i heard OPHELIA CHAMBERS singing the other night, though it didn’t sound like english. it’s so admirable that someone who’s only THIRTY-TWO can sing latin so fluently! i hear they hang out with the UNAFFILIATED coven, but they’re also a CASHIER at HEX & HELIX APOTHECARY. when dusk falls, you can usually find them heading home to BROOKLYN by FOOT.
@duskintros
STATS.
FULL NAME: ophelia chambers NICKNAME(S): fee DATE OF BIRTH: october 25th GENDER & PRONOUNS: cis woman, she/her HAIR COLOUR: black EYE COLOUR: blue HEIGHT: 5′3 OCCUPATION: employee at hex & helix apothecary SKILLS: potion making, herbalism, pottery
BACKGROUND.
- Ophelia's ancestors came to New York shortly after the supernatural war, a move that seemed a little strange considering they shunned the company of other witches and seemed to want nothing to do with the supernatural community. Over the years the Chambers family became a little more integrated in the city and community but still mostly kept to themselves. They were viewed as odd but generally nice, preferring to observe rather than get involved.
- The marriage of Ophelia's parents was surprising because they were both so different. Her mother was a firecracker, in sharp contrast with her father who reflected the manner of his forebears; quiet, reserved, and unflinchingly rigid. It was an odd marriage comprised of odd people, but it worked, and within a few years Ophelia and her siblings were born, becoming the latest generation of Chambers witches to occupy their ancestral home in Brooklyn.
- Things seemed to tilt a little more towards normal for the Chambers siblings. Where previous generations had been home schooled and largely kept apart from the rest of the supernatural community, Ophelia and her siblings were sent out into the world and allowed to explore. Their father seemed uncomfortable with it to start out but it was what their mother wanted, and what she wanted she usually got. Ophelia and her older brother preferred their freedom and independence; their younger sister was more of a homebody.
- Up until age eight Ophelia would have described her childhood as somewhat average. Other than being a witch and having slightly kooky parents there was little to shout about, and she was preoccupied with the world outside. Perhaps, if she had been more observant, she might have noticed the cracks beginning to form in her family. But to look back on it the only word she would have used to describe them was normal.
- And then, one day, Ophelia and her siblings came home from school to find the house abandoned. The door was left ajar but nothing was broken or taken, save for a few of their parents possessions. An investigation yielded no information of their whereabouts and so the Chambers children were sent to live with a distant aunt in Maine - who, unbeknownst to everyone, had joined a circle that bordered on being a cult.
- Isolated and still reeling from the disappearance of their parents, Ophelia and her siblings had only each other for company. Instead of pulling together in a difficult time the three of them seemed to grow ever more distant. Their aunt and the circle she belonged to had an increasing list of bizarre rules and rituals, and there was always something just a little off about the whole thing. Ophelia spent most of her time in the only place that offered any sort of privacy or independence - the forest.
- The one thing all three siblings agreed on was that they desperately wanted to move back to New York, and so they made a pact that they would do it together once they all came of age. But once Ophelia's brother turned eighteen he packed his bags and headed off to college, and to freedom, much to Ophelia's ire. She saw it as abandonment and resolved never to do the same to her sister, and to never speak to her brother again.
- However, those were two promises she had to break when she turned eighteen herself. The coven and her aunt had become progressively more strange over the years and Ophelia wanted to remove her sister from the environment as quickly as possible. To do so, she needed her brother. Eventually she tracked him down and convinced him to file for guardianship of their sister, which he won. But when they travelled back to their aunt's home on moving day, they were greeted with another mystery.
- Another door left ajar, another set of disappearances. Ophelia's immediate response was to launch a search, and just like a decade earlier, investigations yielded no clues. Long after the police had given up Ophelia and her brother continued, but after a year of cold trails and apologetic acquaintances, he too decided it was time to let get on with life.
- Ophelia, determined to keep her promise, continued the search alone. She spent years travelling and following any vague lead she could get, even those that seemed hopeless, until even she was worn down. She retreated to New York, arriving back at her original family home four years ago. She quickly realised she could not bear to live there and so took the first job she could find at Hex and Helix Apothecary, and shortly after moved into an apartment of her own.
- The last few years Ophelia has spent in New York have felt aimless. She built much of her adult life around solving the disappearances of her family members and has nothing to show for it, nor any idea what to do now that it isn't her sole goal. She's spent some time developing her potion making skills while working at the apothecary and has tried to integrate into the local community so that her life might expand beyond the unsolved mystery that still torments her.
PERSONALITY.
Ophelia is somewhat stunted in the social department, after spending so many years travelling alone. She’s always preferred her own company to that of others but is making a conscious effort to try and change that. Surface level conversations aren’t too hard but she finds it difficult to open up. Still, she can be blunt and closed off especially when uncomfortable.
Despite struggling to form close relationships, once they’re there she is unwaveringly loyal. A true ride or die friend. On the flip side of this, she feels betrayals - real or imagined - very deeply. She’s spiteful when she thinks she - or a friend - has been wronged.
Extremely inquisitive, though she prefers to do her own research than ask for help from others. Generally a cynic. Full of buried resentment.
HEADCANONS.
- has a thriving plant collection which she uses for potions and spells. she started cultivating it after moving back to new york and finding she missed open spaces and nature.
- freelances in potion making, though she doesn’t make a habit of advertising that fact.
- walks past her family home on her way back from work every night, on the off chance her parents or sister might show up there one day.
- loves pottery. took it up as a relaxing hobby after moving back to the city.
- collects weird keyrings.
CONNECTIONS.
BROTHER - ophelia to this day refuses to talk to him, although i imagine he also lives in the city and perhaps even in the same borough. she resents him for seemingly not caring about the family and being able to move on with life.
CHILDHOOD FRIEND(S) - although she struggles socially now, as a kid ophelia found it easy to make friends and probably tried to reconnect with some people after coming back to the city to feel a bit of normalcy. the friendship might have felt familiar and comforting or alienating and full of bad reminders.
MENTOR-ISH - ophelia’s magic skills were embarrassingly below par when she returned to new york. although she hates asking for help there were probably a lot of elements she needed help with and so sought out another witch to teach her. this would probably be one of her closest relationships and she would look up to this person a lot.
ANTAGONIST - for whatever reason, these two don’t mix. maybe it stems from childhood, maybe their personalities clash, maybe it’s an old family rivalry that hasn’t been let go.
REGULAR CLIENTS - either people that shop at hex & helix a lot during her shifts or people she makes potions for on the side. there would be some element of friendship here though ophelia would tend to keep them at arms length.
OLD ACQUAINTANCE - someone she maybe met on the road while searching for clues who has also ended up in new york. maybe they met each other in passing, or perhaps they tried to help ophelia with her search at one point.
