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Dec. 23rd, 2023 06:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sorrowerOPHELIA KEENING
People's first impression of Ophelia is often that she's a space cadet. She'll zone out while staring at a wall, or her eyes will lose focus in the middle of a conversation. People who don't understand a banshee's nature just think she has a short attention span, and she doesn't usually bother to explain.
She's not someone who is bothered by what most people may think of her, since she's very comfortable being alone. Though a big goal of hers is to form lasting relationships, so she is doing her best to seem cheerful, approachable, and kind. When she focuses she can be a great listener, and while she's known to point out what she thinks are obvious solutions, she doesn't take on other people's problems in a busy-body way. She's also not a gossip -- she may listen to whatever you have to say, but that doesn't mean she'll say much in return.
She's seen mostly the worst parts of life on end for years, and so she has a desperate want to help people achieve some kind of happiness or peace instead. She can easily feel defeated at the idea of this goal, but she never gives up on it. She just wants to believe some kind of good could come out of this existence.
She's not someone who is bothered by what most people may think of her, since she's very comfortable being alone. Though a big goal of hers is to form lasting relationships, so she is doing her best to seem cheerful, approachable, and kind. When she focuses she can be a great listener, and while she's known to point out what she thinks are obvious solutions, she doesn't take on other people's problems in a busy-body way. She's also not a gossip -- she may listen to whatever you have to say, but that doesn't mean she'll say much in return.
She's seen mostly the worst parts of life on end for years, and so she has a desperate want to help people achieve some kind of happiness or peace instead. She can easily feel defeated at the idea of this goal, but she never gives up on it. She just wants to believe some kind of good could come out of this existence.
personality
+
kind . encouraging . generous . deliberate . responsible
=
passive . curious . straightforward . dry humor . daydreaming
–
fearful . fatalistic . overthinking . distracted . extreme
appearance
Most of the time Ophelia appears as a normal young woman, but if she's been pulled to warn someone, then the recipient of her message can see her in different forms. Sometimes she looks just as young, but will be shown in a white dress she isn't actually wearing. Or she'll be a woman with a veil, or a gray-haired old lady. There are times when her own appearance is lost completely, the recipient instead projecting the image of an already-passed loved one onto her.
When engaged in conversation with someone, she's often seen smiling, but there's something about her eyes that makes someone think she's concentrating on her expression. When left alone, she often appears dazed, as if lost in her own world.
When engaged in conversation with someone, she's often seen smiling, but there's something about her eyes that makes someone think she's concentrating on her expression. When left alone, she often appears dazed, as if lost in her own world.
abilities
background
📣 Ophelia doesn't know if she was ever born; she just knows that one day, she existed. 26 years ago, seemingly from nothing, Ophelia appeared, screaming not unlike newborn babies do. But she was screaming because the woman in the house would be screaming; she would be wailing until her throat was raw, until she couldn't bear to keep her eyes open. She was screaming because the man wouldn't let himself; he'd fall silent because he didn't know what else to do, or how to feel. She was screaming because their daughter was dead, even if they didn't know it yet.
📣 She can't remember what the daughter looked like. She wonders if she was the daughter; if that wasn't the day she was born, but the day that she died.
📣 She knows that took place a long time ago, even if it is only 26 years' worth of memories away for her. There were occasions when time abandoned her and she lost decades between her appearances. It happened more often at the beginning, when she didn't have a sense of self -- when the feelings of tragedy easily overwhelmed her and dragged her to them. But eventually, she started wanting to take time to breathe before she had to scream again. She felt the urge to look around her, and not just at the former house of whoever was recently dead. The more that she wanted for herself, the more time she got between pulls.
📣 By the time 18 years had passed, she had built up enough resistance to be able to keep a solid form for long periods of time and stay where she wanted to. It helped that once she could hold on long enough, she started moving herself away from the city to more and more rural areas. The less people there were, the less death there was. When she would get pulled, it was no longer years away from where she'd been. Often it was only a few days in the future.
📣 It did make it difficult for her to hold down a job, however. Even if she wasn't gone for very long, even a few days of no-shows would lead to her getting fired. Not that she needed a human job, necessarily. She didn't need to eat or sleep, but it did give her more energy and therefore more control over if she got pulled away again if she did. And she liked having an apartment she could retreat into, and it allowed her to practice having relationships with people without risking getting too close. The closer she was to someone, the more likely their tragedy would pull her to them.
📣 She settled in Cassadaga, a town known for residents interested in the metaphysical. She studied hypnosis, meditated, and did her best to build systems that allowed her more control over her 'life' — if you could call it that. For example, she noticed that she was only ever called to do her duties at nighttime, so it was best if she only slept during the day. She could easily be pulled from her dreams to a tragedy; when she was awake, she could intentionally resist the call to her duty.
📣 To that end, she started working as a bartender in Orlando, which was where she met her first love -- and her first love's fiancé. Ophelia had thought she was beautiful immediately, and when the couple became semi-regulars at her bar and her friends, she had come to appreciate her personality as well. She had a crush on her, and though she knew it was wrong to feel that way about someone in a relationship, she didn't think it really mattered since she never thought romance was a possibility for her.
📣 Then the woman started coming to the bar alone, and she had complaints about her fiancé. They would talk for hours and hours. They would close her bar down. She didn't know when things shifted between them, but she wasn't sorry that they did. And even though she knew her fiance, even though she liked to call him a friend, she couldn't bring herself to feel guilt or regret. She had never dared to want something for herself before, had never hoped to have a relationship or to experience affection. She deserved this.
📣 And she found that it grounded her. Tragedy found her less often when her head was filled with her love. Death had a hard time pulling her away when her attention was focused on something that brought her so much joy. She had avoided relationships because she didn't want to be too in tune with someone's despair and lose herself, but she had never considered that if they weren't destined for something awful, they could actually anchor her where she was.
📣 That all came to a screeching halt when she received a single text: "he knows." She had been at the bar. She texted back immediately - no response. Another text. No response. Her world started swirling around her and she asked her coworker to cover her as she pushed her way to the bathroom. A third text. No response. She locked herself in a stall and leaned against the door for stability. Flashes of a sickly complexion and the hopeless wails of family flooded her mind. Noel wouldn't respond. She sent a final text, and then she disappeared.
📣 She was pulled around for a month after that, unable to break away while her own heart was in turmoil. But she did, eventually, and knowing that her bartender job wouldn't be waiting for her, she avoided Orlando. She fell back to her old methods - isolation, meditation, routine. And she found her footing again.
📣 But she couldn't forget what it felt like to feel tied down, and she longed for that stability again. When she was invited to the society, it sounded like the perfect opportunity for her to make lasting relationships. Supernaturals died way less often than mortals did, and she could hide away from the rest of the mortal world. She's hoping to find some version of peace here.
📣 She can't remember what the daughter looked like. She wonders if she was the daughter; if that wasn't the day she was born, but the day that she died.
📣 She knows that took place a long time ago, even if it is only 26 years' worth of memories away for her. There were occasions when time abandoned her and she lost decades between her appearances. It happened more often at the beginning, when she didn't have a sense of self -- when the feelings of tragedy easily overwhelmed her and dragged her to them. But eventually, she started wanting to take time to breathe before she had to scream again. She felt the urge to look around her, and not just at the former house of whoever was recently dead. The more that she wanted for herself, the more time she got between pulls.
📣 By the time 18 years had passed, she had built up enough resistance to be able to keep a solid form for long periods of time and stay where she wanted to. It helped that once she could hold on long enough, she started moving herself away from the city to more and more rural areas. The less people there were, the less death there was. When she would get pulled, it was no longer years away from where she'd been. Often it was only a few days in the future.
📣 It did make it difficult for her to hold down a job, however. Even if she wasn't gone for very long, even a few days of no-shows would lead to her getting fired. Not that she needed a human job, necessarily. She didn't need to eat or sleep, but it did give her more energy and therefore more control over if she got pulled away again if she did. And she liked having an apartment she could retreat into, and it allowed her to practice having relationships with people without risking getting too close. The closer she was to someone, the more likely their tragedy would pull her to them.
📣 She settled in Cassadaga, a town known for residents interested in the metaphysical. She studied hypnosis, meditated, and did her best to build systems that allowed her more control over her 'life' — if you could call it that. For example, she noticed that she was only ever called to do her duties at nighttime, so it was best if she only slept during the day. She could easily be pulled from her dreams to a tragedy; when she was awake, she could intentionally resist the call to her duty.
📣 To that end, she started working as a bartender in Orlando, which was where she met her first love -- and her first love's fiancé. Ophelia had thought she was beautiful immediately, and when the couple became semi-regulars at her bar and her friends, she had come to appreciate her personality as well. She had a crush on her, and though she knew it was wrong to feel that way about someone in a relationship, she didn't think it really mattered since she never thought romance was a possibility for her.
📣 Then the woman started coming to the bar alone, and she had complaints about her fiancé. They would talk for hours and hours. They would close her bar down. She didn't know when things shifted between them, but she wasn't sorry that they did. And even though she knew her fiance, even though she liked to call him a friend, she couldn't bring herself to feel guilt or regret. She had never dared to want something for herself before, had never hoped to have a relationship or to experience affection. She deserved this.
📣 And she found that it grounded her. Tragedy found her less often when her head was filled with her love. Death had a hard time pulling her away when her attention was focused on something that brought her so much joy. She had avoided relationships because she didn't want to be too in tune with someone's despair and lose herself, but she had never considered that if they weren't destined for something awful, they could actually anchor her where she was.
📣 That all came to a screeching halt when she received a single text: "he knows." She had been at the bar. She texted back immediately - no response. Another text. No response. Her world started swirling around her and she asked her coworker to cover her as she pushed her way to the bathroom. A third text. No response. She locked herself in a stall and leaned against the door for stability. Flashes of a sickly complexion and the hopeless wails of family flooded her mind. Noel wouldn't respond. She sent a final text, and then she disappeared.
📣 She was pulled around for a month after that, unable to break away while her own heart was in turmoil. But she did, eventually, and knowing that her bartender job wouldn't be waiting for her, she avoided Orlando. She fell back to her old methods - isolation, meditation, routine. And she found her footing again.
📣 But she couldn't forget what it felt like to feel tied down, and she longed for that stability again. When she was invited to the society, it sounded like the perfect opportunity for her to make lasting relationships. Supernaturals died way less often than mortals did, and she could hide away from the rest of the mortal world. She's hoping to find some version of peace here.
miscellaneous trivia
!! anything else you want to include (eg. aspirations, pets, whatever) !!
