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â
Fathoms deep beneath the wave,
Stringing beads of glistering pearl,
Singing the achievements brave
Of many an old Norwegian earl;
Dwelling where the tempest's raving
Falls as light upon our ear,
As the sigh of lover, craving
Pity from his lady dear.
[van-YAH lah-leet koo-MAR]
aquarius / 32 / sumber eau / mermaid / bruh idk
Stringing beads of glistering pearl,
Singing the achievements brave
Of many an old Norwegian earl;
Dwelling where the tempest's raving
Falls as light upon our ear,
As the sigh of lover, craving
Pity from his lady dear.
[van-YAH lah-leet koo-MAR]
aquarius / 32 / sumber eau / mermaid / bruh idk
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M E R E M E N N
I. . . . . ..
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Vanja is a mermaid. His power has changed him into a creature that, in lieu of legs, possesses a twisting, 20 foot long glimmering fish tail. Sharp teeth and fins for ears. He "breathes" underwater with slitted gills at his neck, and can share his breath with others in the form of deep kisses. About 10 to 15 minutes of oxygen for the receiver, depending on the length of the kiss. Vanja can move effortlessly in water, and he's uh, quite large as a mermaid. Strong enough to crush a small sailboat for sure. Finally, eating the flesh of a killed mermaid is nectar for the body and can extend a person's lifespan by years.
II. . . . . .
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This is more of a minor ability, but Vanja's voice is attuned to the water. Salt water is the best and most receptive, but any water will do. His singing, his humming, even the lilting tunes in everyday words can be enough to stir the water into movement and action. Nothing complicated; it's easiest when he's simply exaggerating or soothing its natural movements and patterns. It's merely a simple parlor trick for the most part.
III. . . . .
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Every moment Vanja walks on land is spent on borrowed time. He has to remain well hydrated at all times, drinking much more water than the average person, or he will dry out and lose the ability to breathe. He cannot control his transformation with willpower, but instead will automatically turn back into his mer form when his body is completely submerged in water. Hopefully not in a small space, considering his size, but also considering the fact that he cannot turn back into a human until he is out of the water and at least partially dried off. Additionally, Vanja struggles with the instincts and cravings of a cold-blooded ocean dweller. Cooked flesh tastes charred to him, and he craves to eat his food raw. The idea of cannibalism is not unappealing to Vanja, and he is haunted by the urge to drag those he loves down into the deep, deep ocean.
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â â letters, talons, wings
â â song, fire, festivity
â â touch, smiles, night
â â ocean, salted caramel
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â â fever, disease, massacre
â â lice, blood, betrayal
â â desperation, splinters
â â poverty, military law
seafoam salt & lakefront lace
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"The longer I hold it,
the more it feels like
it will break apart."
moral alignment: chaotic good
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coarse hands // stiff shirts
Vanja is a man who radiates a lighthearted sort of dignity. It's obvious that he is a ruler, even in creased pants and worn boots. You can see it in the small things: in the surety with which catches a red-tailed hawk on gloved wrist, in the gentleness with which he'll run his knuckles over her feathered head. In the way he breaks out all his paperwork at night next to the campfire, and signs his name in big, loopy letters. He is a vagabond king, and his simple, silver-clasped headscarf is his crown.
His role as a ruler is an integral part of identity, but not one that overpowers his own desires and his own pursuits of joy and discovery. Vanja actually only spends three months out of the entire year in Sumber Eau, when the councils are in session and laws are reviewed. The rest of the time is spent travelling at sea and visiting various port cities, sometimes venturing further inland when the whim strikes him. It isn't as though he makes any secret of it, but Vanja prefers to operate under the radar and won't draw attention to his status unless necessary. He likes his experiences to be authentic, you see, to taste the grit on his tongue.
Those who know him would say that Vanja is quite the flirt. He is, of course; he flirts with pretty much everybody. It's fun, and it's a good way to sound out the character of those he meets for the first time. The principled ones always shoot him down, and the scoundrels play along. Both are cute in their own way.
Vanja is, obviously, one of the scoundrels. It's his own selfish streak that allows him to skip out on the courts of Sumber Eau for most of the year. He drinks, he gambles, and he typically only follows the law when convenient for him. To Vanja, rules written in books, as important as they are, don't hold a candle to real, actual human experience. And Vanja loves people. He loves sitting down with them, listening to their stories, playing music with them, being taught by them. He wouldn't willingly hurt another person unless someone else was immediately in danger.
His interactions with others give Vanja deep joy and satisfaction, but the feelings aren't necessarily personal. His heart remains closed off. Vanja craves love and affection, but fears getting burned by their intensity. He avoids true commitment because the act of settling on something, of choosing something, comes with the inherent risk of not being chosen in return.
So Vanja flirts, breaks bread with locals, and does his paperwork at a distance from his own country. He charts the stars and moves to the next place before the dread seeps in.
His role as a ruler is an integral part of identity, but not one that overpowers his own desires and his own pursuits of joy and discovery. Vanja actually only spends three months out of the entire year in Sumber Eau, when the councils are in session and laws are reviewed. The rest of the time is spent travelling at sea and visiting various port cities, sometimes venturing further inland when the whim strikes him. It isn't as though he makes any secret of it, but Vanja prefers to operate under the radar and won't draw attention to his status unless necessary. He likes his experiences to be authentic, you see, to taste the grit on his tongue.
Those who know him would say that Vanja is quite the flirt. He is, of course; he flirts with pretty much everybody. It's fun, and it's a good way to sound out the character of those he meets for the first time. The principled ones always shoot him down, and the scoundrels play along. Both are cute in their own way.
Vanja is, obviously, one of the scoundrels. It's his own selfish streak that allows him to skip out on the courts of Sumber Eau for most of the year. He drinks, he gambles, and he typically only follows the law when convenient for him. To Vanja, rules written in books, as important as they are, don't hold a candle to real, actual human experience. And Vanja loves people. He loves sitting down with them, listening to their stories, playing music with them, being taught by them. He wouldn't willingly hurt another person unless someone else was immediately in danger.
His interactions with others give Vanja deep joy and satisfaction, but the feelings aren't necessarily personal. His heart remains closed off. Vanja craves love and affection, but fears getting burned by their intensity. He avoids true commitment because the act of settling on something, of choosing something, comes with the inherent risk of not being chosen in return.
So Vanja flirts, breaks bread with locals, and does his paperwork at a distance from his own country. He charts the stars and moves to the next place before the dread seeps in.
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I. . . . . .
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seafaring / navigation, ship management, and general marine/ocean knowledge. he is both sailor and mermaid, after all. xxjudgement / perhaps it is years of experience traveling, perhaps it is his keen eye for people. vanja can smell trouble from a mile away & is excellent at evading it. xxmusic & storytelling / he collects various oral and musical styles and traditions everywhere he goes, and at this point has accumulated quite the skill set and repertoire.
II. . . . .
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hell-raiser / when vanja sees an opportunity to do something fun or interesting, he'll usually go for it, even if doing so definitely isn't the best idea at the time xxcannot commit / he is a transient soul that will be there one day, gone the next. xxformal events / vanja is... fine as long as they are kept short and there is something to do. but if he has to remain stuffed into a suit for long periods of time, keeping up the 'royal persona', he's literally going to jump out a window
III.
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owns an expansive aviary & is an accomplished falconer | instrument of choice is the three stringed, long-necked lute | will use loaded dice if he doesn't like who he's playing with | makes his own jewelry from stuff he finds | keeps all of his shirts unbuttoned at least halfway | writes music for those he loves, but never shows them | has a tendency to gaze at people with hooded, distant eyes when sizing them up | has elaborate scale markings running down one leg that he insists is a tattoo
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H I S T O R Y
goodbye, dijana
goodbye, dijana
The person who Vanja admired most in this world was his mother, the previous ruler of Aquarius. One could say that her life served as the blueprint for his, and today he has emulated nearly all of her choices and experiences. She traveled, swash-buckled, and encountered a variety of lovers over her lifetime. As a result, Vanja is the eldest of many siblings, some adopted and others blood related. He trusts his family to manage the day to day affairs of the state while he is off travelling.
He expects to be killed and eaten like she was, someday, too. . . . .
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(Pictured to the right is how I envision Vanja's mermaid half to look like, more monstrous and serpentine than The Little Mermaid, haha.)
He expects to be killed and eaten like she was, someday, too. . . . .
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(Pictured to the right is how I envision Vanja's mermaid half to look like, more monstrous and serpentine than The Little Mermaid, haha.)