[hider=Fiona Reynolds][color=#2e2c2c].
.[/color]
[indent][indent][table][row][sup][h1][color=181818][b]▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅[/b][right][b]▅▅▅▅▅[/b][/right][/color][right][color=024B30]Fiona Reynolds[/color][color=181818]...[/color][/right][/h1][/sup][/row][row]
[cell][color=2e2c2c]....................................................[/color][img]https://i.imgur.com/xyhvYbg.png[/img]
[center][color=807B84][sup]__________________________________________[/sup][/color] 
[sub][color=024B30][b]D A U G H T E R[/b][/color] [color=2e2c2c].[/color] [color=024B30][b]O F[/b][/color] [color=2e2c2c].[/color] [color=024B30][b]H E R A[/b][/color]
[color=807B84][sup]________________________________________________________[/sup][/color] 
[color=024B30]22     [color=807B84][b]|[/b][/color]     female     [color=807B84][b]|[/b][/color]     heterosexual[/color]
[color=807B84][sup]__________________________________________[/sup][/color]
[color=024B30][b]▹ hair colour  [/b][/color] [color=807B84][b]|[/b][/color] [color=9b9b9b]  Burned Copper[/color]
[color=024B30][b]▹ eye colour  [/b][/color] [color=807B84][b]|[/b][/color] [color=9b9b9b]  Hazel/ cracked silver[/color]
[color=024B30][b]▹ height  [/b][/color] [color=807B84][b]|[/b][/color] [color=9b9b9b]  5' 4”[/color]
[color=024B30][b]▹ build  [/b][/color] [color=807B84][b]|[/b][/color] [color=9b9b9b]  petite and agile[/color]
[color=024B30][b]▹ nicknames [/b][/color] [color=807B84][b]|[/b][/color] [color=9b9b9b]  [i]Fe[/i] or [i]Iron (insult)[/i][/color]

[/sub][/center]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/tBunQIv.jpg[/img]

[color=9b9b9b][sup]"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be."[/sup][/color]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/blMAFI0.png[/img]

[color=9b9b9b][sup]"There are better things in the world than alcohol, but it does sort of compensate for not getting them."[/sup][/color]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/eGGbQMX.png[/img]

[color=9b9b9b][sup]"Through the years, I learned that family isn't who you are born to but who you chose along the way."[/sup][/color]

[/cell][cell][justify][sup][color=2e2c2c].[/color]
[color=024B30][b]A B I L I T I E S[/b][/color]
[color=9b9b9b][b]Destiny[/b][/color] - [i]From an early age Fiona was able to catch glimpses of events in the future, sometimes they happened the way she saw them other times they didn’t. Whenever she touched someone she caught fragments of a path they might take, eventually she could work out what parts might change and what was fixed in place. Try as she might she could never see her own.[/i]
[color=9b9b9b][b]Infulence Others[/b][/color] - [i]At first, she was only aware of others being gently nudged towards what she wanted them to do, little moments of victory where she shouldn’t have been successful. But as she became more influential, she was able to manipulate almost everyone she encountered one way or another. She’s fallen foul of this gift a few times when her emotions have run rampant with dire consequences, or when her mother has sought to test her resolve.[/i]
[color=9b9b9b][b]Temporary Possession[/b][/color] - [i]While manipulating another has certainly been of use to her she’s still uncomfortable with the act, not least of all because of how vulnerable it leaves her body when she does it; so it usually extra planning beforehand. Fiona is scared of lingering too long inside another’s body as she struggles to remember who she is, since it feels like she’s merging with them. Afterwards she is usually exhausted and a few emotions or thoughts linger for a while when she leaves their body but she can barely remember any of them after an hour or two.[/i]
[color=9b9b9b][b]Shadow Walker[/b][/color] - [i]Fiona is capable of stepping into the shadows to re-appear almost anywhere from the darkness. This does have its limits of how far apart the two points are that she can manage so it’s mostly short distance. Though due to the space between the shadows in which she travels she’s learned how to squirrel away small items for when she needs them, such as a handful of knives for example so she’s never unarmed for long.[/i]
[color=9b9b9b][b]Shadow Walker[/b][/color] - [i]They say that poison is a woman’s weapon, thinking us too feeble to use more direct means. But they underestimate the suffering that can be inflicted, with a single touch or the slice of a tainted blade.[/i]

[color=024B30][b]S T R E N G T H S[/b][/color]
[color=9b9b9b][b]Dexterity[/b][/color] - [i]What Fiona lacks in strength she more than makes up with her agility, often moving quicker than her opponents in a fight she does her best to leverage their own power against them. Or at the very least dodge their blows till they’re tired enough for her to strike.[/i]
[color=9b9b9b][b]Guileful[/b][/color] - [i]Fiona was brought up to be honest and true to her family but to cheat and lie to everyone else. Her earliest days were spent running through the throngs of folk attending the carnival to steal the wallets of those who could afford it, and as she grew older, she became one of the criers to lure more in.[/i]
[color=9b9b9b][b]Weapon Familiarity[/b][/color] - [i]Fiona has always carried at least one knife for as long as she can remember, with her uncle saying that even if she’s small she can certainly sting. So, she’s made sure to become proficient with it both with and without coating the blade in poison. She also excelled at archery, almost always hitting her mark despite her impediment. However, she does struggle a little beyond 50m as her vision blurs with rapidly moving targets causing her accuracy to drop at that range. Though she’s usually able to hit them when they get closer.[/i]

[color=024B30][b]W E A K N E S S E S[/b][/color]
[color=9b9b9b][b]Empathy[/b][/color] - [i]Her mother was very disdainful of Fiona’s love for her family and most of all for her fairly selfless nature. She wants her daughter to be cold and terrible to behold, a weapon she can put to good use. Not a brittle little child. Which Fiona clings onto by her fingertips.[/i]
[color=9b9b9b][b]Physical Prowess[/b][/color] - [i]Even though she wasn’t one to shy away from a fight, she could never win on equal footing due to her size so she avoids a fair fight where possible.[/i]
[color=9b9b9b][b]Partial Blindness[/b][/color] - [i]When Fiona was about 5, while her family were travelling England their campsite was set ablaze during the night. She sustained minor burns but fragments of metal caught her in the face, leaving her blind in left eye. Though it did earn her the nickname of Iron by people to wind her up.[/i]

[color=024B30][b]F E A R[/b][/color]
[color=9b9b9b][b]Uncertain Fate[/b][/color] - [i]Despite being able to view the future of others, the fact her own remains a mystery both terrifies and exhilarates her. Since she can’t see it, she’s never sure if what she does is of her own free will or simply a pre-determined path she cannot change. She’s also fearful of the future she sees for others that are fixed and filled with pain.[/i]
[color=9b9b9b][b]Fire[/b][/color] - [i]Given that one of her earliest memories is waking up screaming while her home burned around her it’s no wonder why she’s often wary of it at the best of times.[/i]
[color=9b9b9b][b]Hera[/b][/color] - [i]Whatever her mother’s motives are for bringing Fiona to camp, the uncertainty gnaws at her and has settled deep in her stomach. She’s waiting for the other shoe to drop and send her life spiralling even more into chaos. She has more than enough blood on her hands thanks to Hera already.[/i]

[center][color=807B84][sup]__________________________________________________________________________________[/sup][/color][/center]
[color=024B30][b]P E R S O N A L I T Y[/b][/color]
[b]Impulsive[color=2e2c2c]....[/color] [color=807B84][b]|[/b][/color] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]Snarky[color=2e2c2c]....[/color] [color=807B84][b]|[/b][/color] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]Empathetic[color=2e2c2c]....[/color] [color=807B84][b]|[/b][/color] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]Wily[/b]

[center][color=807B84][sup]__________________________________________________________________________________[/sup][/color][/center]
[color=024B30][b]T H E M E[/b][/color]
[b][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zckQ5kxXkM]Monster[i] – Beth Crowley[/i][/url][/b][color=2e2c2c]....[/color] [color=807B84][b]|[/b][/color] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color] [b][url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdIDefF_OkQ]Nothing to Forgive[i] – Falconshield[/i][/url][/b][color=2e2c2c]....[/color] [color=807B84][b]|[/b][/color] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color][b][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmVzeriU5m0]Become The Beast[i] – Karliene[/i][/url][/b]

[center][color=807B84][sup]__________________________________________________________________________________[/sup][/color][/center]
[color=024B30][b]H I S T O R Y[/b][/color]
The way her grandfather told it her family had been fighting against the oppressive rule of the English their entire lives. But he did so with a twinkle in his eyes since he’d always encouraged her and her siblings to spirit away a little extra coin when pickpocketing from any Bodach.

Her father, [url=https://i.imgur.com/OtHvHyP.jpeg]Declán[/url] and his younger brother [url=https://i.imgur.com/fY96sBq.jpeg]Tristan[/url] had spent much of their early years round the edges of modern society with the rest of their family. The Reynolds clan were responsible for one of the largest traveling carnivals across the British Isles though it was often advertised as the gateway into Tír na nÓg itself. Their show was famous for its wide range of entertainment as well as it’s hidden activities; such as smuggling and underground fighting.

Hera’s interactions with the two brothers resulted in Declán piquing her interest as she watched him manipulate many of those he dealt with for the gain of himself and his family. She believed he could help raise a worthy child of her lineage, but she was also curious to see how he’d play off the child when she was dropped into his lap.

When Fiona was handed over to him she was his first-born child, though only by a month or so as in the intervening time he’d settled down with a woman he was deeply infatuated with who now carried his son. Fiona’s stepmother never fully accepted her, and even though she would go on to provide Declán with another four children he always treated Fiona as his favourite much to her chagrin. So, while Fiona was doted on and kept close with him, she was effectively used as free childcare for her siblings from the age of eight. She didn’t mind this for the most part since her siblings were her family, and even when she didn’t love them they were still hers.

Her stepmother, however was neither as far as she was concerned. While it wasn’t entirely an intentional act, when she was thirteen during a rather rebellious stage and following a series of drawn out arguments the woman made a dramatic exit. Sadly, the fallout from this event caused a great deal of friction within the already struggling carnival as well as extinguishing the warmth in her father’s eyes.

Prior to this her life had been full of joy and laughter as the carnival travelled the length and breadth of the British Isles and occasionally across the seas to the continent itself. She indulged in all manner of activities from those she should to those she shouldn’t, with her father and uncle often going back and forth over what she was allowed to do. And if one forbade her then the other would sneak her away to indulge her curiosity; which helped to hone her skills with a knife, her thirst for blood in the fighting rings or the thrill of a con or pickpocket.

After a year or two of awkward silences and strained relationships, she packed her belongings and vanished into the night. Her powers enabled her to navigate the wider world far easier than she ought to have been able to do, and she swapped from one identity to the other over several years and worked a dozen jobs and more to get buy; or if pressed she simply lured someone much more well off to foot the bill for her survival.

One day she was waiting tables in a secluded bar in the middle of San Francisco when before she even realised it she was sitting down across from an elegant woman. Their mouth was curved into a amused grin that reminded Fiona of the Cheshire cat, toying with Alice, but it was the woman’s eyes she recognised. 

Her mother informed her that it was time for her to attend camp, and to weigh her against her sibling. Times were a-changin'.

[center][color=807B84][sup]__________________________________________________________________________________[/sup][/color][/center]

[center][color=024B30][b]024b30[/b][/color] [color=2e2c2c].[/color] [color=807B84]|[/color] [color=2e2c2c].[/color] [color=9b9b9b]#024B30[/color] [color=2e2c2c]........[/color] [color=024B30][b]faceclaim[/b][/color] [color=2e2c2c].[/color] [color=807B84]|[/color] [color=2e2c2c].[/color] [color=9b9b9b]Annalise Basso[/color] [color=2e2c2c]........[/color] [color=024B30][b]creator[/b][/color] [color=2e2c2c].[/color] [color=807B84]|[/color] [color=2e2c2c].[/color] [color=9b9b9b]Fabricator[/color][/center][/sup][/justify][/cell]
[/row]
[/table][/indent][/indent][/hider]

[hider=Veronica Lewis][color=#2e2c2c].
.[/color]
[indent][indent][table][row][sup][h1][color=181818][b]▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅[/b][right][b]▅▅▅▅▅[/b][/right][/color][right][color=B300B3]Veronica Lewis[/color][color=181818]...[/color][/right][/h1][/sup][/row][row][cell][color=2e2c2c]....................................................[/color][img]https://i.imgur.com/cszt5fG.jpg[/img] 
[center][color=807B84][sup]__________________________________________[/sup][/color]  
[sub][color=B300B3][b]D A U G H T E R[/b][/color] [color=2e2c2c].[/color] [color=B300B3][b]O F[/b][/color] [color=2e2c2c].[/color] [color=B300B3][b]A P H R O D I T E[/b][/color] 
[color=807B84][sup]________________________________________________________[/sup][/color]  
[color=B300B3]21     [color=807B84][b]|[/b][/color]     female     [color=807B84][b]|[/b][/color]     bisexual[/color] 
[color=807B84][sup]__________________________________________[/sup][/color] 
[color=B300B3][b]▹ hair color  [/b][/color] [color=807B84][b]|[/b][/color] [color=9b9b9b]  dark brown[/color] 
[color=B300B3][b]▹ eye color  [/b][/color] [color=807B84][b]|[/b][/color] [color=9b9b9b]  light-brown[/color] 
[color=B300B3][b]▹ height  [/b][/color] [color=807B84][b]|[/b][/color] [color=9b9b9b]  5' 11”[/color] 
[color=B300B3][b]▹ build  [/b][/color] [color=807B84][b]|[/b][/color] [color=9b9b9b]  willowy/ethereal[/color] 
[color=B300B3][b]▹ nicknames [/b][/color] [color=807B84][b]|[/b][/color] [color=9b9b9b] [i]V[/i], [i]Roni[/i], [i]'Ronica[/i][/color]
[/sub][/center]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/nFvx89B.jpg[/img] 

[color=9b9b9b][sup]"I don't like [i]pain[/i], but I bring it to [i]life[/i] 
I don't like [i]scars[/i], but I'm good with the [b]knife[/b] 
I don't like [i]tears[/i] when I'm starting to [i]cry[/i] 
And then I realize I'm destroying my [b]life[/b]"[/sup][/color] 

[img]https://i.imgur.com/nyxR3Gq.jpg[/img] 

[color=9b9b9b][sup]"You tell me in your deepest pain 
In your weakest hour, in your darkest night 
You are lovely"[/sup][/color] 

[img]https://i.imgur.com/4NNyx6e.jpg[/img] 

[color=9b9b9b][sup]" Will you let me play the victim and make me your addiction?[/sup][/color] 

[/cell][cell][justify][sup][color=2e2c2c].[/color] 
[color=B300B3][b]A B I L I T I E S[/b][/color] 
[color=9b9b9b][b]Seductive Magnetism[/b][/color] - [i]For the most part this usually causes Veronica to turn heads simply by her very existence, invoking pleasurable association to her from others; with many seeking to court her favour and basking in her attention. Though this can easily turn into a dangerous obsession due the mildly addictive nature of this effect that comes with its own form of withdrawal. It’s mostly a subconscious aura, which does wax and wane with her own moods serving to amplify its strength.[/i] 
[color=9b9b9b][b]Appearance Manipulation[/b][/color] - [i]When she was younger Veronica just used this almost without thinking to improve her appearance to others by eliminating her imperfections. initially this was out of a self-conscious desire to fly under the radar more than anything else. As she got better at controlling her appearance, she was able to change herself entirely, clothes and all when needed. And while she’s experimented with looking like others she hasn’t enjoyed going too far beyond and always returns to her own features before long. Though she is curious she’s never dared attempt anything too outlandish or otherworldly, for fear of being trapped with wings or, worse only half a one.[/i] 
[color=9b9b9b][b]Desire Manipulation[/b][/color] - [i]Veronica was Initially unaware of this ability as she’d just naturally pulled the desires of others in her direction without realising it; she eventually discovered that she could not only sense the desires of others but was able to reshape them to her own whims. As people have desires for all manner of things from the very necessities they need to live to their goals in life, she is still exploring the full depth of this ability.[/i] 
[color=9b9b9b][b]Charm Speech[/b][/color] - [i]Veronica rarely tries to influence others through her words but that doesn’t enjoy it even if she knows she shouldn’t, and she finds a special thrill doing it through song as it appeals to her own interests. She has found it less effective[/i] 

[color=B300B3][b]S T R E N G T H S[/b][/color] 
[color=9b9b9b][b]Polyglot[/b][/color] - [i]Languages were something that came easily to Veronica, with her being capable of understanding a passable amount of several European tongues; however when it came to her grasp of the more lyrical romance languages they were at times better than her native American, with Italian being a personal favourite.[/i] 
[color=9b9b9b][b]Musical Talent[/b][/color] - [i]As much as she spent most of her life dabbling with artistic expression, and may have even been passable with several it was music that offered her actual enjoyment. A natural singer with a voice of the sweetest honey, she could and has held auditoriums captivated on occasion during musical recitals. She’s reasonably capable with a handful of instruments, having worked with friends on projects requiring different combinations; her favourites were those that allowed her to still be able to sing while performing.[/i] 
[color=9b9b9b][b]Keen-Eyed[/b][/color] - [i]While she may often become the focus of others she’s spent just as much time trying to hang back and observe how people interact without her influencing their actions.[/i] 
[color=9b9b9b][b]Dexterous[/b][/color] - [i]Years spent on stage performing a multitude of shows throughout her education have required a great deal of dexterity and coordination for her to successfully pull off whatever part she’d needed to play.[/i] 

[color=B300B3][b]W E A K N E S S E S[/b][/color] 
[color=9b9b9b][b]Combat[/b][/color] - [i]It’s one thing to take a beating but very a different one to dish out. When it comes to conflict Veronica may have some endurance but she’s utterly hopeless when it comes to weaponry or physical combat, having zero experience with them and an almost timid reluctance to develop skills in either arena.[/i] 
[color=9b9b9b][b]Self-Doubt[/b][/color] - [i]She was never able to attain adequate approval when growing up, and as such placed much weight upon herself, thinking that she wasn’t worth notice or success. She became somewhat overly eager to seek confirmation to the contrary and would regularly abase herself for validation. As her abilities developed, she also began to doubt how the world saw her as much as how she saw herself. Her father did little to dissuade her of these feelings, often feeding into these doubts and her complaisant nature.[/i] 
[color=9b9b9b][b]Vanity[/b][/color] - [i]Veronica has swung back and forth between the polar opposite definitions of vanity, both being overly prideful in her accomplishments before tearing herself down because she can’t live up to her self-imposed expectations. She is constantly critical of herself due to being starved for genuine praise, yet she is easily enamoured with herself whenever she received any as it is so rare a feeling.[/i] 

[color=B300B3][b]F E A R[/b][/color] 
[color=9b9b9b][b]Trusting Others[/b][/color] - [i]Her family have left her feeling disconnected from social contact to the point that she’s worn her mask so long she doesn’t know where the lies stop and the truth begins. She’s distrustful of others, fearing their goal is to humiliate her. She is always wary of sudden changes in the mood of people she deals with in case her powers have slipped, which is part of why she’s distanced herself.[/i] 
[color=9b9b9b][b]Honesty[/b][/color] - [i]Much of what the world sees of Veronica is a carefully crafted façade that alternates between slightly awkward drama geek to blatant seductress while beneath the surface she is a mostly broken husk kept together by sheer will. The thought of peeling back her deception and baring her heart to the world chills her to the core. Mostly for fear of rejection or reprisal.[/i]  
[color=9b9b9b][b]Solitude[/b][/color] - [i]As much as she distances herself at times, she is still afraid of never making any substantial or meaningful connection to others. The lack of any family bonds has made her yearn to know what they ought to feel like, and she is both afraid that she’ll never be able to make any but also that even if she does that they’ll never live up to her own expectation.[/i] 
[color=9b9b9b][b]Godly Powers[/b][/color] - [i]The feeling from being the focus of others desire is intoxicating to such a degree that she loses almost all rationality. She knows her mother is often associated with infatuation, but the raw energy of it is indescribable. Veronica is frequently afraid of giving in to these sensations and basking in the overwhelming rush of power in controlling others through their adoration of her. She does her best to hold back on her abilities having flown too close to the flame and received a fair amount of backlash as a result when things have gotten out of hand.  

She’s also afraid of how far she could potentially [b]go[/b], perhaps to remove a person’s desire to breathe if they were to be without her.[/i] 

[center][color=807B84][sup]__________________________________________________________________________________[/sup][/color][/center] 
[color=B300B3][b]P E R S O N A L I T Y[/b][/color] 
[b]Musical[color=2e2c2c]....[/color] [color=807B84][b]|[/b][/color] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]Resilient[color=2e2c2c]....[/color] [color=807B84][b]|[/b][/color] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]Mercurial[color=2e2c2c]....[/color] [color=807B84][b]|[/b][/color] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]Withdrawn[/b] 

[center][color=807B84][sup]__________________________________________________________________________________[/sup][/color][/center] 
[color=B300B3][b]T H E M E[/b][/color] 
[b][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS7RC06yHjQ]Go The Distance[i] – Samantha Barks[/i][/url][/b][color=2e2c2c]....[/color] [color=807B84][b]|[/b][/color] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color] [b][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK2MtuquHFY]Lucifer[i] – Elle Lexxa[/i][/url][/b][color=2e2c2c]....[/color] [color=807B84][b]|[/b][/color] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color][b][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulfeM8JGq7s]Addict[i] – Silva Hound[/i][/url][/b] 

[center][color=807B84][sup]__________________________________________________________________________________[/sup][/color][/center] 
[color=B300B3][b]H I S T O R Y[/b][/color] 
While she wasn’t Aphrodite’s first child and won’t likely be her last, she also wasn’t exactly a wanted one either. So, on the day of her birth she was simply handed to her unimpressed father by her equally disinterested mother, with the one and only gift she ever received being her name as the woman hastily made an exit. Presumably never to return to Jefferson City, [s]Misery[/s] [i]Missouri[/i].

Veronica’s father, Jonathan Lewis wasn’t exactly an evil man, and perhaps even loved her in his own way. Sadly, this mostly boiled down to him attempting to continue to live his life much as he had done before her arrival. He was effectively a trust fund dropout, who had spent close to thirty years living a life of luxury and decadence while his family's investments supported his questionable choices. He was a mostly unsuccessful artist who surrounded himself with supporters to stroke his ego as well as being a known hedonist who would regularly host all manner of events behind closed doors along with his sycophantic friends, ‘critics’ and fellow pretentious artists. it had been at one such evening, in honour of Dionysia or Bacchanalia (as his recollection would change every time he regaled his daughter with the story), that he had met the goddess to whom he dedicated his undying love and obsession. The events he hosted or attended afterwards simply served as a means to salve the emptiness that her departure had left in his soul. 

Attractiveness doesn’t equal confidence, and despite her beauty she’s often unsure of herself, both in her appearance and her personality as well of the intentions of those around her. So, as she grew up and people started to notice her, she felt like a deer caught in headlights at first. This garnered her a reputation as being aloof when she spurned advances that she couldn’t deal with, and vain because of her deep-seated anxiety causing her to obsess over her appearance and presentation. The fact that she started turning the heads of both students and teachers did little to help her social status as she soon became both a target as well as a trophy while doing her best to avoid the complications on both sides. 

She’s preferred to keep out of the limelight if she could, even as she secretly adores and craves the attention and control it gives as it validates her not being the failure she so often believes. Yet she also struggled under the overload of attention from being all but ignored outside of her schools by the majority. As she got older, and was able to step beyond the empty shadow of her parents she was able to discover a love of musical theatre and drama, often devoting much of her extra-curricular activities to them both as once she was on-stage all self-doubt and fear seemed to melt away as she stepped into the shoes of the characters. On her best days she could dance in the sunlight to her own beat, feeling warm without a care in the world if she allowed herself the freedom; yet on her worst she would stumble into darkness, her face streaked with tears as she beat her head in self-punishment, wishing that everything didn’t cut so deeply. 

As much as she sought to win her father's approval, nothing could ever come close to mimicking the blazing sun that was her mother, and for most of her life she had assumed her father to be out of touch with reality at worst and simply romanticising her absent mother at best. She was always an afterthought, usually relegated to being cared for in the same way as a forgotten houseplant who you dote on for a few minutes when it suddenly occurs to you that it’s several weeks past the last time you watered it. While she was afforded a fair degree of freedom, and partial access to a sufficient supply of money whenever her father even remembered she existed, she also had to contend with her father's shifting moods and degrees of over-protective outbursts. Some days he might never even know she existed and others he would be one step away from locking her away in a tower, so she’d never leave him like her mother had done. 

She was usually able to placate her loneliness; either by indulging in various hobbies or interests that she cultivated or simply trying to get her father's attention by doing her best to learn what he enjoyed. This led to her cycling through a myriad of different artistic expressions to gain his approval, striving to improve her own skill in the hope of being noticed before having her hopes dashed and moving onto something else. Though she was able to develop a slight online following performing covers of songs on social media and even branching out to singing some of her own that she'd written. 

While there were certainly moments growing up that she cherished, when her father had actually seemed to live up to the role, they were few and far between with him becoming more resentful of her as she grew. This appeared to be mainly due to him placing the blame at Veronica’s feet for her mother’s departure; since it was certainly her intrusion that had caused them to break apart. Throughout her life Jonathan’s manic behaviour seemed to increase as he spent more of it pining for the goddess who had stolen his heart and cast him into abject despair. 

Being raised by a man who at best cared little for her and a mother who seemingly didn’t care at all, instilled an emptiness in Veronica and a need to feel the warmth from others that she was always denied by her family. As such she is quite eager for approval and to appease others in hopes of them offering her the merest crumbs of affection, which distilled to almost begging when around her father or his family, much to her shame. 

When her abilities began to manifest it genuinely felt more of a blight in hindsight, since it was then that her father and his family slowly began to see her as worthy of inclusion in their ranks; but it was fleeting and unnatural because their inherent distaste of her always returned with renewed venom. 

Over the years Veronica had managed to secure small victories over her family, often taking advantage of their disinterest or manic mood swings (or drinking sprees) where she’d managed to get them to pay for her tuition or interests in order to annoy one another or simply as a means to get her out of their hair. After all her father’s signature was easily forged given he could barely string letters together on his best days and he rarely saw those let alone the world around him without his muse to give his life meaning. 

It was a few months after she’d finished college while Veronica was sat alone in one of her father's long abandoned loft apartments that she’d been making use of for some time, when Aphrodite finally reached out on her twenty-first birthday. What followed was a fairly ugly exchange, which certainly explained in part why her mother had likely put off their meeting. While still unsure of her mother, Veronica accepted the [i]invitation[/i] to attend camp, and meet others like her. Not like she had much choice. 

[center][color=807B84][sup]__________________________________________________________________________________[/sup][/color][/center] 

[center][color=B300B3][b]B300B3[/b][/color] [color=2e2c2c].[/color] [color=807B84]|[/color] [color=2e2c2c].[/color] [color=9b9b9b]#B300B3[/color] [color=2e2c2c]........[/color] [color=B300B3][b]faceclaim[/b][/color] [color=2e2c2c].[/color] [color=807B84]|[/color] [color=2e2c2c].[/color] [color=9b9b9b]Nataly Machado[/color] [color=2e2c2c]........[/color] [color=B300B3][b]creator[/b][/color] [color=2e2c2c].[/color] [color=807B84]|[/color] [color=2e2c2c].[/color] [color=9b9b9b]Fabricator[/color][/center][/sup][/justify][/cell] 
[/row]
[/table][/indent][/indent][/hider]