also note to self that Xiao Wen Ju has been an active model for 10+ years so make sure you get that picture-to-picture age consistency.
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32xxfemalexxchinesexxpansexualxxhuman witch with fey (é/äťĺĽł) ancestry
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Image is always at the back of her mind and control at the forefront. Her graceful stride and elegant casting exude effortlessness while the certainty behind her words leave little room for criticism which is just the way she likes it. Beneath her curated exterior are sleepless nights, migraines, and hours on the elliptical. She's the woman that needs to have it all. She needs to be the smartest one in the room, the strongest in the building, and look pretty while doing it. Even her love life is an exercise in control, never moving beyond brief flings once she gets bored of them. She maintains that she's always been aboveboard with her intentions, but her mother often chides her callousness. Nonetheless, nobody can argue that her skills far outweigh her blindspots. Her hard work and dedication has cemented her as an authority figure when it comes to medicine, even among the elders. Da Xiang, her older brother, was focused on taking over as the leader of the main branch and her other brother, Vic, was (is) too immature to be more than a career student. Years of irresponsibility left her picking up his slack and she knew that if he took over the western branch of the coven he would run it into the ground. Rather than risk that possibility, she took matters into her own hands.
Taking on a sizable loan from her father, Ziran opened a branch in Ariosas as a means of jump starting her own coven. A handful of corporations dominated Ariosas' marketplace and she wanted to break the mold. It wasn't a hit at first due to the ample number of conventional healers, but Tian Guan Pharmaceuticals found a niche market among those looking for more "exotic" (she despised that term) healing methods. Additionally, she wasn't afraid to price out the competition. Aside from being affordable, her shop offered exotic (sometimes contraband) ingredients and she was willing to work with small businesses to boost one another. Business cards for realtors, handmade soaps from forest sprites, and baked goods drew attention from tourists while fostering good will in the neighborhood. Building on her previous connections, she continued shaking hands with larger and larger figures in the food and beverage industry and soon, the pharmaceutical one as well.
Unlike other covens, the Tian Guan Coven welcomed people regardless of bloodline (though most were immigrants). Her base grew to include health gurus, socialites, and tech bros hoping to jump on the latest trend of alternative medicine. Suddenly, "TCM" was the panacea and all those people who wrinkled their noses when they passed by the shop clamored for goji berry tea and cupping sets. That wasn't to say she invented the herbal tonic (potions were common across all schools of magic), but the allure of the wooden drawers and satchels of dried herbs added a sense of exoticism.
After a few years, Ziran paid back her family in full and flew back to China to discuss the future of the coven. Now that their father retired, Da Xiang would be the new leader and more than likely, he'd choose Ziran to expand their coven beyond Ariosas. The night before the inauguration, Vic confessed to her and their older brother that he needed help. In an attempt wrestle control away from Ziran, he stuck a deal with a Money Demon. In exchange for seven years of prosperity, he would pay the demon back with seven of his blood. If he didn't, the demon swore to steal a month of his life for every day that he didn't repay his debt. After years of squandering everyone's good will, drawing a contract was the only way for him to prove that he deserved the still-contentious position of the western branch head In his mind, all of the money he donated to coven was worth more than the renown garnered from Ziran's shop in Ariosas. He begged them to find a loophole, exorcise the monster-anything to keep him from spilling blood.
Ziran had to laugh. Not only did Vic lie, but he broke the tenets of the coven. He endangered everyone and burdened his siblings with his ill-conceived bargain. She was done rescuing her brother. Traitors didn't deserve her help. Unfortunately, Da Xiang pointed out that if they didn't help, Vic would act recklessly. It wasn't worth punishing the rest of their family just to punish their brother. They estimated that he would have twenty years left assuming he fulfilled the contract by the end of the month; however, it wouldn't be a simple task. Neither of them were well-versed in exorcism magic nor could they find anyone powerful enough to vanquish a monster of that caliber. Their only option was outsourcing a mediator. After a few phone calls, they arranged a meeting to summon the demon and void the contract.
Negotiation came naturally to Ziran whose silver tongue eased the demon's hostile disposition. Between the mutual deprecation of Vic and the endless grievances the Money Demon had with humans, their motivations soon became clear. It relished in her brother's downfall. They loved watching Vic beg for mercy as his life toppled over. She knew it wouldn't be swayed by his tears nor would it fall for Vic's excuses. Instead she appealed to the demon's maliciousness. Humans had a short lifespan; their lives were a blip compared to that of a demon. Why shorten Vic's life when the demon could continue savoring her younger brother's misery? Suffering was a meal best savored and accelerating his death was too merciful. Humans ought to be punished for their greed so what better way than to spectate from afar. They could rebuke all of his successes, leaving him in the same position he was before: resented, shamed, and single. The demon cackled before shaking its head. It couldn't survive off of schadenfreude alone;it needed sustenance. With a lick of its lips, the demon offered a single alternative: Ziran's womb. If she could bear its child then the demon would not only void the original contract, but become the new patron of their coven. Before Vic could accept, Da Xiang stepped forward. He would shoulder half the debt. Instead of taking a month from Vic each day, the demon would siphon two weeks from the both of them. Despite Ziran's protests the three of them sealed the contract in blood.
It wasn't fair. The callous side of her screamed at Vic, asking why he couldn't take responsibility for once, but Da Xiang held her back. He stated simply that he would be the one helping for once. Since flying back from China, Ziran has thrown herself into the world of exorcism and shadow magic. Whether by sword, tome, or hire she's resolved to save her brothers and the future of the coven.
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