how does your character normally deal with confrontation?
jemma deals with confrontation very.. confrontationally. she doesn’t shy away from it, and she will often initiate it. and i honestly pity the poor fool that tries to confront her because she can and will turn on the big green monster and basically become the hulk. but her anger is a very childish anger, she’s never been shown how to deal with in a mature way so she just lashes out and says things that she doesn’t mean to cause the most hurt that she can in the moment.
is your character more likely to admire wisdom or ambition in others?
ambition, she believes very strongly in that actions speak louder than words.
how does your character behave around people they dislike?
it depends on just how much she dislikes them, but.. jemma is not one to conceal her feelings. after an entire childhood of keeping her thoughts and emotions to herself to placate the feelings of those around her, she doesn’t have the patience to do so anymore. if jemma barclay doesn’t like you, you sure as hell will know it.
what is your character’s biggest relationship flaw? has this flaw destroyed relationships for them before?
jemma’s biggest relationship flaw is that she has an intense emotional imbalance within her. girlie needs therapy literally as soon as possible. yesterday, even. case in point with her family: she loves them deeply, but shuts them out in her envy. when she’s not with them, she worries for them but doesn’t reach out to express as much or to check up on them, and wishes that she was closer with them like she used to be. but when she is with them, she can come across as hostile or dismissive, and tries not to give in to any of their coercing because she thinks that if she goes back to spending time with them, all of her time away would be seen as stupid, childish, or that her feelings of being left out would be belittled. and because she’s embarrassed of the possibility, she’s even more intense about her self exile from her family. she’s just too prideful, and she has no control over her emotions but she clings to them even when, especially when, she knows she’s being irrational.
on an average day, what can be found in your character’s pockets?
her phone, chapstick, a pocketknife, a leather wallet with her id and cards in it (+ a cute little polaroid of her and jacob behind her id)
unfortunate timing it was she happened to need something from the front of the office and then someone also needed something and of course they were out for lunch (which she made a mental note to next time follow suit even if she wasn’t hungry), of course they were. ❛ ❛ not in the front. ❜ ❜ for reasons like this and a main reason she was placed in the back of the office, preferring to work behind the scenes, avoiding all human contact and she was pretty content with the silence of that. ❛ ❛ so technically, my ‘responsibility’ doesn’t lie with people. ❜ ❜
“ah, right, right..” leopold gave a nod in understanding, but really, he couldn’t imagine someone who was severely lacking people skills working in an office where people were usually the subject of interest. “no ‘one team, one dream’ philosophy here, then? at least not one that you uphold, clearly.” with a slight pause, he went on to ask, “where’s andrew? or anyone who is actually in the business of actually helping out?”
“…yeah, maybe that would be a good idea. is there anything…” he trailed off, considering his options. “…i don’t know, less complicated?” not to mention the cost of it all. he could only imagine how much the phone in his hand was worth. and how big of a dent that would put in the pittance he held in his wallet. giving the screen a tentative tap, he was almost surprised to find that leo was right. no keypad in sight, the screen responded to his fingerprint. an app, unfamiliar, opened. “what’s GRINDR?” he asked, pointing the screen over at him.
“not really,” leo was quick to admit without much thought, “i’m sure there are still flip phones out there, but.. as an adult, you’re definitely going to want one of the smart phones. you’ll be prone to some relentless bullying if not. kids these days are ruthless, you know.” there was a laugh to accompany his last statement of the bitter truth, though it was cut short by an app he hadn’t expected to be opened showing up on the screen. well. “oh, that’s.. to be honest, it was downloaded by my youngest sibling as a joke, but. well, it’s just an app for guys in the area to find other.. guys in the area who might be mutually into them. if that makes sense.” he hadn’t realized just how bizarre it would be to try to explain dating apps to someone who had no idea what they were, but he made a mental note to delete the app later, since he’d never opened it in the first place.
with the supplies courtesy of lourdes, adhelina made quick work of getting a bonfire started in the name of s’mores. it was times such as this, an impromptu get together at the lake with so many of the town coming together for food, drinks, and fun, that reminded her of why she didn’t have the heart to leave town when the mess surrounding the carnival happened. even though the tragedy that wracked such a close knit town, they’d come through it even stronger, and it gave her hope for the cullen’s future in the town.
addie had just finished constructing a s’more, smooshing the marshmallow flat between the two graham crackers until the chocolate was dripping over the sides, when someone approached. offering them a grin, she’d held out the s’more with a wiggle of her eyebrows. “want one? i promise my hands are clean, i came for s’mores and nothing else. haven’t even been in the lake, yet,” she promised.
Katya had practically skipped the whole way to the lake, the idea of having a get together and swim too good for her to pass up on. She had set up a little bar area on the edge of the lake, drinks for all and a cooler with treats just in case, for a moment she battled with her hair before twisting it up into space buns, humming to herself as she worked. The vampire had been attempting to eat one of the ice creams from said cooler while doing so but it had ended up mostly melting while she was distracted, her full spoon almost dripping down her causing her to swear under her breath before speaking out loud,
“Okay, who do I gotta shower in kisses for a cooling spell?! At least for the ice cream?”
leopold had made it a personal mission of his to keep an eye on the townfolk, and if that included going to some little impromptu party on the lake, then so be it. he’d drug along his siblings with him so they could have a good time, as well, but.. it was really out of his protective nature, to keep them close enough to make sure they were safe and staying out of trouble. one of his favorite past times outside of being overbearingly protective over his siblings, though, was bothering one of his favorite vampires in town.. katya.
at her offer, he couldn’t help but let out a laugh and shake his head at her. “you know, if i knew a l l it’d take was a cooling spell for a kiss, i would’ve done it for you a long time ago,” he teased, and while he actually considered it for a moment, leo continued a moment later, “but.. i won’t. it is pretty funny to watch you try and eat ice cream as quickly as you can.”
The library was quiet today and Lydia took a reprieve to read. Or she tried to, really, as she constantly kept getting distracted by her racing thoughts. The urge to reach out to Leighton was ever present but there was also the whole situation with Blue and Fionn that wouldn’t leave her alone. All she could think of was what was going on with her brother mixed in with what was going on with her and Leighton. Sighing, she closed her book just as the door to the library opened.
An instant grin formed on her features at the sight of Uriah and she stood to greet him. She looked worse for wear, honestly, and she smoothed down her shirt with nervous hands as she rounded the desk to meet her friend. “Hey!” She was so excited to see him but one couldn’t ignore the heavy bags beneath her eyes.
Uriah had been a regular of the library before Lydia had begun working here and they had gone out of their way to make Lydia feel welcome when she began. Plus, as far as Lydia knew, they were perfectly human and she got no weird vibes from them on the supernatural front. So Lydia had deemed him safe to be around which, in a town that harbored more supernatural than humans, was nice. @maundcr
uriah was a frequent fixture in the local library, always finding the spot a nice, quiet place to get away from the rest of the town’s happenings. and after the accident, he’d come to think of it as a safe haven when his parents would urge him to get out of the house and not isolate so much, not realizing that he would just.. bike to the library and hole up in the corner with headphones on so that no one would bother him. it wasn’t without interaction completely, though, and he’d struck up some friendships with the librarians of the place. the newest one being lydia, someone he was quite looking forward to seeing when entering the place that day.
a slight squint of his eyes came with the closing proximity between them, noting that despite the enthusiastic greeting there was something decidedly off with her. in so many years of largely keeping to himself, uriah had come to watch people more often than not and it’d made him keenly observant to any changes with those around him. including lydia, even in the short amount of time they’d known one another.
“what’s with this?” tugging the pencil from his hair, uriah quirked a brow along with the motion of swiping the eraser gently across the skin underneath his eyes. the pencil was generally for use with the worn leather journal grasped in his other hand at his side, for lyric writing or whatever thoughts would come to mind that uriah knew needed to be jot down before he’d forget them.
❛ bite me. was trying to give you the benefit of the doubt & hope that you conjured some braincells. obviously that wasn’t the case. ❜ sneers with a particularly unimpressed frown. shoulder bag is slipped carefully from it’s perch, as they motion for her to follow along. settling at a nearly rotted through table, araceli sets a handful of bundles atop the abandoned bit of wood. ❛ how many grams you lookin’ to get, ya’ brat. i’m willing to settle for fifty for two grams. ❜
jemma was sure that her eye just twitched in her irritation at the other, fingers digging into her skin where they were clenched into fists with her arms crossed. she tried to choose peace by not responding, simply following them in the direction of the table without taking a seat because she was still not all too comfortable in their presence. however... “it’s a surprise to me that you even have customers if you just sit there and insult them the entire time,” jemma snapped when araceli called her a brat, voice raised in her frustration, “or is it just me? are you just a fucking bitch when i’m around, or what? what is it? i’d love to know.”
adhelina. she shared a name with his mother. or perhaps … could she be his mother? the smile on kendall’s face firmly remained in place, but a wave of nerves and anxiety washed over him. the question sat on the tip of his tongue as the introductions continued then remained stuck there when silence fell between them. kendall’s curiosity was piqued, at an all time high in fact. he wanted to know and hear the answer for himself, whatever it may be. however, there was no way of wording the inquiry that didn’t sound unbelievably forward. not to mention the venue. a public space hardly seemed like the best place to ask or answer such a query. another concern - albeit one on the smaller side - was what if he was wrong? even though the embarrassment would eventually fade, it would be absolutely be enough to keep him from showing his face around valley steakhouse for awhile.
her question snapped kendall out of his thoughts and he couldn’t help but match the lively smile on adhelina’s face. “ladies first,” he answered, proud that his curiosity hadn’t sent the question rushing out at the first opportunity. he could do his best to focus on the game and wait a little longer.
although there were no visible cues indicating anything being off, adhelina noted the silence that’d fallen between them following their introductions. it wasn’t a fairly long silence, but one that’d lasted just a beat too long, enough to cause a slight furrow of her brows. adhelina was never one to judge another based off of first introductions, and if her acquaintanceship with leighton rainford was anything to go by, the slightest thing would pique her interest. a people person through and through, addie always believed the best in others and always found herself wanting to dig deeper to figure them out.
a little laugh, and she nodded in acceptance of his gentlemanly offer of ladies first to allow her the opportunity to break. “thank you kindly,” she said, a smile playing at her lips as she maneuvered to one end of the table to start out their game.
“so what brings you to ashwick? forgive me for just.. assuming that you’re new to the area,” adhelina began, gaze wandering to him before she returned to setting up her shot. “it’s sort of a small town, so it’s not hard to recognize an outsider when you see one. have you been here long?”
Old flames, yes, but that didn’t always mean the candle was completely snuffed out. There was a calmness in her, though, when Addie approached. Because despite how they left things, it was still always good to see her. “I have, thank you,” Ardemis responded in greeting, seeming relaxed in the atmosphere of the park and the people that surrounded them. A stark contrast to how she had felt during the office party she had attended with Jaesun for work a few days ago. “I admit, I prefer this variety of social gatherings to work parties,” she explained in earnest, smiling in amusement.
Then the smile turned warm again as she studied Adhelina. “How are you, Addie?” Arde asked in wonder, understanding the other had been busy. To be fair, she had been too. That was just how they found themselves in modern times. “How has your family and work been?” For a moment, her gaze nonchalantly drifted past Addie, as if wondering if her spouse and adopted children would be in view anywhere.
a quirk of her brow, and she just had to inquire further. “work parties?” she asked, returning ardemis’ smile with one of her own in eager anticipation of hearing whatever story would come of it.
“i’ve been well.. just thankful that things have calmed down as of late,” adhelina said with a small smile, taking a pause before continuing with a confession, “for a minute there, i considered packing up my family and leaving town. with the deaths that happened, i didn’t want my family to be in any danger, but.. ashwick has been a wonderful home to us so far, i would’ve hated to leave it.” addie knew there was no shame in admitting that she almost left the town behind, but there was a slight twinge of guilt in that if they had truly left, she would’ve also been leaving ardemis behind like she’d done all of those years ago.
clearing her throat, she then returned the question to the other, “and you? how’ve you been?”
Danny blinked in wonder at the groan. “Is… is that bad?” he asked quietly, pursing his lips together like a worried duck as if trying to do something to busy himself. “Star chart?” the witch echoed, furrowing his brow before realization hit him. “Oh! Ah, actually no. Just that one. I– should I know the entire thing? Is it important?” Danny inquired like he was genuinely curious. But the finger held in the air made him stop talking for a few moments, and he began contemplating that ever important question since he was sitting at the bar counter of a bar.
“Um… probably something simple. Like… a hurricane or something?” He didn’t have much of a tolerance. That, or he didn’t like the taste of most of the stuff. So he normally went with the weaker stuff, or just ones that could be hidden by fruity tastes.
a squint of her eyes at his question, and she had to try really hard not to be offended that he thought she looked like someone who actually knew the answer to that question. “i don’t know, and i don’t really care. i was just teasing you,” she answered honestly. and while jemma wasn’t all too surprised by the basic drink choice, she also couldn’t deny that it was indeed a delicious drink.
“no, no. it’s all stupid shit, there’s no need to know where sagittarius or pluto were when you were born. people just like to act like they have no responsibility over their words or actions ‘cause they’re a fucking gemini or something,” jemma ranted over it as she put together his drink, shaking the different ingredients together before pouring it, topping it with more ice.. and finishing it off with a mini umbrella, of course. sliding the drink across the counter to him, she gave a sly sort of smile. “do you take responsibility over your words and actions, or do you always introduce yourself as a pisces?”
“oh.” june nodded along to jemma’s words, understanding dawning on her. “sounds like julian has made it a habit of nagging us all about spending time together then. he keeps telling me I work too much.” there was a slight roll of green eyes before jemma’s words registered in her brain. she wanted to smile, fully smile, but she knew jemma spooked easily nowadays. so she clenched her teeth, letting only a sliver of a smile show.
jemma’s sudden volume raise startled june, her wolf ears far more sensitive than her sister’s. while jemma wasn’t exactly shouting, it wasn’t exactly comfortable either. “I–uh…” she paused, trying to gather her thoughts. “no reason. just thought maybe I could meet some of them. officially. not just from afar.”
a contemplative hum, and jemma took her answer with a nod despite her initial skepticism. “alright, i guess. julian is always nagging everyone.. but at least he’s better than dad,” and she let out a slight chuckle, knowing that june would relate to the truth of the statement.
jemma, noting june’s startled reaction to her yelling, couldn’t help but roll her eyes in response and.. couldn’t help but think about just how similar the two were as far as their mannerisms were concerned. “sorry, i guess i should’ve howled for their echolocation or whatever to be easier on your ears,” she gave a pout of her lips after the quip, leaning against the counter and tapping her fingers rhythmically against it. “but i’m sure you’ll run into them eventually if you keep showing up here. you just happened to be lucky enough to run into me this time, so… yay you,” jemma lifted a hand for an unenthused wiggle of her fingers.
open / closed starter: @ashwickstarters.
location: anywhere.
❛ ❛ hmmm, how about no ? ❜ ❜ it’s a sharp response to a simple question being asked of them. they consider it only momentarily before propping their feet up on the coffee table. ❛ ❛ if you need to be redirected to the ‘i give a fuck’ section, it’s three feet to your right. away from me if you didn’t catch it. ❜ ❜
leopold was stumped. his features gave away as much, the furrowing of his brows and the multiple blinks that came in the silence after her dismissal of his presence. with a glance around the office, one of local pack alpha andrew li for his day job as a private investigator, he glanced back to her with a click of his tongue against his teeth. “don’t you work here? isn’t it entirely your responsibility to.. i don’t know, help out?” he had to remind himself not to lose his temper, not when he was there to do some much needed digging.
stormborns
germansingergirl