Leave a “Drink Me” in my ask, and I will write a drabble about my character taking shots with yours.
Silence overtook the two women as they sat facing one another, empty shot glasses strewn everywhere. There was something to be said for their relaxed shoulders, and the way in which their hair was falling over their shoulders, as if suddenly they didn’t have a single care in the world. Adelaide was, at least in this moment, not thinking about Lydia, or her past, or the way demons looked at her, as if she was already one of them. Josephine was, at least in this moment, not thinking of the silent sneers that were sent her way, or her husband at home who had no idea the amount of adultery she committed, or the ever tempting idea of shedding her current identity for one that consisted of black wings and power.
“One more?” Jo asked, as she didn’t bother waiting for a response from Adelaide as she finished off the bottle of vodka by filling two shots to the brim.
She handed one off to the blonde, who looked more at peace than she ever had before.
Adelaide looked up. “I don’t hate you, y’know.” Her voice sounded almost warm as it reached Josephine’s ears. Jo knew Adelaide didn’t hate her, that their friendship was reluctant at best, hostile at the worst. Yet hearing it, even from a drunk mouth, it made her warmer than any of the vodka she had just consumed ever could.
“You owe me twenty bucks,” Jo said in response, a lazy smile on her face. Even in her drunken state, telling Adelaide how much she respected her felt too private, and too personal to ever spill. Maybe in a different life, where they weren’t both on the precipice of being damned for eternity, where they weren’t built on a foundation of lies and hidden secrets--in that life, they would be true friends.
Jo would buy Adelaide handbags that were disgustingly expensive, and Adelaide would show up at Josephine’s house with two large bottles of booze. They would eat, drink, and laugh. They would enjoy the company, they would sit in this very same silence and not feel the crushing weight of their existence baring down on them.
“You owe me a bottle of vodka,” Adelaide had the last word before silence overtook them once more. A silence between two strangers turned acquaintances, turned hesitant friends, turned silent confidants.
They owed each other far more than a bottle of liquor or a piece of green paper could ever repay.
I like you // I love you? // I’m indifferent toward you // You’re one of my best friends // You’re starting to feel like family home // You are family // I dislike you // I hate you // I’m jealous of you // I’m scared of for you // I would adopt you // I’m attracted to you // I’d date you // I’d sleep with you // I could marry you in a different life // I’m worried I always worry about you // You confuse me // You’re annoying // I respect you // I want your respect // I feel protective of you // I’d like to I can only really cut loose with you // You’re good-looking // I’m suspicious of you // I’m hiding something from you // You’re fun // You’re boring // You’re nice // You’re mean // You’re smart // You’re stupid so damn reckless // I think you’re a better person than me // I think I’m a better person than you // I want to apologize to you // I want an apology from you // I wish I’d never met you // I never want to forget you // I want to get to know you better feel like I’ve known you all my lives
I like you // I love you // I’m indifferent toward you // You’re one of my best friends // You’re like family // You are family // I dislike you // I hate you // I’m jealous of you // I’m scared of you // I would adopt you // I’m attracted to you // I’d date you // I’d sleep with you // I’d marry you // I’m worried about you // You confuse me // You’re annoying // I respect you // I want your respect // I feel protective of you // I’d like to cut loose with you // You’re good-looking // I’m suspicious of you // I’m hiding something from you // You’re fun // You’re boring // You’re nice // You’re mean // You’re smart // You’re stupid // I think you’re a better person than me // I think I’m a better person than you // I want to apologize to you // I want an apology from you // wish I’d never met you // I never want to forget you // I want to get to know you better
I. He tried to teach her Russian once—and only once. It’s not that Adelaide isn’t bright enough to grasp the language ( she’s smart as a whip, that one ); it’s just that—well—Adelaide can be terribly unfocused when she doesn’t want to do something. She was an excellent pupil when Gale was teaching her Russian swear words, but once he moved on to greetings and colloquial phrases, that excellent pupil turned into a nightmare. She seemed far more interested in learning about the geography of Russia ( never has there been someone as profoundly captivated by borders and roads and territories as Adelaide Burke ), and when she interrupted the lesson for the ninth ( yes, ninth ) time to ask about the intricacies of the division of Soviet territories during the 60s, Gale threw his hands up in the air, hissed a string of Russian curses under his breath, stomped over to her collection of maps, grabbed the nearest one, and spent the rest of the afternoon begrudgingly indulging her wishes.II. Gale’s got dozens of nicknames for Adelaide—most of which are at the expense of that golden halo of hair. He’s not really a nickname kind of guy, but he makes an exception for Adelaide ( if only because he enjoys the irony of using a rotating selection of nicknames to poke fun at a woman who used to change her name more often than most people change their bedsheets ). Gale’s collection of nicknames for Adelaide is quite vast, but his favorites are Goldilocks ( does that make him the bear? ), Blondie ( a classic, of course ), and Sleeping Beauty ( used only when he’s trying to rouse her from sleep or when she’s just woken up ). He also rather often refers to her as ‘little bird’—‘ptichka’ in Russian—for she always seems so eager and anxious to fly. III. That damn necklace of hers was bound to fall off at some point. Between her rough-and-tumble run-ins with demons her constant fiddling with the piece of jewelry, Gale wasn’t surprised when, during one of his trips of reprieve to Paradise, an uncharacteristically frantic Adelaide came to him with a bare neck and lips that buzzed with worried pleas. Knowing how precious treasured keepsakes can be, Gale put his black wings to good use for once and scoured Paradise until a twinkling sparkle just near the edge of the humans’ side of the fence led him straight to the lost treasure. By the time Gale recovered the necklace, it was far past midnight and all of Paradise was sound with sleep, and so he flew over to the house Adelaide lived in, slipped through her bedroom window ( her window had become the unofficial Gale door—kind of like a doggy door; a demon door, if you will ), and left the beloved trinket on the small table beside her bed. Adelaide probably has her suspicions about who found and returned the necklace to her, but he never directly told her it was him, and when she questioned him about it, he shrugged and hastily departed, returning to his side of the fence. He doesn’t need his already-tarnished reputation taking another hit of humanity.
SEND PURPLE FOR A PLAYLIST FOR OUR MUSES.
Crossfire—Brandon Flowers
Angel Of Small Death and The Codeine Scene—Hozier
Tip of My Tongue—The Civil Wars
What’s Up?—4 Non Blondes
Take Me to Church—Hozier
SEND PINK FOR AN HONESTY POST ABOUT WHAT MY MUSE LIKES/LOVES ABOUT YOURS.
Gale doesn’t know much about Adelaide—and that’s what he likes about her. A torturer is, by default, a collector of secrets. Gale has spent many, many years decoding the deepest, darkest parts of people, and he’s so masterfully perfected the art of secret-prying that he seldom encounters a puzzle he can’t solve. Adelaide is the puzzle he can’t solve. She’s an enigma in every sense of the word—and Gale is entirely bewitched by her. He initially thought that what drew him like a moth to Adelaide’s flame was the seductive temptation of a challenge—of conquering the unconquerable and solving the unsolvable. The thrill of victory that he would be rewarded with for unraveling that little riddle ( by whatever means necessary ) would be divine, surely. But as Gale began to pull at her threads, as he watched the patchwork of her secrets begin to come undone, it became something much more than just a challenge. He sees so much of himself in her, and for a man who’s been trying to escape himself for many lifetimes, coming face to face with a living mirror has been—well, there’s no word for it, really. There’s no word for her. Perhaps it’s foolish of him to place any modicum of trust in a girl he hardly knows anything about, but he finds his usual guarded restraint and reservations slowly ( but very, very surely ) dwindling in Adelaide’s company. He takes great comfort in having found perhaps the only person who can really, truly understand him. Gale never feels judged by her like he does by the demons; he never feels feared by her like he does by most of the humans; he never feels the weight of great expectations from her like he does from the angels. With Adelaide, he can simply be—and that is the greatest and truest gift anyone has given him in a very long time.
“I like to look at her from afar because she reminds me of my older sister -- always taking on things that are not her responsibility and it is so annoying. Why the fuck does she feel obligated to look after other people? Nuh-uh, honey, keep that up and you’re going to end up d-e-a-d. Tá tú glan as do mheabhair.”
(already answered 12, 22, & 28 :3) – under a cut because long
2. [Does your character have any noteworthy features? Freckles? Dimples? A scar somewhere unusual? etc.]
Other than her nails and long hair mentioned in (12), I don’t think so. She has a few scars, but normal childhood stuff – from being an active kid that played outside, sports. There are also the trademarks of a waitress along her hands: nicks, cuts, burns, etc. Otherwise, there really isn’t anything remarkable or noteworthy about Stella’s appearance.
4. [Do they have any verbal tics? Do they have trouble pronouncing certain words or getting their thoughts across clearly?]
No real verbal tics, but Stella thinks faster than her mouth can process. So, she tends to have a lot of start-stops when she speaks. She’s also the master of the nonsense portmaneau – saying “No welcome” when she means either “No problem” or “You’re welcome.” Generally, though, Stella’s verbal skills are above average. She can speak eloquently, but casually and get her ideas across concisely and comprehensively… As long as she’s had a moment to think it all through.
6. [If you were to pick one song — and only one song — to describe your character, what would it be and why?]
There are a lot that fit a lot of different aspects of Stella, but just off the top of my head, for a complete look at Stella, I’d have to say SWEET NOTHING - Calvin Harris & Florence Welch. Mostly because: “It isn’t easy for me to let it go / Cause I’ve swallowed every single word / And every whisper, every sigh / Eats away this heart of mine / And there is a hollow in me now.”
8.[ Are they a quick thinker or do they need time to sort through their thoughts?]
Definitely a quick thinker. Stella’s mind is always racing at a million miles a minute, calculating change, tips, how much time since she’s taken orders, since she’s refilled coffee, wondering if Winnie’s feeling better, wondering if she should get a puppy, wondering whether there would be any mail, trying to remember if she watered the fern that morning, trying to remember whose shift she needed to cover, scanning for bed-partners, and everything more. If she has to voice any of those thoughts, put them into something intelligible, though, it takes her a second to sort through it all and gather the words up.
10. [If they had a choice, would they prefer a subway or a bus for public transportation?]
Truthfully, she’d prefer to walk or bike or drive, but failing those options, she’d opt for subway. No traffic beats out over mole-people any day.
14. [Are they a team player or do they prefer to be solo?]
If you asked Stella this, she’d lie. She likes to pretend she’s a loner but she only thinks that because she’s been on her own for so long. Stella craves contact and friends and family units. She’s at her best when she has people to bounce ideas off of, trade responsibilities with, break projects up and delegate.
16a. [What are their best school subjects?]
Latin
Biology
Psychology
Sociology
Phys. Ed. (never tell a jock it doesn’t count)
16b. [What are their worst?]
Literature
History
Civics
Calculus
Chemistry
18. [Are they a leader, do they prefer to follow, or would they rather just stay on the sidelines altogether?]
Definitely a leader. Another question that Stella herself would answer differently (she’d say that she’d rather stay on the sidelines). Stella can’t stand to see things that need to get done not getting done.
20. [If your character was allowed to murder one person without any consequences, who would that person be and why?]
No one immediately comes to mind. She spent a long, long time hating her father and sister and mother for abandoning her. But she’s moved on from that. Besides, her mother’s gone, she still loves her sister, and she wouldn’t waste the energy of murder on her father. There isn’t anyone else who’s wronged her so deeply that she’d want to end their life, even without the consequences. At the risk of a non-answer, though, I’ll say one of her less-than-stellar foster parents. She was never abused herself, but she saw a fair amount of it. People who just wanted the tax break and didn’t care of the children at all. There are a few in particular that she thinks the world might be better off without. And, with a liberal definition of the word “person” she might hunt down Lucifer himself and kill him, just to be done with the whole Holy War bullshit.
24. [Does your character have any enemies? If so, who and why?]
None. Petty enemies, maybe. Busybodies who never liked a foster kid from the wrong side of the tracks coming into town. Rude patrons who tip 10% or less. High school bullies, present and grown-up. But no one that she considers herself holding a vendetta against.
26. [How does your character prepare for bed? Do they sleep at all or can they stay awake for days on end without trouble?]
Stella has a hard time falling asleep, in general. So her nightly routine is usually getting all ready (washing up, changing, tidying the house, etc) and then watching television or reading until the early, early hours of the morning before collapsing into bed. She can operate on less sleep than advisable, but it does not a pleasant Stella make.
30. [If your character was forced to eat one thing for the rest of their life, what would they choose and why?]
BAGELS. Stella loves bagels. Stella already, generally, eats bagels for breakfast and lunch most days of the week.
