Farrah had been leaning against the rails of the bumper car course when her friend came out. Standing up straight, she looked over at her, laughing. “It seemed pretty intense from here. I will have to try them out later, though I may get competitive and use my power to help me out,” she was joking of course. “I’ve been having fun. It’s just nice seeing everyone else having fun though. I haven’t seen so many smiles in so long.”
“Well, that would be unfair of you. You don’t see me using mine when playing games. Although... I can’t really of a way how it could help me in any way.” She said, trying to think of one before abandoning, instead giving a small nog in answer to Farrah’s words. “It is a good change. Hopefully, those can stay longer, even after the carnival ends. I would hate to go back to how it was before.”
“Okay, eager beaver! Alright, ready, set, go!” Aster started the game and stood by, he’d completely forgotten to explain the rules again, but it was Whac a Mole, and he’d never had a job before so it wasn’t really his fault if he was bad at it.
At this point, Arwen didn’t really care what people may think, looking at a grown up woman playing carnival games on her own. She was enjoying it, so she focused on the game in front of her instead of thinking about that. Still, she missed a few, which was surprising since her reflexes were usually quite high.
“It is wonderful.” Stella said, grinning a bit. “You all did a wonderful job setting it up. I think people enjoy being able to let loose for a little and have fun.”
Grin lingering on her lips, Arwen stopped spinning to face Stella. “Aw, I’m glad you think so! We worked so hard on this, it’s good to know people are enjoying it.”
“Well, I just had the bumpiest bumpy cars ride of my life.” Arwen let out with a sigh once she reached her friend. Still, there was quite a large smile on her lips. Even if she didn’t really do well in that ride, she still loved it, just like she loved everything she did at the carnival so far. “But what about you? Enjoying the carnival so far?”
Standing in the middle of the path, Arwen was just looking all around her, mesmerized at how the underground was able to pull this off. It made her feel proud she was a part of this. “Isn’t this the most amazing thing that’s ever happened here?” She said, not to anyone in particular. Although considering how crowded it was, someone certainly heard.
Well, obviously, Arwen was meant to get hungry at some point. She could nearly hear her stomach when the next person finally took over at the water gun stand, leading her to nearly run to the nearest BBQ. And once she got there, she didn’t shy away, and got probably one of the biggest plate anyone’s ever taken. She was carefully balancing the plate in her hand, but nearly dropped it when she came to a halt, right before bumping into someone else. “Oh, hey, Gwen! I didn’t see you there.”
During one of her breaks, Arwen happened to wander near the mechanical bull. She watched the current participant long enough to see them fall, and although it was a shame they didn’t succeed, it still brought a small smile to her lips. She was about to move on to the next stand, but her eyes caught sight of the person operating the game, and instead walked in that direction. “So, I know you probably enjoy watching people fall off that thing, but what about you take a small break and we go get something to drink instead? We need to celebrate how much of a success this is.”
Whac a Mole had always been Aster’s favourite game, he couldn’t explain why, it was just squashing fake moles with a comically big hammer. Maybe it was the simplicity of it all that appealed to him. He’d been playing for quite some time, trying to top his high-score over and over again, when he noticed someone watching him over his shoulder. “Oh hi! Do you want to turn?” He asked with a grin as he held out the hammer towards them.
As far as she could remember, Arwen had always loved carnivals. Even back when she was still named Dae, carnivals were some of her favourite events. So, obviously, she was bouncing around the place, hoping to get to each and every games and stands before it was over. So when she made it to the Whac a Mole stand, her smile did not falter, it increased, even. “I s’ppose I can give it a try!” She grinned, not waiting much longer before taking the hammer.
Sitting alone on the concrete beside her cot, Helena was easily identifiable by the dark circles under her eyelids. She’d never been one to get a good night’s sleep, especially not during this week of the year. Sketchbook in hand, she was too exhausted to draw much more than lines tonight, a vague sketch of the Parthenon. At least, until she noticed the other person nearby. “ Isn’t it past your bedtime ? ” she questioned, grasping at a hypocritical excuse to be alone as usual.
Arwen was making her way through the building, humming softly. It’s not that she didn’t want to sleep, she just couldn’t. At least, she thought she found a way to pass time when someone called out to her. “Isn’t it past your bedtime too? But if you must know, I just got a little too much sugar and now I can’t sleep.” She said with a small shrug, yet her eyes tried to peak at the sketchbook.
“Okay, but what I’m hearing is — Sloan, you were right the whole time, like usual, and what I have learned from this is that I should always listen to you from now on instead of denying and arguing like a little bitch.”
“I’m sorry, what exactly are you talking about? I don’t remember you giving me a piece of advice or anything. Not that I’m saying what you’re saying is wrong, I just can’t remember.”
“What are you gonna throw me out of here? Just leave me the fuck alone I don’t want to train, and I don’t want to fucking go sing kumbayah my ass with the lot of you. I shouldn’t even be here, I don’t know why any of you let me in.”
“Look, you don’t have to train or sing along, no one’s forcing you. Not that we sing around a campfire. I mean, I would love to, but that might not be a popular idea around here. Anyway, what I mean is that I care for all mutants, and you’re one of us. So do as you please, but I won’t let you ruin your place here.”
“Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the camel. This is really bad coffee.” Scout wrinkled her nose at her mug. She was sitting in one of the common rooms with a book across her lap, her hood pulled up over her face. “Any idea when we get something that doesn’t taste like rubber tires fucked a pile of coal?”
“Well, I’ll admit it’s not the best coffee.” Arwen started, only a small glance at the mug. It was actually so bad she stopped drinking coffee a while ago. Although that might be a good thing in her case. “But I s’ppose when people go out to get supplies, they just grab the first things they can. And we end up with all the bad coffee.”
✧ ━━━ 「 ARDEN CHO, female, she/her 」that’s ARWEN DAE SHEEN, one of the original founders of the mutant underground. I heard the TWENTY-EIGHT year old helped in creating the network because SHE COULDN’T SEE MORE MUTANTS SUFFERING. around here, they’re greatly respected with their WEAPON SUMMONING MAGIC and are often times referred to as ARSENAL around the complex. they’re seen as the GUARD around here, so be sure to show them some respect, despite the rumors that they can be clumsy and fierce, as well as kindhearted and protective. ╳ CHARACTER AESTHETIC: geeky shirts, flower crowns, colored clothes, ombre hair, sugar highs, arrow tattoos, broken nails, wedgie boots, glow-in-the-dark star stamps
South Korean child, Dae was born to a human father and a mutant mother. Her father always knew about her mother, and was entirely fine with it.
Being a mutant, her mother wanted her to know about the gene as soon as she could, thinking it would grant her better control. So when she was 4, her mother told her about the fact she most likely had the mutant gene as well.
About a year and a half later, Dae summoned a knife at the table because her mother forgot to give her one. So after that, Dae’s mother took it upon herself to teach her how to control it(because she clearly didn’t want to accidentally summon a knife at school).
She had a few slip offs, and could only summon small knives. But as she grew older, the weapons she could summon grew in size, as well as becoming more diversified.
As for the rest of her childhood, she was able to live like a normal kid. She had a lot of friends, and tried to miss nothing of her childhood.
Her mother was proud, not only of her power, but how well she lived with it, and was able to keep the secret. To her, it was of great importance it remained secret. Not only because she feared people’s reaction, but she knew there were some people after them. It was like a witch hunt of mutants, and she wanted Dae to remain safe from any of it.
But no one’s perfect. And with how much Dae can ramble, she might’ve mentioned she was a mutant in the middle of a conversation. Her friends didn’t believe her, but someone overheard her. And that was the end of her safety.
Nothing happened at first, but her mother said it might’ve been because they needed proofs, to make sure they were really mutants. For safety, they moved town, but Dae wasn’t to go the same town as them. Her father knew someone in America, mutant supporter, and she was to live with them.
Upon arriving - illegally, of course, they couldn’t risk her being sent back to her homeland - Dae and her new ‘adopted’ father planned a story. Of course, she was to be the adopted daughter, but at 16, it was somehow harder to make it believable. So they kept part of the truth: that she was his friend’s daughter. But what they changed is that her parents died in a car crash, and he was the closest family. And in order to make it slightly harder for anyone to find her, she changed her first name to Arwen.
Why Arwen? Because she’s a huge fan of Tolkien and that character was her favorite. Not to mention, pretty badass. But she said her parents were the fans, and it was her birth name.
So, Arwen started in american schools at 16, but didn’t go to higher studies after high school. Instead, she picked a job as a waitress in a small restaurant. And she was horrible. Well, mostly because she’d drop plates more often than others. But the clients loved her, the boss loved her, so she stayed.
Up until she saw a younger mutant who had sadly been unable to contain their power refused entrance. She was almost done with her shift, but when it ended, she left her uniform there. She was 20 at that time, and it was also the time she her adopted father’s place. After that event, she took it on herself to travel around the country and help younger mutants in need.
Call it chance or fate encounter, Arwen met up with 11 important people, and we know what happened after.
Random facts:
Although she’s quite skilled in combats, outside of combats, she can be really clumsy.
She much prefer swords to any firearms, only using them if required.
Cake is the way to her heart.
She LOVES ombre hair, and might dye it to a different color quite often.
Even though she’s kind to most, she will show a fierce attitude if anyone threatens those she cares. And she cares about A L L mutants.
“More smiling, less worrying. More compassion, less judgment. More blessed, less stressed. More love, less hate.”
― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
