic, slightly immoral, vehement non-conformist, egotistical, avoidant, uncooperative, individualistic, slow to act










III.

no closer could i be to god





history
tw: child neglect, unethical scientific experimentation, death, allusions to gore

Melchior's story is one of loneliness. It was loneliness that brought him into the world, as well as what had stolen him from the arms of his starving mother, taken away to the heart of Zenith by a man who possessed everything but companionship. Without loneliness, he would have wasted away on some forgotten riverbank, young mind untouched by the cruelty of empire, the greed of men. It was what raised him, fed him, when the man he was taught to call 'father' lacked the mind to. Ysman Vlisseghem believed himself to be a good man, a decorated field researcher at his best and an absent father at his worst. He'd taken up the duty of giving charity to a child in need, if only to prove to himself he was capable of caring for something beyond scientific acclaim. However, when all was said and done, he didn't quite know how to hold something gently the way that a parent would a child, too afraid of failure to even dare to try.

The emotional divide between father and son grew as years went by, teaching Melchior to shut off the part of himself that was starved for love, for it was too much of a mess to be seen by others. He was so much more than that, his mind a sharply-tuned vessel for innovation and ingenuity. Left to his own devices, Melchior could rival the stars, solve the indecipherable, understand the fabric of everything, but also go down paths of no return, darkened by the desire to know all things, even at all costs. Ysman had glowed with pride when he'd written his way into the academy at an impossibly young age, immensely pleased to believe he had raised such a fine young prodigy. Melchior knew better than to correct him, not hesitating to use the Vlisseghem name to his advantage when wading the chauvinistic waters of higher education.

He became the perfect pupil, learning from the greatest minds as he traded pieces of his humanity with every line crossed, every attempt to discover sacred knowledge. Isolation housed him in its embrace, closing him off from the world as he conducted countless experiments, filling his mind with a language so obscure he could no longer be understood. Most of his eccentricities were excused on account of his willingness to pursue seemingly impossible endeavors: transmuting base metals to gold, curing pestilence, and most desired of all—eternal life. He touted his own brilliance, cultivating financiers of his research from far and wide with the most alluring promises. One final grievous mistake had cost him everything, when high risk yielded no reward but a lifeless patron lying dead in a pool of their own sick. The teachers and peers who had once praised him for his acumen grew to look at him with revulsion, no longer willing to acknowledge his blood-soaked studies and dismissing his theories as blasphemy. He was cast down from Zenith's elite before he could finish his education, only barely escaping a murder conviction.

Yet still, his mind refused to rest, leading him to make deals with graveyard devils in exchange for ice-cold flesh and bloody oddities, viable supplies for his research. Science required him to leave no stone unturned and so he set his sights on rectifying his previous errors, convinced that with a little refining, he could truly achieve the impossible. Growing tired of cadavers and the failed results they yielded, a moment of clarity finally dawned on his unquiet mind—success was contingent on a live subject.

Fortunately, he found the perfect specimen to test his theories in poor, downtrodden Nemo, prodding his devotion with the same honey-sweet promises he once made to ornamented lords and ladies of the upper class. Only, instead of seeking to create gold or defy death, Nemo's desire was simple: to be taken apart and remade into something worthy of grace. Pleased to finally have a willing victim to his blade, Melchior has since strung along the impressionable star across the shadowy corners of Solas, chasing down necessary materials to supplement his experiments for the sake of his design, each one more elusive than the last with every trial and error.

Turning to last resort and too far gone to be swayed by conscience, Melchior has convinced himself that the sea is where he will triumph. With nothing to lose but the last of his sanity, he embarks on yet another pipedream, loyal marionette in tow.


reputation
Dragged through the dirt and on its last legs. He is known by most as a madman who flew too close to the sun, banned from entering Zenith Academy, and shunned by high society and honest people alike for causing the death of a well-liked nobleman. The details of his expulsion have been long-since shoved under the rug by the institution, but there's ample speculation that foul play or coercion had been involved despite the verdict of innocence. In shadier areas, however, he's made a name for himself as a miracle worker, bartering high-grade chemical compounds in exchange for fresh organs and other meats of dubious origin.

why & how did they board the leviathan?
He is on the search for bizarre materials to use in his experiments and thinks he will find what he's looking for on an impromptu sea voyage, supposedly on the brink of a breakthrough. In Antares, he came across the Leviathan, and paid the last of his gold for two tickets on board. An uncharacteristically legal decision on his part, but a wise one considering his already disgraced reputation.

opinion on royalty?
They're a stuffy, conceited sort of bunch, but they have their uses. Melchior doesn't have much of a personal opinion on them or their policies aside from their pliable tendency to seek impossible cures, not to mention their deeply lined pockets.

opinion on piracy?
He sees the appeal, sort of, in the kind of rough, nomadic life they lead. It's not for him, but he can respect it from a reasonable distance.









IV.

or why he would do what he's done
































♡coded by uxie♡
 
the jester.
☆ — hermes dodd.
basics & visage
name:
Hermes Dodd
alias:
Mesi, Ruse, Hermit/Fool
age:
24
gender:
Genderfluid
sexuality:
Who knows?
status:
Kingsmen
faction:
None
role:
The Jester

"the world doesn't laugh at me. i laugh at the world."


hair:
Dark Chocolate Locks
eyes:
Honey
skin:
Fair
height:
5' 6"
birthplace:
Unknown (says Zenith)
faceclaim:
Vqllera

distinguishing features:
The reason for his constant use of longer sleeves and always being covered at all times is to hide his past. When he was just a slave to his previous owner before he had become a jester, before he was able to do something with his life. The long streaks of burn injuries he had succumbed to by “Lord”. A reminder to Hermes that he wasn’t always his own person. He was someone’s.

tattoos:
Out of all of his tattoos which are in total of 4, two of them were chosen by him. The first he ever got was a label, a skull sun was what “Lord” gave his special mice and forced to have it placed on the left side of his chest, he told Hermes that he would always be stuck to his heart. Which Hermes always thought was disgusting. The second wasn’t as bad but still a label onto him, on the right side of his shoulder is Zenith's balanced scales. A representation of his loyalty and bond to the Zenith’s royal family. The last two are linked together as Hermes’ love for tarot reading, the card of the Fool and of the Hermit on both thighs.

style:
Since he is now a free man, Hermes has chosen to windowshop and simply copy what he sees is common for the individuals who walk the streets so this tends to come off as quite basic to many. If it weren’t the pressure to confine into the social norm, Hermes would definitely continue to wear his usual jester attire that he has worn most of his life before with the royal family.
persona & attributes
personality:

Hermes from an outsider’s point of view (which is everyone with the expectation of three people) can say he’s quite a selfish individual who will do anything to get what he wants, and by anything, we mean ANYTHING. Due to this some see him as cunning and sometimes self-absorbed, often being rude and passive aggressive to those around him. But with the thanks of his laid back and charming tongue, people tend to gloss over the fact that he’s insulting them by reassuming them it's all fun and games. To many he may come off as a bit childish but that’s all for show as Hermes doesn’t want anyone to know what he’s truly thinking up in his mind. Making sure that everyone underestimates the power and control he can have over situations without having to prove it until the time is needed.

To those he would consider as close and important to him, it’s a completely different side of a coin. Hermes’ cold demeter is replaced with a warm hearted and caring person who will protect the ones he loves with all his will and mit even if it costs his demise. He is also surprising a considerate person whose top love language is act of service as well as always remembering small details of things they have spoken to him about because to him, to be loved is to be heard.

hobbies:
Making people laugh, Sketching, Tarot card readings, Star gazing, Lying for no reason, Creating pranks

ailments:
No clue but he sure has something loose up there.

ambitions:
He just wants to live.

fears:
The dark, being touched, Fire

strengths:
Creative, Resourceful, Adaptable, Discipline, Self-regulation

weaknesses:
Apathetic, Dishonest, Inconsiderate, Unethical
lore & backstory
knowledge of weapons:
Cut throat anchor dragger, Musket or any type of gun, Swords

family:
None. It’s just him in his eyes. By connections, people assume he has some part of being close to the royal family, especially Penelope.

residence:
Zenith

"there's a difference between a jester and a fool. a jester knows what he is while the latter has no clue."


history:
Hermes doesn’t quite remember his childhood. If he even had one. All that is known about his life when he had a family was that there were a total of 9 members, his mother and father and 5 sisters and 3 brothers. He was told he was the second youngest but may as well be the youngest as his baby brother had passed a few years after his departure. At around the ripe age of 5, Hermes’ parents thought it would be best to sell him off to a powerful owner as they thought it would benefit his future more than keeping him in the lows that his family was currently struggling in, if only they knew this would cause the greatest pains that even poverty would seen like a breeze to many. Much was known about his new master but he knew three things were certain, 1) He must always be addressed as “Lord” 2) What he commands must be done, no matter what it was 3) He has a selective handful of slaves he had that he personally names his “special mice”. Hermes was the few unlucky ones to be named as a special mouse. Hermes has no clue what his birth name was as Lord named him Ruse instead and from that point on he was known as Ruse.

The beginning was too rough for Hermes, the life he had before was rough of course having working parents but he was given all the attention he had ever wanted from Lord. It was as if Hermes was his own son. This continued on until he hit his adolescence as Lord’s demeter shifted from one of kindness to something more shameful and darker. His touch wasn’t the caring crease of a father figure but of something far sinister. The first time Hermes fully felt the change, he wasn’t fearful and stopped Lord in his tracks, calling him out on his inappropriate gestures. This was only received with punishments, no matter how loud or quiet he would comment on these gestures, Lord would punish him. He soon realized that Hermes’ screams were loudest when it came to punishments that involved the burning of skin. Even when Hermes halted completely with his effects of stopping Lord and his advancements, he seemed to enjoy the pain he could feel from Hermes. Soon enough, all Lord wanted to do was be around Hermes, making sure to his other mice that although they were special as well Hermes was a different kind of special. He was his. No matter who came after him.

To Hermes, he could only wish death would come to him sooner. The days went on and even with the various parties Lord threw as a way to show Hermes off to the rest of his peers, he knew he was just a trophy. A property to show off the power and control the Lord could have over a human being. Fortunately he learned to use his pain and sorrow to entertain those in these parties as an escape from his dark reality, creating a well known reputation that only drew more guests to these parties to view his acts. One of which caught the attention of the royal family of Zenith’s daughter and princess, Penelope. Often a guest of these parties due to her family’s power, she was always fond of Hermes, fully captivated with his talent and ability to keep the attention of the crowd regardless of who could be amongst him. Thanks to this, Hermes was able to be sold off to the royal family. It wasn’t easy. Lord didn’t want to give off his prized possession and even fought against King Rowan, the only thing that made him stop in his tracks was the threat that his business affairs would be cut out completely from Zenith if Hermes was not to be given to the royal family at once. With only power and effect, Lord reluctantly sold Hermes off, finally making his pain and struggle come to an end for him.

At first, Hermes continued with his performances and shortly named the royal family’s official jester which felt different to him. Although he was owned by someone, they didn’t seem to want anything more from him but what he was able to give. Whenever Hermes wasn’t performing for the family, he was often seen wandering around the garden of the royal palace. These moments he would always be caught up with Princess Penelope who always did her best to show him that all she ever wanted was a friendship and just a person to hear her that wasn’t her family’s advisors or servants. As they were the only real children within the castle’s walls, Hermes had no other choice but befriend Penelope out of pure pressure to not upset her. Through the years, he began to grow a liking towards her and calling her a close friend if not his best friend through the rest of his years living in the castle with the family. During his free time, Hermes became obsessed with oracle readings, especially tarot cards. Teaching himself the meanings of all the cards as well as being able to read the cards of those who wanted their future or advice to be read to them. Penelope would be his only real client but it served him as practice as the more he did it with Pen, the more the servants wanted their cards to be read as well. Hermes almost became the one that people would come for advice through his tarot card readings.

Being a Jester did come with many benefits that Hermes wasn’t aware of, one of the most entertaining ones for him was the ability to have free speech. This allowed him to throw his snarky comments and cover them with a hint of humor, making it a way for him to freely go through each and every individual that he thought deserved the more insults to without the fear of being hurt afterwards. This soon became his favorite hobby as no matter what he said as long as Penelope laughed, he could not be punished. Through his ability of free speech was also able to advise the king with small comments of those guests who he believed would benefit or cause harm to the family. Even if King Rowan didn’t care too much about Hermes, he did take into consideration his comments and usually soon or later, Hermes would be proven correct which only increased his importance and value in the King’s eyes.

Near the end of his time in the royal family’s control, Pen asked him if he ever wanted something more than the life he was given. She was the first to ask her what he wanted and Hermes wasn’t sure. “I guess I want to live freely. Travel the world. Perform to all. Be free.” This response was all Pen needed to hear to help create a plan with Hermes. Advising him what to do to trick her father into freeing him as well as helping him plan what he would do when he was out of these castle walls. “You would first need to make a name for yourself because you simply cannot be named Ruse nor Fool out in the world.” He nodded in agreement but still puzzled with the name he would be given. “How about… Hermes? It means messenger after all and you’ve always been able to give the messages people need to hear.” Pen replied with a warm smile, looking for his reaction to the new name. He nodded once more but returned the smile. “I like it. If you like it, I’ll use it. As for my last name, Dodd. I heard it’s another name for Jester because at the end of the day, Pen, If it weren’t for this.” Hermes spoke, holding her hands. “I wouldn’t have been able to meet you. I would have never been able to bond with the purest soul in Zenith.” Small tears started to form in the corner of his eyes, ones he didn’t even realize he could even create out of joy. “Stop it, Mesi. You may as well be speaking to a mirror. I can’t believe someone like yourself could go through so much and continue to be this strong.” The two stayed silent as the bird hummed throughout the garden and the sun rayed through the leaves of the willow tree they were between. “Mesi, Promise me something.” He looked up at her as he observed her facial features. “Live. Never Look Back. I want you to live out the life you were always meant to have. For me. Please.”
current & past connections
known affiliates:

→ Princess Penelope of Zenith
After arriving at the palace, Hermes and Penelope were the only children within the walls of the massive estate so it was only natural for the two to come together and experience some kind of child play. Although the family never really did approve of their friendship, they couldn’t complain that Hermes was in fact doing his job of entertaining the royal family and a good job with that. Almost becoming brother and sister in a sense and the only person Hermes truly can say he loves dearly and holds a special place in his heart.
→ King Rowan
The two share the same care and protectiveness over Penelope, often or not the king does show him some kind of importance simply because his daughter is fond of him but other than that, to him, Hermes is just another tool that obeys his every command.
→ Lord
Hermes hides that memory as far back into his brain. There’s times when walking down the streets of Zenith he will give himself a small heart attack thinking he saw HIM. But that can’t be, he’s died…at least to Hermes he is. All he can do is wish for the worse and pray ill upon such a despicable excuse of a human.



 
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