❝ — she did her best thinking out in nature — with headphones on, surrounded by the world but isolated within it. she should be working on her article that needed to be turned in by tomorrow — but muse was fickle. it came and went, and focused on other things when it shouldn’t. she had to focus. muse could wait.
lorelei hummed melodically along to the music on her headphones, fingers idling twirling through the flowers that bloomed upon her command. she started to leaf through the printed research for her work assignment, but nature seemed to want her attention. a gust of wind snatched them from her grasp. she cursed loudly, tossing her headphones aside to try and catch the loose papers. “excuse me!” she called to any passerby who would listen, “could someone grab those papers, please?” she pointed to the ones about to flutter into the street.
“I don’t understand,” Briar stated as she stared towards the busy park right across from her apartment building. A man stood across the way, performing dance moves for money. It was nearing dark and not many bystanders stopped to watch. “People just walk on by without a care in the world yet they still keep dancing,” she spoke to no one in particular. Taking a puff from her cigarette perched between two hands, Briar searched in her pockets for any small bills. If no one else was going the person’s day, she would.
❝ — with a thoughtful hum, lorelei turned and offered a shrug. “suppose it’s the act of performing and less the importance of an audience that makes it worth it?” she suggested. she’d tossed a $5 in earlier — the only cash she had on her, beyond some loose change. (the last time she carried cash, she gave it all away to the first person who came up with a sob story. cash was not safe with her.) “or maybe it’s enough if a few people stick around and watch,” she added with a kind smile.
“You’re too fucking close.” Joey spoke up, though not aggressively; her tone was more bored than anything else. She was on the beach, just a bikini top and shorts, hair pulled back. She didn’t even look up from what she was doing, as she used a spray bottle a little, before she continued to very steadily, carve more details into the sand elephant she was working on. “Insert the obvious threat, that I’ll clearly never fucking carry out here.” She continued with disinterest in anything but what she was working on. She had been going at it for hours now. “If you get to close and ruin the fucking thing, I mean. Or some fucking shit.” She sighed with annoyance, the back of her hand running across her forehead as she finally looked up. “Is there anything you think I can and would help you with?”
REFERENCE HERE
❝ — lorelei stepped back hastily. “oh– i’m sorry,” she apologized. she’d just been so curious. “i’m sure you have people come up and bother you all the time,” she started, staying what she hoped was a safe distance away. “but i just have to say that’s incredible. you’re very talented.”
“god dammit,” henna huffs, straining on her tip toes to reach the box of cinnamon toast crunch that she’s been craving all week. “fucking– oh !” she gasps loudly as her balance shifts, flailing hand knocking over not one, not two, but nearly a dozen different boxes of cereals. her eyes hurriedly search the aisle to see if anyone had witnessed the mess she’d made, groaning when she saw someone at the other end. “i..uh…it’s not what it looks like ?” she can only imagine the expressions that her dad would have made had he witnessed her fumble like this. “i swear, they just…fell.”
❝ — lorelei jumped when the boxes came tumbling down. she hadn’t seen what happened, but she’d been in the other girl’s shoes before. so, with a sympathetic smile, she left her cart and walked over to help. “i’m sure they did. cereal boxes are known to leap off of shelves and attack,” she joked, a bright twinkle in her eye. she started stacking the boxes methodically, trying to shelve them exactly how they would have been previously.
soft laughter bubbles from slightly parted lips the longer she watches cam struggle with the stain stick. she knows that she should offer her assistance, and she will – after watching him fumble around for a little while longer. minutes pass before she finally steps up, tapping her fingers along her old friend’s shoulder. “need a hand, brainless ?” it’s a teasing jest. the joke is written all over her expression, pale green hues sparkling with mischief. “have no fear, your fairy mom-friend is here.” she throws up jazz hands, winking in absolute amusement.
❝ — i’d be offended,” cam began, only glancing up at henna briefly, “but i’m too determined. this stain is my everest, baby, and i’m gonna climb it.” he cracked a grin at her jazz hands and shook his head. “put on some music or something.” he suggested, looking up again with his signature charming cam grin. “i’m sure the poor bastard is in the back won’t mind. and uh–” he looked at the offending stain, “it looks like we could be a while.” he assessed the stain, and the dry-as-a-bone stain stick, and then henna before he groaned in defeat. “i’ve been bested. i couldn’t climb everest,” he whined (wow, seven whole minutes of effort.) “help,” he pleaded, lip quivering playfully and pathetically.
— AT the sight of the sleeping pup, her mauve tinted lips immediately turned into a pout in awe. “that could, indeed, be a thing. but it probably shouldn’t be for me,” releasing the dogs of her grip, allowing them to run around, “i honestly can’t even keep plants alive so i would not even dare adopt a dog,” she admitted, walking over to the other, petting the napping pet in his cradle, “right little guy?”
❝ — cam sighed forlornly at her logic. she was right — he was not a responsible adult capable of caring for another living thing. though he’d try with all his might, the fear of letting the little pup down was too great. “yeah...” he mumbled. with a tsk of his tongue, he fixed reigne with a look. “if you have to be logical about it.” despite his words, however, he still did not put the puppy down.
calisto was a college student. bartending was a pretty sweet gig but it didn’t afford her an apartment with a washing machine. admittedly, the place she rented was on the older side. gods only knew if you could hook one up in there – and she was no child of hephaestus. she was minding her own business, an earbud in one ear while she half listened to her surroundings in case. she was close enough to catch the other’s mutterings, glancing over at his predicament.
“maybe it’s not the product’s fault. y’know… long-lasting, smudge-proof make up is all the rage right now.”
❝ — cam looked down at the offending stain and then up at the girl who offered her advice. “yeah, well, they seem to be doing a damn good job with the stuff.” the girl he’d been dancing with at a bar a few nights prior had gotten a bit close and left behind some of her makeup in the process. “dunno how people who wear makeup are able to avoid getting it on their clothes.” he wasn’t very well-versed in makeup, but he did know there were products out there that were specifically designed to get rid of it. “do you think like...a makeup remover would do any better? they make those, right?”
“Eros. Cupid to Romans. Are their any wings hidden on you? I’d ask if it was a love connections but if your staring is any indication of your ‘game’ so to speak, I think I have my answer there.” She mused, a smile playing on her lips as she teased this stranger. Had Millie told anyone growing up, maybe other than Eduardo, who exactly her father was, they would have had her committed. Prudence, her mother, had never wanted to speak of Apollo other than telling her the truth of it all at thirteen. She never pushed her to. “Do you ever think about it? How insane it all is to be so frivolous with information nowhere else in this world would believe?” She expressed her thoughts out loud, wondering if this stranger had the same sort of thoughts. Forcing herself back to the matter at hand, Millie began to bring the cards back to her. “Stack the cards to bring up The Tower, you say?” she teased him as she shuffled her cards expertly. “What do you want to know? General future? A specific question?”
❝ — no wings to speak of,” cam glanced over his shoulder, as if looking for wings and clicked his tongue. “hey–” he began, holding up a defensive finger. he could barely fight back a grin. “it’s not my fault you were over here doing–” he wiggled his fingers, “tarot-y stuff. that wasn’t my smoothest moment, but i’ve got the eros charm. it just–” he waved a hand dismissively, “–comes and goes.” cam’s face broke out into an infectious grin. he used his charms to be more personable than anything. he never thought much about eros. he’d only met the god once, and he didn’t spend a lot of time tapping into his abilities. rather than explain all of that, cam just shrugged with an easy grin. “guess it’s easier now that we’re here.” his gaze flickered back to the cards briefly before landing on millie again. he hadn’t thought about that — what did he want to know? immediately, his head filled with thoughts of his childhood best friend and crush — did they ever feel the same? did he make a mistake distancing himself from them? he swallowed and flashed a lopsided smile. “just general future, i guess,” he answered with a chuckle. “don’t really have anything specific.”
“Capitalism at it’s finest. Their marketing team played you like a sucker,” Noel teased the man as he watched him use his stain remover. Those stain removers seemed like such a great idea if they actually worked that is. “That’s my lame super power, knowing really great stain remover brands. Just protecting the innocent, one stain at a time.” He couldn’t help the chuckle at the other’s antics as he placed the bottle back by his own things. “Noel Thompson,” he introduced himself. “What brings you to the laundry mat at what? 3 am?”
❝ — well it’s not that hard,” cam mused with a chuckle. “i buy into this shit too easily. you know that um...that thing that peels hard-boiled eggs instantly? i have that.” he frowned then and shook his head. he didn’t even really like eggs, but he was drunk one night and well... bringing his attention away from his buyer’s remorse and back to his knight in shining, stain-free armor, cam grinned and held out his hand for the other to shake. “cam costilla; nice to meet you, noel.” the machine behind him buzzed, indicating that his first load was done in the washer. “well, my washer decided to crap out on me mid-cycle. nothing like lugging a load of soapy clothes down the street at 3am.” he started to move his things from the washer and into the adjacent dryer. “what about you?”
The guy had a sense of humor, he liked that. Surrounding himself with friendly and playful people were something that always brightened up his day. The fact that he joked about what happened, got him some points with Edu, and he was now seeing him as a potential friend, “I will, next time, a ball could end up hitting two pairs of balls instead, if you know what I mean,” he crinkled his nose, his tone of voice was playful, as he was simply teasing the other, but it was something that could happen. He smiled as he watched his new potential friend interacting with his boy, clearly the dog was as excited as the demi god was, “He likes you,” he smiled at him, that was a good sign, his dog could often tell when someone wasn’t nice. So when he barked at someone, Edu got suspicious, “My name is Eduardo, and his name is Clark, it’s nice meeting you, Cameron,”
❝ — cam grimaced at the very idea and huffed out a laugh. “yeah, thank the gods you threw high, buddy,” he agreed. cam had always been a dog person — though his lack of sound judgment and general irresponsibility made him better suited as a doggy godfather or uncle. the kind of relationship where he dog sat for a day and then dropped the pooch back with their owner. “i like him,” cam said with a beaming smile, “he’s a good boy — yes you are! yes, i’m talking about you.” finally deciding that he’d perhaps lost enough of his dignity (he had some left?) he rose to his feet and dusted off his jeans. “nice to meet you too — both of you. so how long have you had him?”
Due to both his powers and his boxing training, not to mention other fighting training, his reflexes were amazing. He would have been able to catch it too, perks about having a great reflex like his, “Yeah, definitely, otherwise the ball would have hit your face, and would probably be painful,” he crinkled his nose, wouldn’t be hard enough to break his nose, but no one liked to have a ball hit their face, “Sure, he is very friendly, and lets pretty much everyone pet him,” he didn’t even need to train him for that, as he always had been like, since the first day that adopted him, he always let everyone pet him. He loved the attention and being pet, but he couldn’t blame him, he loved when Hero stroked his hair, so why would his dog not like it?
❝ — it definitely wouldn’t have tickled,” cam agreed with a chuckle. he gently tossed the ball back to its owner. “think that’s my good luck for the day. remind me to always look both ways before i cross the street for the rest of the day.” when given the okay to pet, cam immediately knelt down on the ground (clothes be damned) and patted his thighs. “hi! hello! who’s a good boy!” he greeted the dog, voice now higher pitched and squeaky. dignity? shame? what’s that, he doesn’t know them; not when there’s a dog around. “i’m cameron, by the way,” he greeted, this time in his normal voice. “and who are you?? yes, what’s your name?” he switched back to the squeaky voice, attention once again focused on the dog.
Preferring the quietness that came during the late hours at the laundry mat, Noel was perched one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs as he read while his clothes turned. His attention was drawn to someone a little ways from him, fighting with a stain stick. The amusement this brought him was almost too great. “Shake it again, I’m sure that’ll work,” he called from over his book with a grin on his face. After a few moments, Noel set the novel aside and grabbed his own stain remover. “Here,” he spoke as he approached, holding the bottle out in camaraderie.
❝ — cam glanced up at the source of the voice, sarcastic remark at the ready, when a (much better) stain remover was offered to him. “oh shit, thanks, man!” cam said, flashing a thankful smile. “i’ll have to make a mental note to never use this thing again–” he stuffed the stain stick in his pocket. “i feel like i got ripped off...” he grumbled, as if it wasn’t $7 for a 3-pack. “anyways, you're a saint among sinners, my friend, with really good taste in stain remover.” he could tell it was already breaking down the lipstick stain, and a quick wash would do the trick. “here ya go,” cam handed back the stain remover and put a hand over his chest, somewhat dramatically. his thankful smile turned playful as he joked, “my hero, i owe you one.”
It dawned on her as she watched his sheepish expression that he didn’t seem to be silently judging. “Oh,” her voice was soft as she felt her cheeks warm in embarrassment. “It’s alright. I just – I felt someone staring and was confused as to why.” It hadn’t registered that many people might not be used to seeing a tarot spread in the middle of a coffee shop. Gesturing to the seat in front of her in a silent invitation as she took a sip of her tea. Studying the cards for a moment, she hummed before flipping the top card to finish. “Tarot has always been a natural talent of mine. Child of Apollo and all that.” Generally, that was all she had to say around Icaria and most took it at face value. She just hoped she wouldn’t have to divulge more. “I can do a reading for you, if you’d like.”
❝ — his eyes lit up and he sat down eagerly, excitedly calmly. “right, gotcha. that makes sense.” he paused and pointed to himself with a soft chuckle. “eros,” he began, “tarot doesn’t really come with the territory.” one would think he’d be a love expert but, well– he took a sip of his coffee. at her offer, his eyes widened. “like, right now? you can do that?” he considered, staring thoughtfully at the spread of cards. on one hand, it’d be really cool to get a reading. on the other, she could probably get really accurate messages...and could see what a disaster he is. “okay, but if The Tower comes up i was never here,” he joked, flashing a lopsided grin.
( ISKRA LAWRENCE, CIS FEMALE, SHE/HER ) ⌇ have you seen LORELEI MOORE around icaria? they are the 26 year old child of PERSEPHONE. they remind me of THE FIRST WARM DAY OF SPRING, LAVENDER SWAYING IN THE BREEZE, A YELLOW RAINCOAT ON A RAINY DAY.
lorelei never knew her birth father. he was young, from what her adoptive parents told her. in his twenties, not yet ready to be a dad. he never suspected that his brief time with the goddess of spring would leave him with a child to care for.
she only met her birth mother a few times — nothing more than a exchange on a couple of her birthdays, and however pleasant they were, it wasn’t much.
her adoptive parents were her real parents. they were the only consistent family she’s ever known — her mom, nora; her dad, luis; her brother, christopher; her sister, ophelia.
nora and luis weren’t high school sweethearts, or childhood best friends. they both found one another after each having gone through divorces from their first spouses. chris, the eldest, was the ring bearer at their wedding (at 6, he was barely old enough not to stick the ring in his mouth or nose.)
they tried to get pregnant for many years, but were unsuccessful. they went to fertility clinics, tried every trick everyone ever tells you, and had no child to show for it.
with nothing but love and hope in their hearts, they began the adoption process. that’s when they met lorelei, a five year old girl with a kind soul and bad luck with foster homes.
she spent the first four years of her life with the kline family, who were unable to continue caring for her when mrs. kline fell ill. and then she moved in with the farley family — they weren’t mean, but they yelled a lot, and their son who was older than her got a lot of joy out of making her cry.
thankfully, both luis and nora fell in love with her and young lorelei found herself in what would eventually feel like home.
it was strange at first, and she often wondered if she’d have to leave there too. especially when nora became pregnant mere months later.
“it always happens when you stop trying!”
“two kids in less than a year; you must be busy.”
“guess you didn’t have to adopt after all!” people said.
lorelei spent what felt like the eternity of nora’s pregnancy hoping that she wouldn’t have to leave. but when little ophelia was born, and nora and luis invited lorelei to “come say hi to your little sister”, she knew she was here to stay.
lorelei’s childhood was normal after that. the moore family lived in a backwoods town in pennsylvania — surrounded by trees, farms, and more plants than lorelei could ever dream. it was here that her powers started to manifest; suitably a surprise for all involved. fields would bloom in her wake; and likewise, crops would wither behind her. she either had the best green thumb, or killed every plant she touched (like many others, her powers seemed heavily influenced by mood.)
it was an adjustment, to say the least. it was thanks to the help of persephone when she visited on lorelei’s ninth birthday. with her guidance, they all grew used to little lorelei’s abilities.
she was a shy child (a fact that surprises people when they meet her now) but sometimes the world was just too much. hyper-sensitive, young demigod lorelei felt things more extremely than others, and so she started picking up isolation techniques.
her favorite was hiding, while still being able to observe. she didn’t want to be completely away from the world, just hidden in the shadows. she’d sit under a weeping willow along a busy town road and watch the world pass by for hours. now she often sits on park benches with noise canceling headphones, watching the world go by without feeling overwhelmed.
she’d enjoy her alone time with a sketch pad or journal; she’d scribble the hours of the day away until her parents or christopher called for her to come back inside.
overall she had a happy childhood, once she settled with her family. she was never popular in school, though that was perhaps a reality of her own making. she often befriended the people others wouldn’t and, when told that she would be “cool if she didn’t hang out with such losers” lorelei quickly stood up for her friends and told those classmates exactly what she thought of them.
never afraid to speak her mind in the face of injustice, her morals were as high as her judgement.
she became something of a self-proclaimed friend to the lonely, despondent, isolated.
many of them proved to be fantastic friends, wrongly misjudged by their peers. unfortunately, a select few proved to be emotionally manipulative and toxic — the most notable of the latter being her ex-boyfriend.
their year of dating left her insecure, shattered, and fearful. she prefers not to discuss it in detail, even now. it was only through the support of her family (even if they remained unaware of what was even going on) and their fresh start in another country that helped her to recover.
helsinki, finland became their home when lorelei was just 17. it was a new beginning, even if she hadn’t recognized it at the time. and the picturesque, european architecture would serve as the backdrop for her later teen, college, and young adult years.
despite her anxieties of starting college somewhere new, with no friends in the area, lorelei thrived. she pursued writing, and came to love her craft. she also tried to minor in illustration, but after two years came to realize that she preferred it as something done on her own time, than as an assignment.
her confidence blossomed, as did her powers. although she still had her moments of weakness, lorelei’s control over her abilities made her quite the local botanist. she’d spend her afternoons between classes tending to helsinki’s parks, plants and trees. springs became more beautiful every year, summers became richer; and during fall and winter, lorelei’s apartment bloomed with all of the plants that wouldn’t survive the cold.
a sweet soul, has that “old soul” vibe
big pisces energy
doesn’t trust love and fears intimacy (physical and not) after her terrible relationship
adopted
her family is her family
but does sometimes wonder what her birth dad is like...
is a lucky demigod to have met her birth mom
loves her siblings very much
christopher is 3 years older than her, ophelia is 5 years younger
ophelia is high energy and reckless
christopher is super serious and responsible
she’s somewhere in the middle
her parents never worried much about her
she kind of had most stuff handled
or she hid it VERY well
none of them knew she went through a toxic relationship
had some body image issues growing up
is trying to learn to love her body
had the biggest collection of stuffed animals as a kid. her mom definitely has more than 1 photo of her sitting in a pile of plushies
soft but strong??
shares persephone’s dichotomy of spring goddess/queen of hell
is actually p good at being emotionally vulnerable
feels things very intensely
wears glasses (even tho iskra doesn’t but let’s just imagine-)
works as a writer!
wants to write a book but pays the bills by writing for an online magazine
more sarcastic than she seems at face value
she has to be comfortable with you to show that side of her
people are surprised she swears
stronger than she looks
𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬
FAMILY — unknown birth father (would be around 48-52), older brother christopher (29-30) and younger sister ophelia (20-21). either could be demigods, technically. chris is nora’s son, with an unnamed father. and ophelia was thought to be the only full child of nora and luis, but maybe there was some divine intervention with nora’s miracle pregnancy, if you will.
FRIENDS — lorelei is a wonderful friend, so these are a must! she’s from helsinki, but lived in the north eastern US prior to that. she works as a writer (remotely) and is often finding different places around town to write. she frequents stores, coffee shops, anywhere that lets her sit and focus on her work. i’d love for her to have a core group of friends that she can rely on (she’s got big mom friend energy)
ROMANCE — not impossible, but certainly difficult. lorelei has been closed off to love and intimacy since her teens, after a severely toxic relationship. but she wants to be in love. the idea of it is very appealing, and while she’s attempted to date or try putting herself out there again, when faced with the opportunity she gets scared and backs out. there’d have to be a lot of trust and patience from both parties, but it’s definitely something i’d love for her! all genders welcome
ENEMIES — it’s not entirely difficult to make an enemy of lorelei... though she isn’t antagonistic, she does become intolerable of people who push her buttons. it borders on rude at times, if she feels she’s been pushed far enough. generally they’d have to be rude to someone, talk down to her, treat her like she’s stupid, etc. she’s also capable of changing her opinion of people! so the “enemies to friends” trope is an option
❝ — college students and weirdos did laundry at night. cam graduated college long ago, so he supposed he fell into the latter category. or perhaps there could be a new category: people whose washers broke mid-wash cycle. and so, there he stood. dressed in his pajamas, standing in front of a tumbling washer with a stain stick — hyper-focused on the makeup smudge on the collar. the stick seemed to be doing nothing, and so he shook his (perhaps a bit violently.)
“this is not working like the commercial said it would. i feel lied to.”
The feel of thick card stock under her finger tips felt like home to her. Icaria had been a great place from the very beginning, but it wasn’t home. Not what she was used to anymore. These painted cards, ones that she had painstakingly created for her own use, were the closest thing she had to her childhood these days. Days like today, where weariness had overcome her, Millie often found herself delicately looking through them. Sitting in the cafe in town, Millicent was giving herself a tarot reading. Just a fun thing to do on a dreary afternoon. Lost in her own translation, Millie found herself looking up from the spread and raised an eyebrow as she glanced around. Unable to shake the feeling of being watched.
❝ — cam had been watching, because how could he not? he’d never seen someone do a tarot reading before, though the concept always interested him. he’d seen some videos online (he spent much of his college education falling down the video streaming rabbit hole. one recommended video after the next. tuition money well spent) but beyond that knew little to nothing. he at least had the decency to look sheepish when he was caught staring. “sorry,” he began, leaning slightly forward in interest. “it’s just kinda cool. and i’ve never seen someone do a reading in person.” he turned, thanking the barista with a charming smile when he took his coffee. “i barely read books,” he continued, “let alone read tarot.”
( open / loc: lots of love / cc: @icariastarters )
— CROSS legged on the floor with three pups on her lap and another in her arm, reigne reached out for yet another that was running past her, an unconcealed beatific expression evident, “is there a legal limit to how many pets you can have? i just want to take them all home,” her voice a tone higher from adoring the dogs.
❝ — i don’t know, but i’m stealing this one,” cam said, cradling the sleepy puppy close to his chest. it was a bad idea for him to be here — he knew it, the volunteers knew it, the puppies knew it — and yet, he couldn’t resist. (not that he really tried.) “you could just be one of those pet people...like the ones who have six dogs. that’s a thing, right?”
