#developmentals

Picking Flowers || Accepting

aloe :   how does your muse handle grief ?

Grief is a touchy subject. Not so much on the grounds of how she experiences it, but when.

Wulf at late fifteen, before her sixteenth birthday, is a ragged disaster still reeling from the loss of her parents when Papa Boris has his accident. Mentally and emotionally unstable, used to having a parental figure again only to be alone? That is a multilayered grief that culminates in unresponsiveness and heavy depression spells among the preemptive attempts to prepare for the worst case scenarios. She would be a very different person if Boris hadn't pulled through and died in that timeframe.

Wulf now, however, takes grief humbly. She has died, been resurrected. Tested the rebirth mechanic on more than one occasion, some out of curiosity, some out of depressive spells as she grew into her role and herself. She is very familiar and on equal grounds with death, has become jaded to it and perhaps made arrogant by it on some level. Every death she witnesses now, she takes with a bowed head and a reminder that she is only human, only mortal. She remembers those who die, mourns them in her own silent way with tears and small distress for friends, and takes the message loud and clear that she is not better.

Picking Flowers || Accepting

anemone :   how does your muse view the world ;   as a cruel   &   unforgiving place ,   a land full of wonders ,   or something in - between ? where does that world view come from   (what experiences ,   life lessons ,   etc .) ?

In some ways, Wulf is a bit of a realist.

Sure, she lives in a place that is incredibly hostile toward her existence and the existence of those like her. She sees the horrors of the world on a day to day basis, has been a part of that, likely aided it at some point. But there's still beauty in it to be molded by the hands of those both wronged and doing the wrong. The world is an experience, and there is still so much to learn. About the world and about herself, and she will gladly continue forward to figure out just how many shades and variations of grey there are out there.

If she hadn't been at the cordon on October 11th, 1998 and hadn't taken those eight rounds to the back trying to help someone more scared than she was. If she hadn't died. She might not have the understanding she does now that only dying the first time and contemplating your place in the universe and bigger picture after the fact can bring.

violet :   how does your muse respond to betrayal ?

R̟͇̹̩̜͘ ̶̖̞̩̟͔U̸̳͕͙̘̘ ̳͎N̤̮͠

and pray you are fast enough and elusive enough to stay out of her claws.

She is more of a wolf than in just her name. A wolf is strong, a wolf is loyal. If that loyalty is taken advantage of and spit back in her face, she is fire and brimstone and blood and thunder and you do not want to meet the beast she will become.

Such reaction bristles in her for those she is close to as well. Betraying her dearest friends and family will earn you pure unadulterated rage. The kind of rage you only read about in religious texts. You will be hunted, you will be destroyed. There is no compromise.

Celestial Calling || Accepting

When your muse gets angry, how does it show ? Do they know how to control it, or do they let it consume them ?

One finds that Fariah is surprisingly a hard woman to anger, despite her far-past heritage. She is patient, she is diligent, she is industrious. However, when she is angry, it makes it all the more noticeable. Hers is a silent rage. There is no yelling, there is no bluster. She is quiet, but with a stare so heavy, it might as well break bones. She is a perpetrator of malice when pushed to the limit it begins to show. She wants you to be warned of her intent, to put pressure as a predator to prey before she acts. To make you realize your mistake before she rectifies it.

She is in control of her emotions at most times, flattening anything that can be seen as weakness by her peers. In the world of the south tropics, her peers are not so kind, expressions of any emotion is torn to pieces and used against not just her, but those she serves endlessly. Nations are built or destroyed in the tropics by the merit of how purely unshakeable their leaders and monarchs and representatives are. She can take prodding, she can take goading. Her facades are hard to crack apart where it is necessary, giving her the perception of a monolithic presence in every instance she finds herself in. Even when emotion is shown, it is controlled to the finest detail, one she deems necessary for the moment rather than leaving it unbridled. Imperial Sidhe does not bow, bend, or break. And she seeks to remind it thoroughly in her opposition by wiping expression and inflection from her being entirely when faced with summits and vipers' dens.

There is only one instance she finds herself hard to control, though. It is no secret she enjoys the skirmish. She likes the way it makes her feel, the adrenaline pouring into her blood unhindered. Every sense and nerve on fire with the anticipation and the drive. But while it presents as wrath or rage to the outsider looking in, it is less about her being angry about it, and more that she is elated to feel it, in ways that border the obscene. It is the driving force of most of her atrocities, and she does not seek to hide that facet of herself. Knowing and using it ensures that the opposition otherwise does not want it to surface, it is better to play nice than to pick a fight. Helpful in the pit of snakes that is her region of the world.

Does your muse take care of themself ? Do they neglect their needs to put others first ?

Fariah is capable of taking care of herself. In a situation she does not have to think of those around her, she will think of herself, of her needs, of her wants and desires. But in most instances, this is not the case.

Sidhe have a genetic tick. It makes them violent by nature and when left unchecked, they will lose all decorum and attack anything they see fit. Each other, property, animals, nothing is left out. It was why Katya set the hingepin in place -her son- to tether them together and it worked, to a fault. Over the centuries, it is known that Sidhe that are tethered into the hive are constantly moving, constantly needing things to do as the energy to be violent is repurposed into being continuously productive. And in that vein, understanding that her people need to keep moving, Fariah 'neglects' herself physically to a certain point. She gives the hallowed job of maintaining her well-being to her attendants. To her staff, to the inner court. It is more for their benefit than it is her own want of pampering and in that way, she helps serve them.

It is otherwise ingrained in her head the importance of those she considers her people. She works tirelessly to make sure people are safe and happy and cared for within reason. She sleeps very rarely, running long nights to make certain things that are necessary are still being maintained. She bears in mind their voices when representing them, she feels their joys and woes to the point that there are times she forgets she really is just a person. She is always the first and last defense in order to maintain their innocence and their peace and if it weren't for such sacrifice -of herself and those who came properly before-, the Three and Ten would not be the glittering bastion of culture and civilization it is in present day.

For the steady loss of who she is, her millions will thrive to the next generation and beyond. Such is the fate and dream of a single Imperial.

Developmentals || Accepting!

⚔️ CROSSED SWORDS — do you have any skills that you are absolutely grateful you have and that mean a lot to you? how do you usually use these skills? would they come in handy if someone you cared about was in trouble?

Fariah has many skills. Being born into the Imperial family, one must have a plethora of abilities and skills to use in a multitude of applications. From the political to the diplomatic, from the military to the mundane. Many aspects of a life built for many facets of life. One that is constantly overlooked, however, is one that defines not just herself but the lifestyle of her people as well; Sailing. Her father always made sure she had a healthy knowledge and teachings of swimming and sailing, from his mouth and knowledge alone as it was taught to him by his father and his father's father. It's an endemic part of her peoples, sailing, as that is the main mode of transportation of goods and people between the isles, a fine fishing industry to bolster the most basic needs of the populace. A road can crumble and fall, but the waterways are eternal. Sidhe are born on the water, it's said, and they'll live and die there too. All good Imperials know this, both the necessity and the adage. All good Imperials know the mechanics on how to not only make a makeshift dinghy in times of need if they have the materials needed, but also how to rig and work one to get from Point A to Point B easily enough. Water is as daunting as the greatest expanses of land, and just as bleak as any wasteland in the far reaches between. Knowing how to tame and use this element is key to survival. It may not do much on the mainland, unless one is stranded with nothing but water to their name. The element of change, on an expansive lake or down boiling rapids. At least she knows how to find solid ground and not succumb to the cold depths' maw.

🔮 CRYSTAL BALL — what is a core memory from your childhood that you think defines you today?

One may think that tragedy and violence are all she would remember. And a lot of that is true, being such a recent and fresh scar in her memory and career. But while it can define a person in how they handle such things, it is neither of these things that she would say she remembers most. Go far back. Back to the basics, when she was barely a pup capable of being away from her mother's arms. The littlest Crown Princess, recently debuted with heavy clothing and jewelry that made her fuss until it was taken off so she could run awkwardly and play with the other children in her life. Barely a care, the tutors not yet picked. Still young enough to be a child with child worries, but old enough to remember. She remembers the warmth of her mother's hand around hers, the bright beaming smile of her father as his great arms are open in joy to his tiny pup, not yet tall enough to really be considered a full person yet. The embrace as he lifts her to see the great bronze statue of the first of their lineage. The first Ariad, the warlord incarnate, purported son of the war goddess Katya herself. A man once so terrible his ferocity was the only thing that could unite the warring clans and ethnicities of the Three and Ten under one family. The way the sunlight glints off the metal as his eternal fiery eyes lay the scrutiny upon the empire that springs at his feet. His reminder, his legacy, not just in the bloodline that gazes up in awe at the thought of following his footsteps into the annals of history, but in the people below sprawled before him. How must he be proud to look upon the world from Devas and know how eternal his legacy has become. Does his mother shine and beam in pride, knowing her own legacy has been instrumental in this place of the world? Trauma and bloodshed are experiences, but only the remembrance of knowing where you came from and seeing the unknown of where you go to is what really defines you.

🏹 BOW AND ARROW — if there's something from your past that you'd give anything to go back in time and redo, what is it?

Time is such a fickle thing, events are meant to happen. Ripples in a timeline cause crucial key events, in one way or another. She could go back in time and stop Turyl from ever being inducted into the Imperial Guard. She could warn people when he was made captain of what was to come. But in the absence of her personal retribution, the ripples still shift. She harkens back to those awful days now, but knows deep inside even if she'd been privy to his ideals. Knew he had been gathering those of similar mindset to him for his rank and discipline. Knew he did not feel the closeness of the hivemind to the people around him and that was what drove him to madness to begin with. Knew how to use it anyway. She knows if she had stopped him, something else would have happened. Something worse would have happened. Maybe Turyl wasn't the most terrible thing the universe could have given her. Maybe it knew that even through the torture and the bruising and the pleading, she could survive this instead of what could have been. The Empire came dangerously close to collapse and ruin, they all still suffered together. But if he had been stopped? Maybe it would have already ceased to exist. For her millions, she can weather the shadows and the rifts and the chasms in her memory. The flashes of the wounds left that have since healed on a physical level but still leave emotional scars. She can handle this, in the knowledge that it's still not the worst it could have been. And so on some selfish level, she would change that. But on a pragmatic level, she would not change a thing. For them.

Unprompted Asks || Always Accepting!

Remember: Preparedness Is The Stalker's Boon.

All good stalkers should know at least basic first aid, so yes. She does know such things. It goes one step further with her as well, since Papa Boris is trained in on-the-fly medical aid and preventative first aid. He imparted much useful information he thought she would need in her own journey forward.

She knows how to fight, for sure, with that intimidating discipline the Spetsnaz are best known for. But she also knows how to thread a needle, make it clean, and the suture stitches needed to sew comrades up until they can get further medical help, be it local Zoner medicines or out of the Zone.

She also knows how to handle her own wounds. Usually drunk to combat her own shaky hand if she has to do anything more than patching herself up. But she can absolutely put herself back together if she has to.

Hard Mode Activated || Accepting

23. What does your character dislike in other people?

Dishonesty.

There is a lot she inherently dislikes, nasty little traits that anyone with half a brain and a decent moral compass would dislike. These are part of the human experience, however, and she can overlook these little bits and bobs of people being people as simply that. Another facet of simply existing, some of which even she is guilty of.

But her trigger is dishonesty and disloyalty. She never says it outright and if she sees it in other people, they know that she knows. And she always knows, in the way they try to avoid eye contact. And she lets them know that she knows, with her lips pulled back off those vicious dog's teeth, so far back that it is less a grin and more a threat display.

They always know she knows. She makes sure they do, with ever silent promises that if she sees such things out in the open, she will not hesitate to remind them of their standing with her.

Not to say that little white lies aren't allowed. But there is a stark difference between a wee lie and a show of dropped promises and devastated bonds of trust.

30. What does your character find repulsive or disgusting?

Flagrant disrespect.

That type of arrogance that hurts others to make oneself feel more important. While respect is earned, not freely given and she knows this holds true with even herself and her brethren, the claims of being better and putting others down to maintain such rubs her the wrong way. Like running a hand backwards over an animal's back, it sets off the sensory response like nails on a chalkboard.

She's also very not fond noises like scraping metal, porcelain rubbing on itself, and the feeling of grit rolling around in her boots makes her shudder.

40. How does your character treat people in service jobs?

Like they're doing a job.

She's not one for small talk, generally pretty quiet and the kind of customer who goes in to grab what she needs and gets out. Very rarely does she need to seek out an employee for anything.

When she does need one, she's not rude or condescending. A kindred spirit in exhaustion heavier than the Big Bang. Still quiet, catches attention, polite in her requests with 'pleases' and 'thank yous' as necessary, and the type to tell other customers who may be nasty or abusive to go get a snackie and take a nap.

In those words.

Because if you're throwing a tantrum over something she knows wasn't started by an employee being nasty first, you are clearly five years old and it's passed your bedtime.

Even when she has a particularly rude employee, she'll keep her temper and continue being stiffly polite. Difference being she'll flash her teeth in a nice big face-eating grin as a firm reminder she doesn't deserve such treatment either.

Hard Mode Activated: Accepting

What does your character like in other people?

Loyalty and sincerity. Those two things are what she looks for the most in the company she keeps. 

She is not much of a ‘physical traits’ kind of person because those with perfect physical attributes -to her or anyone else- don’t always mesh with her or her family on an emotional level. But to know someone always has her back, and can always mean what they say or portray in their actions without having to force it? Even when it’s not something positive or praiseworthy? They’re alright, she knows she can trust them, which in her setting and situations is pretty rare.