Nini's Nest

Here’s a colour-coding system so you can differentiate between our characters from post to post:

Cordelia (she/her)

Emory (he/him)

Aries (he/they)

Luisa (she/her)

Bea (she/her)

Nini (she/her)

Preston (he/him)

***If we, the creators, say something, it’ll be in normal black font.

A reminder that these are our characters and our creative property. You may send in asks and draw fanart (with us credited as the creators) but you may not claim them as your own or write them in any way, shape, or form. We worked very hard to make and develop them so please don’t undermine that by stealing and/or copying them.

And a final note— please please please call us out if our representation of any group is off, or if we are using/perpetuating any harmful stereotypes! We‘ll make the edits to fix them ASAP and won’t repeat the mistake.

- Convinced himself the mole he’s adopted is a cryptid. Spoiler: it’s not.

- Jumped into the lake to escape one ruthless Cordelia (who’s bath water he replaced with several cases worth of Mountain Dew) and was almost dragged under by whatever lives there

- Bought a sexy mothman costume off the internet and wandered around at 3 AM trying to draw actual mothman out

- Slipped Nini’s famous boiled Mountain Dew into a few DCD teapots before their tea party as a distraction so he could steal more of their glitter

- Walked into a patch of sun after three sleepless days in the tunnels and actually hissed at the light

- Bit someone who told him Gef the Talking Mongoose was a hoax

- Brushed his teeth with the stolen DCD glitter

- Started dealing petrified cryptid excrement and made an alarming amount of money

- Spent said money on a “long furby” which now haunts us

- Took a nap on the belly of a giant panda stuffed animal in the nest

- Giggled nearly uncontrollably when she watched Emory get a mouthful of shaving cream that Cordelia had put on a slice of pie

- Methodically named each and every plant in Aries’s room

- Stitched some of the notes of her favorite song into a skirt

- Played the piano for Dr. Pepper (Emory’s newly befriended mole that has been living in his hair)

- Spent two hours getting Preston dressed up like a preppy little DLH student so he could impress Emory

- Worn a different bow tie every day this week without fail, I’m not quite sure where she’s getting them from...

- Played me a lullaby on her viola when I couldn’t sleep last night, and promptly fell asleep after doing so

My name is Luisa, which is an awkward way of introducing myself but it’s fine. I use she/her pronouns. My middle name is Amadeus, which I put there myself when I ran away, and my last name is Navarro on paper but a work in progress off it. I’m a member of the DHS (second year) but am frequently mistaken for a DLH student because, to quote Nini, I’m the “preppiest babey” this school has ever seen. Apparently, the math nerds here have a love for neon rave aesthetics. Which is... not really my thing.

I have this thing called synesthesia, which is basically a very strong association between different senses. Every synesthete is different, but I feel colours and shapes in response to sound and attribute various characteristics (colour, personality, position) to numbers and dates. Aries’s thing is looking at patterns and geometry in nature, mine is finding the patterns and geometry of sound.

So, in addition to being a math nerd, I’m also a massive music nerd who plays a ridiculous amount of instruments: violin, viola, cello, bass, piccolo, flute, clarinet, oboe, French horn, and a bit of trombone. Basically every cent I’ve ever made that hasn’t been used on living necessities has been put towards music. It’s a bit ridiculous.

Emory (reading over my shoulder) says I’m making this too long. So. Uh. Speed round, I guess.

I’m seventeen so I definitely shouldn’t be in college but skipping tenth grade, doing too many AP classes in eleventh, running away, and ANS’s disregard for normal regulations got me here and I’m not complaining. I’m terrible at staying up late and handling stress in a healthy manner, stand at a whopping 4’11”, and have basically been adopted by Nini at this point. My favourite pillow pet is the panda one, I can’t eat pasta or mayonnaise anymore because of Preston, I think I’m somewhere on the asexual spectrum and have no clue where I am in terms of romantic orientation. I thank the Universe that I no longer have to take English class every day. I’m scared of spiders. Also, I think everyone should own at least one bow tie because bow ties are cool (yes, a Doctor Who reference. Sue me.)

This is definitely way too long but it’s also 10:30 PM here and my eyelids are starting to droop. Plus, Aries (who, if you haven’t already gathered, is pretty much my co-parent) promised to proofread this for me, so. Goodbye, I guess? Hope you’re all having a nice day.

— Luisa

Anyways, I’m 17 years old, and part of the DCD! My favorite hobby (that word is gross, but I don’t know what else to call it) is gardening. You could find me in the gardens at just about anytime of day or night, assuming Bea hasn’t scolded me and dragged me back in. Back where we used to live, I spent a lot of my time organizing town protests and petitions in favor of a community garden. If every town and city had one, along with green skyscrapers with rooftop gardens, the world would be a much better place. It would boost native biodiversity, improve air quality, and reduce hunger dramatically— but apparently no one’s ready for that conversation yet.

I make it a point to stand by my beliefs. Sometimes this makes me stubborn, but if I’m truly wrong then I’ll always change my opinion. I believe that change starts small, and although Averno is one of the greener places I’ve been, we can still make progress here! I spent most of my time with the Sandwich Squad keeping my brother and Emory in line, but I do love a good cryptid hunt every once and awhile.

Now, I’d love to stay and talk all day, but I have to water the strawberries. It’s been hot out lately! If you want to talk later you know where to find me, just... try not to share a brain cell with my brother and Emory and we’ll get along just fine. See you around!

Eat the rich 💕

Cordelia

Update: Bea read this and scolded me.

Okay. Fine. Part 2. My name is Emory but I also go by rat bastard, baby (if you’re not Preston, don’t), chaos gremlin, Nini’s bloodhound, and “oh god please don’t wear your ‘thiccer than the Jersey Devil’ booty shorts to class.” I use he/him pronouns, have a nerf gun named Shithead’s Bane, and am currently being scolded by Bea for cursing again. She’s reading this over my shoulder to make sure I don’t mention the mothman tattoo I want on my a—

If you couldn’t already tell, I’m a DUE freshman. And occasionally infiltrate DCM classes. If any DCD students still hate me for borrowing their gold glitter, uh, it’s being put to good use.

Bea is now telling me to talk about myself and my interests in more depth. Without Vine references or swearing. Shizzlesticks.

Uhh okay when I’m not hunting cryptids in my Peppa Pig pyjama pants and singular heely I’m probably angrily ranting about American protest history or threatening to beat people much taller than me (5’5”) up. I get very angry very fast and kind of forget that self-control is a thing in the process. Restraint? Never heard of her.

I still want to go find Preston but Bea is telling me to write at least one emotional thing without using humour to downplay it which is. A vibe check. But here: this group is my home and my family and I haven’t felt this safe since before I lost my sister and they helped me feel it again so if any of you hurt them there will be hell to pay.

Okay that’s it. I’m a hypocrite for saying Luisa’s thing was long but I blame it on Bea.

xoxo Emory

Everyone calls me Preston, mostly. Nini likes to call me a Cinnabun, Aries refers to me in a sort of exasperated sigh, and Emory likes to call me Pissbrain. I’m in the DHS with Aries and Luisa, but my two sisters are both in the DCD (except Bea double majored, she’s really smart.) I um... like sleeping, shells, and— and uh... probably(?) something else?

I really like the maze in the DHS, though all the lights make my vision even worse than it is already. I like to wander through it since I can’t really get lost in there, but the rest of campus is another story. I’m not very good at keeping track of where I am, but most times if I wander around long enough, someone will find me and bring me to someone I know.

That’s how I sorta found the school in the first place. After our mom passed and our dad ended up leaving, my sisters and I sold the house and started driving. Our car broke down in Averno. The three of us are witches, Bea and Cordelia practice more than I do, but we all felt like we were meant to be here. Some wandering took us to A New School, and that’s been it. I’m 19, so I just sort of walked in and started class. The DHS has lots of shells lying around, so when I wandered through the maze scooping up the Fibonacci ones, they ended up taking me in.

I don’t do much here, just try to stay awake and get up every morning. Aries is in the room next to mine, so they’ll come in to check on me and make sure I’m eating and staying hydrated. Luisa will play music for me sometimes, and when Nini isn’t trying to feed me the Mountain Dew nightmare she calls “tea” she’ll wrap me up in blankets. My sisters have always looked after me too, so I’m in good hands. And Emory is... something else entirely.

But Nini told me not to talk about Emory because I don’t know when to stop. He’s really something special, but you’ll know that when you meet him. He likes Nini’s Mountain Dew “tea” and I don’t know why, but then again, he really only has Mountain Dew and old mac n’ cheese unless I’m there to look after him, not that he really needs me too, he’s really smart and observant and— Nini is scolding me, I should go. Nice to meet you, I guess?

🐚✨Preston

Being accepted into A New School has been one of the strangest, yet most wonderful experiences of my life. I spent most of my childhood very sick, so being able to learn and make a name for myself here is nothing short of incredible. My brother and sister are doing well and after the long struggle the past few years have been, Averno is a breath of fresh air.

To share a little about myself, I prefer to keep a more vintage aesthetic. I love tea, second maybe only to my brother. I also enjoy baking, though I don’t mind cooking, my sister is much better at it than I am. I use my art as a way to harness my craft a lot, I personally don’t like labeling myself as a certain type of witch, but I have adopted a lot of the mechanisms art witches have in their practices.

I try to dismantle any prejudices against witchcraft in people I meet, although Averno has proved to be such an accepting environment that I rarely need to nowadays. If you ever need someone to talk to, I spend most of my time in the DCD, so you’re always welcome to stop by for a cup of tea, some freshly baked scones, and a chat. It’s been lovely meeting you!

Sincerely,

Bea

I like to think of myself as the second most sensible person in this odd little family, the first being Bea. I make a habit not to curse, don’t survive on a diet of energy drinks and Cheetos alone (looking at you, Emory), and try to take care of my beloved chaos gremlins as best I can. Though, of course, the position of squad mom will always belong to Nini.

My two majors intersect in one main interest: tattoos. I studied through a tattoo artist’s apprenticeship in my freshman year and have learned so much more since then from my wonderful DCD professors. I often work with a small group of other tattoo artists in my department, nestled in a colourful corner of the barn.

My other major, DHS, figures into this through geometry. I am fascinated by patterns and geometry in nature (Fibonacci spirals and shells, honeycombs, symmetry in unexpected places, things like that). I study them night and day which reflects itself in the tattoos I design, most of which are either geometric or depict one such pattern of the natural world. And as I learn and grow, I experiment with these tattoo designs on myself, which is why you’ll see many wonky or unfinished tattoos when you look at me. I like to think of it as a little journal of my progress, right there on my skin.

Averno found me shortly after my grandmother died. She was the only real parental figure I had and had supported me through the trials of high school and my medical transition, so I didn’t know what to do with myself in her absence. But Averno called to me through dreams and flyers blown my way on windy days and I found my home again. That home has now been made whole by my lovely demonic family (not you, Bea, you’re an angel). That’s all for now, thank you for reading my little ramble.

🌿✨Aries✨🌿

(Also— though you can’t see it in the picture, I have pink hair and a septum ring! Both massive self-esteem boosts, I highly recommend getting at least one)

I’m a sophomore at ANS, researching something for something a little different than your average mothman (don’t get me wrong, I adore mothman.) Though I don’t think I should disclose that information yet, we just met after all! Come on into The Nest and make yourself comfortable, my tea is famous around these tunnels. You can’t get boiled Mountain Dew like this anywhere else.

The Nest has become a little home to all of us. Aries, my little Luisa (she’s practically my daughter at this point,) Bea, Cordelia, Preston, and *looks at smudged writing on hand* Emo-y. I love them all equally. After not being supported when I was finally able to transition where I was from, I found my way here. I don’t know where Averno will take me, but I do know that I trust it. The road ahead most definitely won’t be a lonely one, you’ll see when you’re crammed in here with the seven of us!

If you ever need a little family within a bigger one, you’re always welcome back to stay with us. We have the best movie nights on campus, without a doubt. But be careful, stay for too long and I’ll adopt you too. Enter at your own risk— maybe I can get Bea to paint that on a sign for me... Here, you’re going to be late for class, take this bag of Cheetos and some of my special tea, the sugar high should get you there on time. Be safe! Don’t commit arson without an accomplice!

— Nini