Skuld

Skuld Norse Goddess of Fate Youngest of the Norn Owner of For the Fairest

[mpx-susanoo]

sleepover party went wrong

[mp-skuld]

(...)  “Skuld, dear, come and see this,” he called his friend, inherent curiosity with a pinch of uncharacteristic caution plagued his voice. In the blinding white snow, some black creatures were roaming, enormous and faceless and promising no good news. “Have you ever seen those things before?”

If anyone were to ask her why she had the friends she did, Skuld would be quick to claim she had no idea, but the truth is that the cockiness and bratty tendencies found in most of the people she adored were exactly the reason why she loved them so much. This kind of behaviour brings a spark into her otherwise sometimes dull life and the mouth they tend to have on them always brings her the greatest joy when she gets to respond to them with equal sass.

So she’s smiling, no matter the taunting that Susanoo is doing, and when he rolls over and gets off her lap, she follows him with her gaze, watching the way he walks over to the window. And then the atmosphere changes as he calls her over to look out the window as well, making her almost immediately rise to stand as well. She takes her own blanket with her towards the window, keeping it draped around her frame as she steps up beside her friend.

The sight of what is going on outside worries her, her gaze fixing solidly on the creatures as she wonders what on earth this means. She also wonders why she did not see this coming, and if perhaps she had, why the vision had not struck her as happening so soon. “I can’t say that I have,” she admits, reaching out to slip her arm into the crook of Susanoo’s elbow, holding him close. “I better text my children to make sure they’re safe inside.”

She reaches for her phone in her pocket to do exactly that, and only then spots the second message the council had sent out, frowning deeply as she reads it. Looks like she doesn’t have to caution her children, but she still types a quick text to each of them, including Ayden and Yeji, to make sure they were all fine.

“What do you think is going on?” She asks when she lifts her head again and turns to look at her friend. “One of the gods messing with the island? Or just the island itself acting up?”

[mp-skuld]

The first drink(s)

mpyeji​:

(...) For a second, she looked at her backpack, remembering her visit to the local licor store earlier that night, during her dinner break. She was old enough to be able to buy alcohol, yet it still felt incredibly awkward to do so. Being asked for ID was a normal procedure, but it made incredibly nervous. Now with the bottle right there, she was tempted to experiment, but felt insecure to do it alone. “Hum, maybe another time?”

If there’s one thing to be said about her parttimer, it’s that Skuld likes Yeji. She’s gentle, she’s kind and she’s sweet. That she is Ayden’s twin sister doesn’t necessarily influence her opinion of the girl, but the fact that she loves her brother as much as she does always makes Skuld feel a fond warmth as well. So when one of her visions shows her Yeji sitting at work late, by herself, with a bottle of alcohol on the table. Now, Skuld doesn’t think Yeji is the type to drink herself into a stupor, but if there is alcohol involved, she does get a little worried about what type of thoughts may be plaguing the girl.

And thus, after figuring out which evening exactly this vision would situate itself on, she had made sure to leave as intended when the time came, only to return after midnight and find herself a comfortable spot in the shop itself, rearranging some of the clothes and fixing up the front display window in order to make it more appealing for Valentine’s, as plenty people seemed interested in that.

It’s when she hears Yeji say that she’s done, that Skuld slowly rounds up her own work and then casually heads over towards the back. She’s just about in time to hear Yeji say something to herself in a quiet voice. Breathing out a soft smile at the sight of the girl surrounded by pins, needles and scraps of fabric - as well as a finished product - she steps into the room fully, not trying to hide herself in the slightest. “Another time what, dear?” Skuld questions as she sides up to the young girl, picking up the dress to hold it in front of herself and smile at the look of it. “That’s very shiny,” she comments, inspecting the stitches and the spaces she knows would make the most trouble. “But it looks like you did very well. Good job.”

[mp-skuld]

urgent care «

for @mpxhathor continued from here: 

“Ah yes, good morning to you too Skuld.” Hathor barely had a moment to pick her coffee up off her desk before the other goddess dragged her out of her office by the wrist. She followed obediently, what else was she to do when a goddess she admired greatly needed her urgently? “A few questions first though–” However, she wasn’t going to follow her blindly.

“Number one, where are we going? Number two, what is so urgent? And number three, what perfume are you wearing you smell amazing?”

Skuld isn’t afraid to continue dragging Hathor along with her, even if the goddess is talking even as they’re walking. The questions aren’t unexpected or unreasonable, of course. That is, until Hathor reaches the third one and it has Skuld briefly glancing back. The smile on her features is somewhat amused and somewhat incredulous at the same time. Still, her steps don’t falter as she leads Hathor along with her towards the exit of the building.

“One, somewhere where your skills are needed. Two, someone is going to murder someone else unless we intervene and considering I like this city free of such types of crime I’d like to prevent it. Three, I’m not wearing any perfume, it’s just my natural charm.” She casually winks at the other goddess after the last words, and then relaxes her hold a little when they make it to the streets of Mount Phoenix.

“We don’t have much time,” she allows for an explanation, “so please walk swiftly.” She lets her hand slide down from Hathor’s wrist so they can hold hands instead, and almost immediately the dragging is less dragging and more leading, even though she doesn’t slow her steps at all.

[mp-skuld]

daughter mine «

mpxesther​:

(...) “Oh!” Rather an awkward interaction already, she scolded herself inwardly. “Um, I’m Esther! I’m sorry. If I knew you would stop by or were here, my place wouldn’t be such a mess… Come in!”

When her daughter’s response seems rather subdued, Skuld briefly worries that her presence is not appreciated, but then Esther introduces herself and mentions her place looking like a mess and Skuld understands. People like to make a good impression usually, and being someone Esther wants to make a good impression on definitely feels nice, though it is quite unnecessary. No child of hers could make a bad impression unless they hurt other people for fun, perhaps.

“Oh, I will make sure to announce myself next time around,” she immediately reassures her daughter, though she’s quick to add: “But don’t worry, I am no under the impression that the state of a person’s living space reflects who they are. At least not in the way that a messy apartment will make me think badly of you.” She smiles warmly, then takes up the offer to come inside, crossing the threshold and pausing again once she’s far enough inside to allow the apartment door to close.

“I brought you something,” she says, reaching out the box towards her daughter first. “I wasn’t sure what you’d like, so if you’re no into it at all then you can let me know, no hard feelings. I just didn’t like the idea of showing up empty handed.” That and she enjoys making clothes for people, so even more so for her children. And though she could make a shirt or blouse for Felix, a dress is still something entirely different.

[mp-skuld]

[ txt ] ;-; skuld, are you okay? the snow scared me a little, but I am alright. i've never seen so much snow like this. i wonder how tall a snowmen could be if we used all of it!!

[ ✉ ] Hello dear, I am perfectly fine, don't worry about me. The snow took me by surprise as well but I'm at home with a friend, so we will be fine. Are you somewhere safe as well?

[ ✉ ] I'm sure the snowman would be really tall if we used all of this snow. It would probably reach above the protection spells over this island too and alert the mortals of our existence, so perhaps it's best if we don't try ^^

[mp-skuld]

❛  seems like we’re gonna be spending a lot of time together.  ❜

first meeting

No matter what anyone says, the roll of Skuld's eyes at those words is rooted in fondness, even if it looks more like she's just about ready to shove the Japanese god out of her personal space. Nothing is less true, of course, and when her hand lifts, it is merely to gently pinch Susanoo’s nose lightly.

“Looks like it,” she agrees easily, peering down at the way the Japanese god has draped himself against her side, sprawled against her in the way an excited dog would. In a way that reminds her very dearly of another friend of hers who had gone to live some of his life elsewhere for the time being.

“If that’s the case, though, you really are going to have to learn some basic manners, Sannie.” The nickname is made up on the spot, her smile widening at the ridiculous sound of it. “I really can’t have you interrupting my work all the time, I do make a living off of that, if you must know.”

[mp-skuld]

❛ YOU LOOK LIKE YOU COULD USE A HAND WITH THAT. ❜

firs meeting

The sound of Yeji's voice came as a nice surprise, Skuld's gaze lifting from the stitch she'd been trying to perfect for the last twenty minutes, but the fabric just wouldn't cooperate.

“You’d be right about that,” she admits, smiling warmly at the young girl who has been helping out in her store for a good while now and has proven herself to be someone Skuld can depend on. So she’s quick to turn properly to the young girl and lift the fabric in her hands a little.

“I’ve been trying to get this right but I just can’t seem to find the best stitch to make it look good. Do you have any ideas? Maybe I’ve just been staring at this for too long and therefore can no longer distinguish good from bad.”

[mp-skuld]

❛  you look like you could use a hand with that.  ❜

first meeting

It’s not strange for people to look at her and think she can’t handle herself, she knows this. It’s what she chose this form for, after all. To come across as less capable than she is. To come across looking fragile, tiny and in need of protection. Most days it works much better than she ever could have hoped for.

When at work, though, she doesn’t hold herself with that kind of daintiness. So when the words are spoken, she turns her head to look at the customer and immediately flashes the other woman an easy smile. “Oh, don’t worry about it, I’m all good,” she says, swishing out the dress she’s holding and then quickly slipping it onto a hanger.

She has to hold her arms all the way up over her head to keep the dress from touching the ground, but it requires less effort than it might look like. Once the dress is hanging temporarily aside, she turns back around to face the woman once more. “Can I help you with something or were you just looking around?” She asks brightly, her smile warm.

[mp-skuld]

fashion statement «

@mpxpythia 

“Darling,” Skuld drawls out with clear judgement. “The perfect dress takes time and dedication, I can’t just pull it out of thin air. If you wanted a dress in five seconds you should have gone and bought a ready-made one at the store. It would never fit you as well as this one will, though.”

Taking another pin from the pin cushion, she pins the fabric carefully together to let her know exactly how much she should alter it to fit her friend best. She takes a moment to really focus, in order not to stab anything into Pythia’s skin, going all the way down to the hem, before she straightens up again and glances over at the sight Pythia has of herself in the large mirror she’s in front of.

“What do you think?” She asks, standing up to walk around her friend and take it all in as she circles her, to make sure nothing else is out of place or falls wrongly. Then she lifts her head to meet Pythia’s gaze in the mirror again, immediately smiling. “Do you like it? Anything else you want me to change or add? Now’s the moment to tell me everything!”

[mp-skuld]

daughter mine «

@mpxesther 

When the vision first hit her, just a scant couple of weeks ago, Skuld had been ecstatic. It had taken only one look at the face of the girl in her vision to realise which one of her children exactly she’d seen before her, walking the bridge towards Mount Phoenix. Sadly, the vision had offered her no clarity on when exactly it would take place, and so Skuld had just been waiting ever since.

It’s that the council informed her of her daughter’s arrival or she still wouldn’t have known about it. As it is, she’s already experienced a second vision placing her and her daughter in the same room, which is really all she needs to know. With the box in hand sporting the dress she made for her daughter and the photo album of baby pictures under her other arm, she makes her way over to Esther’s apartment.

Ringing the bell takes some coordination, but once that’s done, she waits patiently for her daughter to open the door, excited to finally see her little girl in front of her again for the first time since she was but a babe, barely weaned. When the door does open, she immediately breaks out into a wide, warm smile.

“Hello dear,” she says warmly. “I hope I’m not disturbing you right now. My name is Skuld.”

[mp-skuld]

❛  do you come here often ?  ❜

first meeting

Skuld doesn’t bother looking up to check her surroundings, instead simply looking up to look at the girl talking to her. She takes her time taking her in, from the way she’s done up her hair to the way her clothes fit her body, all the way to where she can see from where she’s sitting. Then she lifts her gaze back up to meet that of the girl and smiles. It’s an indulgent smile, one that says that’s an overused line but I’ll let you have it.

“Occasionally,” she admits, giving a single nod of her head. “Whenever I’d like to get away from my usual haunts.” She doesn’t frequent this club much, after all, but she does venture in from time to time. It’s not something she’d tell her children about, but then Skuld is not her children, nor has she ever claimed to be the epitome of innocence. 

On the contrary.

“What about you, dear?”

[eirwenxmp]

the one who got away

[mp-skuld]

(...) “Can we go somewhere else to talk this out, please? Just a few minutes of your time, I promise I just want to know what really happened.” He had been a decent man almost his whole life for the sake of others, so it would only be fair if he chose to act for himself just today.

Of course a simple denial would not turn him away, she had known that before she’d even uttered it, and yet she’d still tried. But who was Seok if not someone who fought for what he wanted and believed in? Who was he if not the same young man she’d followed so closely for the full seven years in which he rose from being a nobody to a famous star?

Glancing from him to the other customers waiting and present in the ice cream store, she then picks up a cloth to wipe her hands on, sighing deeply. “I don’t see how it will change much if I tell you here or somewhere else that I have no idea who you are, young man,” she says calmly, that same distant politeness still in her tone. “But I’ll give you ten minutes.”

So she steps out from behind the counter, motioning at the workers that she’ll just be in the back, and then giving Seok another once-over. She presses her lips together as she motions him to follow her, walking through the door that leads to the back room where the ice cream is kept and made. She walks through it to the small break room behind it, which is where she turns around again.

She waits just long enough for Seok to enter as well before folding her arms over her chest. “Now I don’t know who you think you’re talking to, but I can assure you,” she says in very clear terms, keeping her gaze locked with his with a quiet kind of intensity. “That I am not that person.”

[poohsources]

🐝  *  ―  𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐌𝐄𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒.   (  random assortment of sentences that can but don’t have to be used for muses meeting each other for the first time. feel free to adjust to better fit your muses.  )

❛  i know we only just met but i already feel like i’ve known you my whole life.  ❜ ❛  umm, is this seat taken ?  ❜ ❛  don’t be alarmed now but there’s someone following you. pretend you know me and come with me. i’ll get you somewhere safe.  ❜ ❛  my friends ditched me here and now i could really use a ride home.  ❜ ❛  i don’t think we’ve met yet but you looked like you needed someone to talk to.  ❜ ❛  can you please pretend to be my boyfriend / girlfriend for a moment so my ex will leave me alone ?   ❜ ❛  are you always this straightforward with strangers ?  ❜ ❛  here, i noticed you lost this earlier.  ❜ ❛  i’m sorry, i must’ve mistaken you for somebody else.  ❜ ❛  so, what brings you here today ?  ❜ ❛  hi, my name is [name]. it’s nice meeting you.  ❜ ❛  you’re cute. how about i buy you a drink ?  ❜ ❛  can’t you watch where you are going ?!  ❜ ❛  i just moved into the apartment next to you, so i guess we’re gonna be neighbors now.  ❜ ❛  oh god, you’re [name], aren’t you ?  ❜ ❛  here, let me help you.  ❜ ❛  is there a reasons you’re here on your own ?  ❜ ❛  apparently we’re going to be working on this together now.  ❜ ❛  you look like you could use a hand with that.  ❜ ❛  what do people around here do to have some fun ?  ❜ ❛  looks like this will take a while, huh ?  ❜ ❛  oh god. please tell me you haven’t just heard me talk to myself.  ❜ ❛  excuse me, i think i’m lost.  ❜ ❛  i just wanted to say that i really like your outfit.  ❜ ❛  do you come here often ?  ❜ ❛  do you mind if i join you for a bit ?  ❜ ❛  you looked lonely so i got you a drink.  ❜ ❛  i don’t think we’ve met, i’m [name].  ❜ ❛  what the hell just happened there ?  ❜ ❛  have you seen this anywhere ? i must’ve lost it.  ❜ ❛  can i please use your phone ? i have to call someone to get me out of here.  ❜ ❛  seems like we’re gonna be spending a lot of time together.  ❜ ❛  come with me, and don’t ask any questions. it’s urgent.  ❜ ❛  i heard strange noises coming from your apartment and just wanted to make sure everything is alright.  ❜ ❛  i have a spare ticket, you wanna come in with me ?  ❜ ❛  you don’t know me but will you be my date for tonight ?  ❜ ❛  we’ve got some time to kill so why don’t you tell me a little about yourself ?  ❜ ❛  i don’t usually just walk up to strangers but my friends set me up to it.  ❜ ❛  i think our orders may have gotten mixed up.  ❜ ❛  do i have something on my face or why do you keep looking at me like that ?  ❜

[eirwenxmp]

the one who got away

[mp-skuld]

(...)  “Jia?” He called the name that had been haunting him for the last few years, his eyes widened in astonishment, happiness, and even a hint of feeling betrayed. “Jia, is that really you?”

It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes Skuld goes over to Ice Ice Baby to help her son out. When someone falls ill unexpectedly, when it’s just more busy than they prepared for, when she feels the need to be close to her son, or sometimes just because Felix wanted a day off for something and Skuld decided to make sure the business still runs smoothly. It’s not always necessary, but sometimes it is. Today is one of those days, though something has been niggling at the back of her head all day, warning her of things to come that she had become blind to. 

Oh, but she couldn’t be blind for much longer. Not when a old, familiar name is called and she lifts her head automatically only to be faced with the owner of a voice she was hard pressed to forget. There is no outward reaction, she’s too long-lived for that, and too used to occasional surprises. Instead she simply lets her eyes wander over his face, allowing herself the luxury of getting to know what he’s like after three years of not seeing him at all anymore, but looking like she’s just trying to figure out who he is.

“I think you have me confused with someone else, I don’t know anyone named Jia,” she says simply when her inspection is done and she meets his gaze again, her head tilted briefly, her smile nothing but strictly polite. She should really have taken a new form, she thinks, but she had known she would meet her dear little Felix again and she wanted to look the same as she did in the pictures of him in his youth, so that if he remembered anything, he would recognise her.

And now it’s too late to change. Too late to go back. So all she can do is feign the same lack of recognition that her son really felt towards her. Still, she steps closer to the counter, to give him a chance to say more without having to talk so loudly if he wants to. She motions at the person who’d been helping him to take another customer so no one will have to wait while they hash this out.

[mpxayden]

a close shave

[mp-skuld]

(...) Gently pulling away just enough to make some proper conversational space between them, he looked down at the goddess as concern started to creep back in between his eyebrows. “But what happened, mommy Skuld? You look like you saw a ghost or something.”

Ayden replies to her easily, not hesitant at all to share with her what he was doing. It, combined with the returned embrace (though hesitantly) and the smile he’d had on his face when they met, warm her heart more than most things ever could, and she’s so relieved that he trusts her enough at this point to give her so much of himself so willingly. When he pulls away to put an appropriate distance between them again she lets him, her racing heart slowing down as the reassurance that he is fine and so far unharmed soothes the last of the aches in her chest.

“Oh, baby, I had another vision of you,” she says softly when he inquires about what happened, not one to try and lie to her children or hide the truth of her powers from them. After all, this is how she ever even knew of him to begin with, so there is very little point in trying to hide it anyway. “You need to pay better attention to where you’re going when you’re in strange places, darling.” She reaches out to run the back of her fingers over his cheek and smiles at him softly then. “I don’t want anything bad to happen to you, I’d be devastated.”

She doesn’t intend to tell him the details of her vision, because she thinks he will understand the gist of it through her words and so she simply nods towards his camera. “Did you catch a picture of it in the end or do you want to walk around a bit more to take pictures?” She’s not as worried about him while she’s around, because even though she has no powers, she’s still immortal, and so if all else fails she can sacrifice her own body to save her son.

[mp-skuld]

;; FICKLE PEARLS.

erisxmp​:

(...) “I owe you a great deal for this, my dear. What will it be? A meal?” She bats her thick-lashed eyes innocently, smiling. “Or maybe someone’s weasled their way on your blacklist and you need a very capable, merciless goddess to teach them a lesson?”

“Probably go on stage naked,” Skuld deadpans when Eris asks whatever she’d do without her help and talents. Yet her smile is quick to return and once Eris has shimmied out of the dress, she takes it over from the Greek goddess. She turns away easily, moving with the practiced ease of someone who’s been doing this for years, as she sits down at one of her work tables and gets the necessary tools within reach to be able to fix this. 

When Eris suggests paying her back by dealing with someone for her, Skuld looks up with a single raised eyebrow. “If I need a very capable, merciless goddess to teach someone a lesson I believe I qualify for that myself, darling,” she comments offhandedly, lifting the needle she’s holding as if to use it as a dart. “Don’t upset me while I’m holding sharp objects.”

Yet her smile returns once more, indicating it is just a joke as she returns to threading the frayed edges and working to make the dress whole again. “But a meal will do. I’ll expect a nice one and a few hours of your undivided attention, perhaps. What do you say?” Her deft hands make quick work of fixing what can be fixed with the threads available, after which she goes in search of a thread of her own in the same colour so she can fortify her work lest it happen again in the middle of a performance.

[mp-skuld]

needle and thread «

mpyeji​:

(...) “But I’m sure he is okay, their house was very big and Eric always had so many toys, food and expensive clothing.” Yeji nods, reassured with her own words and turns to Skuld with a small smirk. “Now, it’s my turn!” Even though she felt courageous, it took her a while to think of two questions. “Alright. I read that you can see people’s futures, but something bad happens if you would try to change that future you saw. What actually happens if you change it?” She was happy with that question and immediately shot another. “How many future-predictions have you been asked in the last week? I bet it’s a ton!”

Luckily Eric doesn’t seem to be a touchy subject as Yeji beams at her. When she’s scolded for asking more questions than she’s supposed to, she chuckles lightly. “Oh, you caught me,” she says with an easy smile, nodding her head to indicate Yeji can ask two questions after. When she’s then told that Yeji hasn’t talked to Eric since moving here, the smile diminishes, but she understands the boy’s reasons for making it so. With such horrible parents, it’s better for the girl that she cannot be dragged back into that no doubt. And the boy remains a happy memory to her.

She waits patiently while the girl tries to come up with two questions of her own and then smiles when they are finally asked.

“I’ll answer the second one first,” she says lightly. “I actually haven’t been asked any future predictions at all. Mainly because most people don’t even know that I can sometimes do those, but also because I’m pretty sure they think I’m too scary.” She winks at the girl before nodding. “As for your first question; nothing bad actually happens just because I try to change the future, but sometimes trying to change something that might happen is exactly what makes it happen, and sometimes trying to change it only makes what happens worse. It’s always a gamble and with the future the consequences are never clear.”

She shakes her head briefly. “I’ve also lost most of my ability over time, I’m not as certain of the future as I used to be, so I now have to take the same risks as everyone else. My children usually lose something when they try to change the future, though, so perhaps that’s where what you read came from?”