now or never.

i don't know how to stay tender with this much blood in my mouth. private mumu, by emma.

[catcstrophic]

catcstrophic — a private multi-muse blog featuring lydia burke. written by emma, she/her.

l. burke. intro. interaction. muse

is that all you want to be? liked? wouldn’t you rather be passionately and voraciously desired?

[catcstrophic]

where: the leaky cauldron who: frank longbottom ( @ofmagiics​ ) status: closed 

“So,” Lydia slid into the booth with the grace of a lady, though the image was undercut by the beer bottle in her hand and the wind-tangled knot of her hair. “I’ve got one for you.”  No greeting, no apologies, no excuses. An hour late wasn’t even that much, considering. “I stopped by the shop today,” the only shop that mattered - the Burke shop - “and they’ve gotten in this mirror that insults any user. They had to pop it behind some glass and put a silencing charm on the case because there’s no controlling, I’ve no idea how they’ll sell it but I had to hear it so I took it out for a look and it immediately told me no one would ever marry me if I didn’t brush my hair and pinch my cheeks for a bit of colour. Can you believe it? The corpse look is in.” 

[catcstrophic]

diagon alley is home to many , a direct connection to the wizarding world , right in the centre of london , many people like LYDIA BURKE , spend the majority of their time in the busy alley , most people know them as the twenty three year old who is a past slytherin , now training to be a CURSEBREAKER , i think the role suits them perfectly as i think they are CHARMING but also they can be WILLFUL , but that's just my opinion . ( emily alyn lind )

basics.

full name : lydia elise burke.

nickname(s) : lyd.

birthdate : august 7th.

age : twenty-three.

gender & pronouns : cis female, she/her.

sexuality : heterosexual.

education : hogwarts alumni,  slytherin  house.

occupation : cursebreaker, apprentice. 

allegiance : neutral.

nationality : english/american. 

current  residence : an apartment off diagon alley. 

relationships.

parents : tbd & corinne burke (nee hawthorn) - deceased. 

siblings : cordelia burke, older half-sister. three older half-sisters, one twin sister, one younger half-sister and a brother, perseus burke, squib.

relationship status : single. 

history.

tw. neglect, death. 

001. Lydia is her mother’s first daughter (by eight minutes) and her father’s seventh. Seven is an auspicious number among wizarding families but she was just one more failure; another girl who would strengthen another family’s bloodline at the expense of the Burke name. Seventh is worthless, so she clings to first though she was just three at the time of her mother’s sudden death. She hardly remembers the woman – tall and blonde and American, so much more exciting than the English – but she clings to the idea of her love like it could keep her afloat.

002. Borgin & Burke’s and dark, winding Knockturn Alley were not built for small children. Seedy characters, delicate artifacts and cursed oddities would have presented risks for any caregiver, but Lydia made things hard for her four half-sisters. As soon as they turned their back she’d have found her way into something she shouldn’t have — pressing the keys of a haunted piano or emptying out the contents of a particularly vile pox-powder onto the floor, sending clouds of it into the air — and her questions were incessant. Where did that come from? What does it do? Where did we get it? She was quick, curious, and so headstrong that no punishment seemed able to deter her from causing more mischief.

003. It was in Hogwarts that Lydia truly learned to temper her natural inclination towards chaos. Oh yes, at the sharp tongue of her stepmother and the deft hands of her sisters, Lydia learned her manners like any good pureblood girl. With her delicate features and pale blonde hair, she could pass for innocent. Among her peers (at least her pureblood peers), she was cool, the centre of any Slytherin party. Quick-witted, funny, flirty and – key to fitting in – she managed to mostly keep it socially acceptable . Teachers loved her even when her essays arrived late and were of questionable origin (the handwriting sometimes neat and precise in place of her usual sprawling cursive).

004. What does it meant to be a Burke? It means to be disposable. Lydia has always understood this. Her father, unable or unwilling to call each daughter by her correct name. Her sister’s mother, wife number one. Mysteriously dead. Her own mother, beautiful and warm and so full of life that she dominated every photo she was in – ill and pale and dead. Her brother, the beloved and much wanted son cast aside when he failed to meet the standards set for him. More than anything, Lydia wants to be needed. She wants someone, anyone, to feel that she is irreplaceable. It is 1979 and Lydia believes that to fulfil her own desires she must be her own person. She does not care for being a sister or a twin and though she loves her family and their dark little shop, she has turned away.

aesthetic.

green silk and wisps of blonde hair, the faint scent of olives and thyme, fingerprints in the dust and steps echoing in the dark, the golden glint of power and the deep red burst of obsession that precedes love, unmade beds, black coffee, lipstick-stained cigarettes, burnished teak, chipping paint, the rush of adrenaline that comes with the forbidden.

wanted connections.

to be completed.

(0/1) best friend: someone who understands lydia’s inherent contradictions and loves her for them, someone always ready with some jokes, a bottle of wine, a distraction. simple, complex best-friendship. 

(0/?) “society” friend: lydia knows that she is already walking the boundaries of acceptable high society behavior by becoming a cursebreaker and whether she likes it or not, she still craves her family’s approval so she plays the part and keeps friends that help that. these friendships could be surface level, false or more sincere, two girls that know that they aren’t natural fits for the parts they’ve been cast. they meet for tea, shop, sip champagne, gossip at parties

(0/?) corruptor/redeemer: what does the war matter to lydia? as far as she’s concerned, it doesn’t - though it might enhance her family’s wealth. lydia’s ambitions have always been personal, not political. i would love to see her tempted. the death eaters could offer her the promise of power in the context of the worldview she was raised with and has never truly bothered to interrogate. the order could offer her a chance to be the hero, to be an important force for good -- but it would mean truly stepping away from her family and that’s not an easy step for her to make. i’d like to see both things at play, and maybe with multiple people. 

(0/1) romance arc: oh this is so DEEPLY dependent on the other character and their goals and plots and arcs and just LETS talk about it but i’ll throw out some fun ideas: someone who gives lydia a real, emotional reason to care about the politics (lydia? selfless? could it even be?); someone who encourages her wilder tendencies and pushes her to abandon her ‘society’ facade and become something freer; a darker influence who encourages her to use her natural chaos in destructive ways. 

(0/?) former fling: a first love? schoolgirl romance? a terrible heartbreak? maybe he was a pureblood, and their families were murmuring about betrothal. maybe he wasn’t, and the breakup was spurred by knowing it could never ever last. let’s have some drama. a little unhealed wound or two. 

(1/?) past trysts: lydia isn’t past a one night stand, for pleasure or to get her something she wants - respect, admiration. 

(0/1) work mentor: as impulsive and easily bored as lydia can appear, she really does love cursebreaking - or she loves the aftermath. lydia loves anything old and strange, loves travel and adventure. she wants to be good at this, to make a name for herself away from the shop - and she’s in need of