Adelaide Harrington (![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} __ididitmyway) wrote,@ 2012-02-04 04:57:00 |
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PROFILE
even though the truth can burn inside or fall behind I will wander through your open mind As an Angel of Independence, Adelaide’s powers are two-tiered. Unlike many angels (or demons, in fact) her presence alone is not enough to make someone feel more independent -- but it is a start. Her presence is something of a passive ‘foot in the door’ that lets her use her own active methods (talking, persuasion... that kind of thing) to a greater effect because people will either feel more inclined to listen to her or her words seem to mean more. Either way, when she is around they are more likely to hear her than they are if the same conversation were to be held over the phone. The rest of her power is an active thing, effecting people within a radius of around 15 to 20 feet depending on how much energy she’s putting into it. People do begin to feel more independent around her, yes. She doesn’t need to touch them, either, she can focus just as easily on that one person by talking to them alone. They are so much more inclined to hear what she is saying -- and actually take it in. Adelaide’s Earth affinity leaves her with fists that can land blows dealt with blessed rock, and one very specific ward that leaves those who upset it walking/falling on equally blessed and quaking ground. She is sure there are metaphors in there somewhere, she has just never been bothered enough to find them. She can also accelerate the growth of plants substantially. Knock a demon out for long enough and she supposes she could bury them with roses but she has never tried. APPEARANCE AS TEARS SUBSIDE, I FIND IT ALL SO AMUSING TO THINK I DID ALL THAT & MAY I SAY, NOT IN A SHY WAY. OH NO; OH NO, NOT ME. I DID IT MY WAY Adelaide stopped aging at around sixty years, but she’ll be damned if she looks it. She figures she’s just lucky like that. She looks like a doll too, and that isn’t even any real kind of vanity talking, she just calls it as she sees it and how she’s heard it said. True, she maybe looks a little like she’s thin enough to snap, but it that’s not something she needs to worry about. She has the delicate frame of a woman who has always been slim, and the posture of someone who has know how to hold herself all her life. Also, occasionally, something of the swagger of someone who knows precisely what she wants from life -- for herself and everybody else. She walks with confidence and her held is forever held high. Her hair is still blonde -- no, that isn’t dye and Lord knows why she’s been saved from going grey -- about shoulder-length when it’s down... which it very nearly never is. She much prefers it pinned up. Adds a touch of class. Her brown eyes are warm and she is very quick to give smiles, though just as quick to let her face level with you and say exactly what she thinks of you if the mood takes her. She dresses well, keeping herself in some state of elegance simply because she is in control of her own finances and... can do so. The Boston accent that has stuck to her like white on rice ever since she stepped foot in that part of the States can lend a hardened edge to her or it can make her seem that bit more jovial. It can make her seem a lot of things, actually. A lot of them are accurate. Should you actually pay close enough attention, she always smells of rosewater. Not obnoxiously so, but it can’t really be helped. And it isn’t perfume. When furled, the seaming of her wings resembles a tattoo of a rose in the centre of her shoulderblades (which marked her as a harlot for the first half of her life -- well, to those who saw her back bared anyhow) with tendrils spreading out a little way across the backs of her shoulders. Her actual wings are large, rose-red and... well, made of roses. Genuine roses. The flower-heads, though, not the greenery (which, she will admit, that while fabulous is probably a bit strange). One would think that this would make them bulky and clumsy and not at all aerodynamic, but she laughs at that assessment. There are feathers in there too, you just can’t see them properly (if at all) because they’re the exact same colour as the roses. The mix of petals and feathers is very soft to touch, though, and needless to say she is rather proud of them. She also often seems to leave petals behind her whenever she furls or unfurls her wings, yet none of the roses ever seem to go bare. It’s a little like an automatic way of saying ‘Adelaide was here’. She does have a number of scars dotted over her from going more than her fair share of rounds with hell-spawn, but at her age it would be difficult not to. PERSONALITY & RESIDE IN THE HEART OF YOUR STRONGEST BELIEFS I’M GONNA TEAR ALL YOUR TEMPLES DOWN - I’M ON A MISSION NOW Independent: Freedom from control or influence from another or others; exemption from reliance on, or control by others; direction of own’s own affairs without interference; someone who does things on his or her own. There’s a gist somewhere in there and it rather accurately explains Adelaide. If there ever was an angel who could stand on their own two feet, it was her. She is, for all intents and purposes, a law unto herself, though she knows where all the Within Reasons lie and isn’t one to put a foot over them. There is and has always been a definite something about her that seems to highlight how much she does not depend on others for, well, anything at all. She is a noticeably strong character, both emotionally and in how she often comes across on a day to day basis. Confident and assertive, Adelaide has always walked with her head held high -- that head always knowing what it is she wants and not what it is anybody else thinks she should want. She can sometimes seem almost domineering, her nature combined with the wisdom of her years tipping a ‘strong presence’ into something rather more when she lets it. This is a character flaw and she knows it -- sometimes it scares the kids -- but if she’s not paying attention at the time there’s not much she can do about it. Her tendency of late is to slip into the finickety but well-meaning (and somehow endearing, she insists) neighbour/friend/old lady you just met right this moment. It’s easier to give advice that way (some may consider it bullying? But if the target realises she’s tells it true... Well.) and to sew the seeds of Independence once you’re done inviting yourself around or accidentally-on-purpose running into them... You know, just generally refusing to get out of their hair. Her methods may be considered unorthodox but she changes with the times, kids. She has been a Venetian noble, a nun, a nun again, a suffragist, a social worker, a teacher, and a lot of different things in between; the methods she used to use don’t all work now. She is just as capable of pushing all hardened edges aside and behaving like a kindly old lady or the mother/grandmother-figure she can be underneath, but in this day and age the interfering neighbour thing just seems to work so well when you’re supposed to look sixty. Supposed to look sixty, because she damn well knows she doesn’t. She’s not even being vain, though she does dress herself well and always puts her warpaint on before she ever leaves the house; it’s just a fact. Demons and anyone else trying to snipe at her about her apparent age won’t get anything from her apart from perhaps a little amusement, because she sure as all hell wasn’t ever going to look her real age regardless. She is quick-witted and can be a little smart-mouthed when the mood takes -- she blames Boston, her mother blames her and her sister, who is just as bad -- and it often gets worse when she’s irritated. Her composure is usually such that she doesn’t lose her temper the way most other people do; it leaks out in her speech (unless she is deliberately skirting around something, Adelaide tends to tell it straight; you’ll probably know if she doesn’t like you) and facial expressions, relieving any building pressure and negativity before it gets too firm a hold of her. Her genuine bad moods are marked by the more obvious dominant streak in her -- she just comes off like a battle-axe -- and a very firm, deliberate way of talking. Her words are chosen carefully and she doesn’t take any bullshit. If that bad mood is aimed at you personally, it may come across a little worse, but then you probably asked for it. The few times she has lost her temper she has caused very serious damage to the interior of whatever building she was in at the time. Her sense of humour is often tickled by people trying to help her cross the street or carry her bags... She knows you’re just good souls and appreciates the effort you’re going to, but sweetheart, you’re helping the wrong Virtue. On plenty of occasions she has told people to give her those bags back and pointed out an elderly individual who really did need the help. The rest of the time she is quick to smile, just as quick to laugh and she definitely has a sense of whimsy. She’s a cheerful angel despite some of the things she has seen and been forced to do. She finds mortals and life in general as entertaining as much as she finds it grim and dangerous for the soul. Which she decided after the millionth time her mother shouted at her for not being as virtuous as, well, the other Virtues. ✖ SKILLS & ABILITIES Adelaide speaks English, Italian and French fluently. She’s skilled with plants, which is not just an affinity helping her along. She is also well-read, well-versed enough in the Bible to annoy demons when she needs to and knows her way around enough weapons to look after herself and those around her who need it (crossbows, guns, throwing knives, other blades...). Her cookery skills are awesome, too. And she can sing. And whistle really loudly, in tune. ✖ STRENGTHS Independent Means -- Adelaide managed to take her Virtue to the next step. Because it is so much easier for a Virtue to move around or settle as they see fit (providing they’re not imposing on the territory of another of their own), it has been easy for her to take up paying jobs over the years. She has her own bank account and manages her own finances. On top of that, there is the money which her father was given by one of his richer charges as thanks for helping their family in a definite time of need -- this is money that he refused to accept for himself and instead split between his daughters, since his charges would not have it back again. Everything she has earned over the years and others bits that her parents or sister have passed over to her all went into saving. All of it has gathered interest, too. True, she has spent some and some she has simply donated to causes that she thought needed it -- or shoved into the hand of an Angel of Charity and Generosity and told them to do the right thing with it -- but at the end of the day, she always has enough left over for herself. A Hell of a Shot -- Well, she is and she always has been. Her father once told her that her aim wasn’t something she’d learned as much as it was something she was born with. Adelaide has a wicked aim and has, over the years, learned to turn her hand to most weapons. Crossbows, throwing knives and -- within the last few centuries -- guns are a favourite, but she nearly always carries some other form of blade on her. Just in case. This old girl isn’t fated to die yet, and needless to say, she’s something of a tough cookie. ✖ WEAKNESSES Independent to a Fault -- Ohhh, yeah. It’s something she has been accused of on many occasions and she has never ever ever denied it. She knows it’s true. There’s just a part of Adelaide that really can’t accept that it might just be better to accept help than to turn it -- thus the person offering it -- away. You’re generally in for some kind of trouble if you try to tell her what to do (especially if you mean it) because there’s not a chance in hell she’ll go along with that. Adelaide does what Adelaide wants to do, within reason. She’s a woman perfectly capable of standing tall on her own, she doesn’t need anybody... and it often shows. That said, she isn’t stupid enough to come across a bunch of demons and believe she can take them on alone. She would find others first... Could Make a Saint Swear -- The phrase ‘stubborn as a mule’ is usually the first to spring to mind for most people, but what most people don’t seem to realise is that the mule was actually probably as stubborn as Adelaide. Lord no, when the woman has put her foot down that foot is down and her mind is made up. The only thing that is really going to change it is her -- even if a change of heart coincides with something totally valid that you just said, don’t kid yourself, it had nothing to do with you. There was a chance she wasn’t even listening. All Monsters Are Human -- Well, they’re mortal. She includes vampires in that statement. Demons don’t scare her as much as they annoy her past the point of any party leaving the situation unharmed. The creatures of the earthly plane, though? Those can scare her. There is no kind of treachery or depravity a demon is capable of that a mortal cannot turn all the way up to eleven on a rather more... substantial dial. Adelaide firmly believes this. Demons have no soul, mortals do; even if a demon was involved somewhere along the way, what kind of creature does it take to truly surpass the sins of hellspawn? This angel doesn’t want to know, and yet she seems to have found out on more than one occasion. Yes, the mortal races hold the power to frighten her. Good for them. I’m a good Christian, but Jesus H. Christ... -- Alright, so she’s a bit (or a lot) of a blasphemer. What? You live in a place long enough (she’s still blaming Boston for this) and you pick things up. She’s not apologising for it. Mostly because to her, they’re just words and words mean very little unless you back them up with action. In most/many other ways she really does behave like a good Christian, though. That part is a hard habit to drop after centuries of hanging with a mostly Roman Catholic crowd. She also smokes (arguably a little too much, but it gives her something to do with her hands and helps her think) and has the occasional drink. Put those three habits together and they’re not the best for a Virtue to have, but then her virtue doesn’t require for her to look or sound like a picture-perfect model angel. Just one that can stand on her own two feet. Not Just by Chance That I’m Alone -- Ah, no. Husband #1 fell from grace and died by her hand. Husband #2 was human and died of natural causes. But Adelaide considered herself extremely lucky that she even found those two men to begin with. It takes a particular kind of person to put up with her and the few other lovers she has had who have tried have found her a difficult woman to live with because she is such a strong personality. Or conversely, she had found it hard to live with them because their personality has been too strong and she is, once again, too much the independent (and stubborn) woman to let herself be overshadowed or nudged around by a personality that proved to be more than just a rival for hers. On top of that there is the rather obvious fact that she does not need anybody and it’s not the most ideal feeling to have as a noticeable presence in any relationship. Adelaide may have loved her husbands, but she didn’t need them, and due to how long they spent in her company they hardly really needed her either. Me? I’m a Beacon of Compassion -- Sometimes it’s not so much of a stretch to go straight ahead and call Adelaide ‘hard-faced’, though not towards everybody. Just the ones who cause the dependent to be that way (or the evil-doers, those who have successfully pissed her off, demonic-blooded individuals who are pushing their luck... demons), even if they don’t realise that that’s what they’re doing or have done in the past. These things do just happen by accident. There isn’t much getting away from the fact this angel knows you’re guilty of pushing someone into dependence, either. But even if the circumstances surrounding everything painted you as slightly less of a villain as others would see, Adelaide might offer a metaphorical slow-clap and then return to not feeling any sympathy for you. You made someone else dependent on you? Then go crying to someone else, kid, she is not really listening to you any more, even if most reasonable people would see you as a victim of circumstance in your own right. In short: turn someone else into a dependent individual and she may not be so cuddly any more. One to One -- Adelaide prefers to function on more of a one-to-one level with those suffering from levels of dependence, though she knows that in the past her demonic counterpart has preferred to hit the masses and touch as many souls as possible in one go. She prefers to try and ensure that she has a firm hold on certain individuals that will not be so easily shaken off. Because keeping the demons away from even just a few can make all the difference. Every person has a line where they can’t be dragged back into dependence (or conversely, into independence) and she makes that her primary goal. But she knows it potentially leaves more casualties of dependence if she does not get the chance to come round to help them. Takes No Prisoners -- Demon, evil-doer, ascended demons, nephilim... Whatever. It doesn’t matter. If you fit into those categories then she doesn’t care how cute you are, how old or young you appear to be, she’s going to take you apart. Preferably physically and right there and then, but sometimes sheer circumstance forces her to make an exception. And sass from the demonic-blooded is cute, but too much of it and she will bless the ground they’re walking on. Or possibly just them. Lord knows her presence should be enough to keep their mouths shut. HISTORY I’VE LIVED A LIFE THAT’S FULL, I’VE TRAVELLED EACH & EVERY HIGHWAY & MORE, MUCH MORE THAN THIS; I DID IT MY WAY Originally named Adelina, Adelaide was born to Salvatore and Orelia di Viscardi -- the surname adopted from the family line her father was Guardian of. They were nobles and a pious family, though most of that was the influence of Orelia’s Virtue (faith & piety) and were always pleased to welcome Salvatore and his family into their home. Adelaide and Ambra (angel of individualism), her younger sister (only by a handful of years), played with the children of the di Viscardi family, automatically following the act that their father was a cousin of the head of the family, and were more or less growing up alongside them. The problem was that the daughter of a Venetian noble during the 1500s was not expected to be Independent. It was acceptable to be Individual to a point... as long as after that point to adhered to the rules that every other young lady of your station did. Adelaide and Ambra received funny looks from any nobles who were not the di Viscardi family, and the di Viscardi children -- the whole family, even -- were not getting looks that were much better. They were heavily influenced by the angels of virtue surrounding them, and while Orelia’s faith and piety was perfectly placed in a very Roman Catholic country, the allegedly ‘wilful’ streaks that Adelaide and Ambra had brought out in the children particularly were not approved of by the majority. Eventually it was decided a better idea that the young ladies all spend a little time apart from each other -- di Viscardi thought that then perhaps Salvatore’s daughters would also calm down. That idea was, of course, quite laughable. The concept of Ambra ever conforming to the current society’s expectations was about as believable as Adelaide’s independence becoming any less fierce than it already was. And despite the both of them being around what the mortals deemed a marriageable age, there wasn’t a man in all of Venice who could have levelled with either of them in terms of... well, independence or individualism. Society in general seemed able enough to deal with Ambra on her own, however. Alone, the young angel of individualism wasn’t so daunting -- especially not with her mother there to keep her in check. Adelaide, on the other hand, was another matter entirely. So she did what she came to do best and set off on her own, assuring her parents she would be perfectly alright. And she was. She came across demons (solo) sooner than she had expected, but she put an end to them. On her journey between Venice and Rome (where she did not realise she would end up), she caused exactly the same problem with a number more children as she had in the children of the di Viscardi family (God forbid they be independent souls) and didn’t feel the least bit sorry for it, really. It might have been the social norm, but making it so that one gender had to be dependent on the other was not right in Adelaide’s mind. Which was where it mattered. It actually took her a reasonable amount of time to reach Rome, so by the time she got there she was in her early thirties rather than her early twenties. But the moment she truly started to look around she found herself drawn to the convent. An odd thing, she thought, since one would think the sisters would be supporting each other rather than encouraging a dependence that seemed to surround the buildings like a bubble. Ask enough questions, though, and you often get your answer. They had recently lost the Mother Superior; a woman not just beloved by the nuns within the order but by the people as well. She had, for a long time, been the bedrock of support for the sisters and they had come to depend upon her. A little too much, perhaps. On an impulse, Adelaide chose to move herself as close to the convent as possible -- and joined the order. As you do. Well, she pretended to already be a sister of... whichever order it was (no, she wasn’t clear on those details) and lept into the deep end. Thus, Sister Adela Maria was born. To this day, she isn’t really sure why they believed her when it was so obvious there was something off about her claim. She walked in looking more or less like a Roman noble for starters. Perhaps it was because they were all still grieving and pleased to see a new face, or maybe it was just because she’s an angel and some people simply seem more inclined to trust her at face value because of it. Her pretending to be a nun there saw the first time she ever actually owned a rosary, which she found oddly fitting -- ‘rosary’, from the Latin meaning ‘rose garden’, which was precisely what she had put herself in charge of growing. Amidst the quiet life of the sisters still effected by varying levels of dependence and grief, Adelaide’s (or Sister Adela Maria’s) independent streak blazed like a beacon. She couldn’t have made it more obvious that she was not at all cut out for the quiet life of prayer and contemplation than she did just by attending mass. Her voice carried even though she spoke no louder than anyone else -- they all heard her. Such was the curse of being an angel, she supposed, though she was pleased that her influence was having no negative effect on the women around her. They had all chosen that life, they wanted to be there. She decided any independence they found must have only lent strength to that. Well, good. By the time it began to feel like time to leave -- the convent had been mended already but there was always the people around it to help, so she had dawdled -- she had already stopped aging. At just a little over sixty... and then there are the years she just forgot to count added on. She was definitely past the 1600AD mark. Many of the nuns who had seen Sister Adela Maria join them had passed away. It was the novices who were now in the winter of their lives and had long taken to watching her knowingly. Meanwhile, she had found a new gardener for her rose garden in a young novice, Benetta -- the poor child who used to wear a mask out of her room due to burn scars she’d received as a child. Now she wore a veil (it suited her better and was more comfortable), Adelaide being a better influence than the awkward silence of other novices who just didn’t know what to say. Still, she needed to leave, if not before getting cornered in the garden by the older sisters. They only wished to say thank you. They were not sure what she had done, when she had done it or why, but they were grateful all the same. It was a peculiar moment for the angel. She appreciated it, she really did -- but she had no idea what one said to that. So she chose not to say anything to it and simply let her pair of large, rose-red wings tear rather unceremoniously through the back of the habit she was wearing, and just took off. She still has that rosary somewhere. Although she had left the convent, Adelaide chose to remain in Rome for the time being. For now, it was her district to watch over and it was easier to stay than it was to go looking for another area not already taken up by an angel of independence. To be honest, she thought she could have stayed there for a good long while. As it stood, she only lingered long enough to fall in love and have it all fall apart. In a terrifically monumental fashion. Giulio was a Guardian Angel, like her father. Unlike her father -- but like so many other Italian men throughout the ages -- he had a default setting that assumed he was God’s gift to women. He was attractive (and looked to be around her alleged age...), she would give him that, but that was all. Past that Giulio couldn’t even get her to give him the time of day (seriously, he tried). It took him decades of ‘wooing’ and then a genius plan to get an angel of lovingness involved -- potentially through kidnapping or conning them, Adelaide was never quite sure -- before she would really look at him properly again. A slight twist of the arm and she agreed (of her own will, damnit!) to spend time with him. Then it turned out he was a civilised creature after all and she quite liked him. Well, she clearly more than just liked him because she ended up marrying him. It turned out there was a hitch, though. A small, technical fault that could lead to disaster for the both of them. Of the family Giulio was guarding, there were only two members left. Father and daughter. Adelaide was no idiot; she knew what happened to Guardians who lost their charges because it had always been the one thing she dreaded happening to her father. And no, she was not particularly pleased with her husband for not having mentioned it before. But the daughter was eventually married off to a good man, which gave her them all the hopeful future of children for a time. Ultimately, though, it was not to be. Age and a bad chest caught up with the father and he died after spending a week abed, despite anything Giulio tried. The daughter went into labour prematurely and both she and the child were lost in childbirth. Despite his charges being dead, Giulio was alive -- it was his mind that was broken beyond repair. In his grief he did not aim to take his own life, he lashed out at those around him. All of them at the time were mortal and all were innocents. Giulio Fell instantly, but it did not stop him taking his pain out on the mortals that still lived. The end to that was Adelaide, with a carving knife and a fire iron. Her husband’s end was not pretty, but she did not think twice about it. Then that was that. She was leaving Rome. For a little while she just upped and left this plane altogether, taking herself to Celestia to lick wounds she had not fully realised were most definitely there and to explore a place she had never actually been to, heritage aside. It was a shock to her to realise how much she missed Giulio’s presence -- he had been the kind of man she could have easily existed alongside for as long as they were both happy -- though less of a shock to acknowledge she did not, and had never, truly needed him there. But then she thought that perhaps he knew that and it did not take her anywhere near as long to stop feeling at all sorry for herself as it did to satisfy her own curiosity about where her race came from. Mostly the restless wanderings of an angel who had temporarily lost her own way for one reason or another -- and become a little distracted along the way -- Adelaide’s diversion was never going to last too long to begin with. Not in comparison to her potential lifetime at any rate. Sister Adela Maria appeared in a convent in France -- she moved back and forth between a number of convents in France, actually, throughout at least a century. She was doing much the same as she had in Rome: either helping matters within the convents themselves (where she always had a rose garden) or making a point of reaching out to the individuals who came to the sisters for mass. In between her stints as a nun (or during -- nobody ever recognised her without her habit on) Adelaide wandered among the people outside the convent walls, spreading her influence as far as she possibly could without stepping on another angel’s toes. That was, at least, until the French Revolution came around. Really, there’s a fine line between influencing independence in others and simply egging them on -- but past a certain point, how do you tell the difference? Other than picking off demons of anarchy, hatred, rebellion, etc. who would have otherwise just fed on the social and political climate, there was very little Adelaide could do but take a step back and watch with horror while the French killed each other. A revolution was no place for a an angel of independence unless you were willing to take sides. And she wasn’t. In 1803 France it’s remaining territorial possessions on continental North America in selling Louisiana to the United States of America. Adelaide went with it. Just like that. Only not to Louisiana. To Boston, or thereabouts at the time. She had had enough of what was happening in France at the time and had seen enough of the country -- the United States was new to her. Although, for a significant period of time she drifted around, doing what she generally did best (making your wives, children -- oh, and former slaves -- more ‘wilful’ than they apparently had any right to be... whatever). There wasn’t a whole lot for her to do other than that and she wasn’t ever going to be sorry for any of it. Except for the few times she witnessed husbands try to force a reversal and she had to show a few gents why you just don’t mess about with certain ladies. She isn’t sorry for that either, because she’ll her bottom dollar they never laid a hand on another woman again. She never did take kindly to mankind being the ones to cause dependence. Her eventual treatment of women who thought they could lord it over coloured maids because their parents or grandparents had been slaves (or they were ignorant and just assuming that was the case) wasn’t that much different. Needless to say, after everything that had happened in France she had avoided the Civil War like the plague. Everything began to kick off for Adelaide when the Women’s Rights Movement did. That? That was something she could get behind. She even joined the American Woman Suffrage Association in 1870 despite not really being American and having to make up a surname. At one point she was giving speeches -- which was really just convenient because there wasn’t a much better was to utilise her particular set of gifts when it came to trying to make people listen. It may have counted as an abuse of power to some extent, but... No, she’s not sorry for that either. When the National Women Suffrage Association merged with the American Women Suffrage Association in 1890, Adelaide actually met her second husband (... mortal) and they were married within a year. How does that work? She doesn’t know. But he was a good man who had the patience and acceptance to cope with her, and by that point her sister had come to the U.S. as well to lend a hand with what was now the National American Women Suffrage Association. If ever there was a pair of sisters to scoff at throwing themselves under horses then go ahead and claims the mounts for themselves, it was Adelaide and Ambra because the two Virtues only ever played off each other and made each other worse than they were already. While everyone else was off ‘practicing forms of civil disobedience’, Adelaide was actually being fairly well-behaved despite her influence only ever encouraging them (she is sure Ambra joined in). She still had others to help outside of the Women’s Rights Movement -- though women did not gain the right to vote until 1920 -- and was always occupied with one soul or another. Or simply with her husband, Joseph. He was, of course, aging like any other mortal would, and it saddened her, but she kept herself from looking too far into the future. By then he was getting a little old for them to even consider starting a family, and despite her race she didn’t even know if it was at all possible for her anymore. Instead, she took up a position at a school, teaching the young ones. It seemed a good enough way to ensure independence in the future; getting them when they’re young. As the watched her husband fade away over the years, she continued to invest in the future of the mortals around her, teaching their children how to stand on their own two feet in a way that hopefully could not be reversed. Joseph’s eventual death occurred right alongside Adelaide running into the sister of one of the teachers she worked with and the girl was in dire trouble. She was the centre of a case of domestic abuse and remained sorely dependent on her own husband. The angel... couldn’t have that. With the help of the sister she worked with, she persuaded the girl away from her husband “just for a little while” and set her up in a house not too far away from where she had settled herself. That house eventually became a halfway home for women with similar problems, as Adelaide worked through them all -- at one point with the help of a newly attached Guardian -- and did her best to give them back their independence. But that was just the start; there were other things that she was simply the wrong Virtue to assist with and she eventually left the halfway home in the careful hands of a patron who had adopted all the women as wards. After that came Martin Luther King Jr., the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Civil Rights Act of 1968... a lot of things, actually. All of which Adelaide watched with varying degrees of interest. Man walked on the moon, Sesame Street premiered, The Simpsons debuted, the Soviet Union dissolved -- and then the Gates closed. For a few years, she tried to stay on the earthly plane, but it began to get to the point where she would have been a fool to stay any longer. Her sister fled to Celestia only months before she did, and their mother had already dragged their father to the heavenly plane without giving him much of a say in the matter. Adelaide and Ambra spent much of their time afterwards trying to keep his thoughts from what might be happening beyond the Gates. ✖ SINCE THE GATES OPENED When the Gates opened, Adelaide’s father left immediately to check on his charges. Adelaide followed shortly after, though she headed in a slightly different direction. Salvatore headed to Italy again while she returned to the United States. As far as she knows, her mother and sister are still in Celestia. She, on the other hand, had brought herself straight back to where she had left off. Boston -- for a week or so -- but she wandered, killing off any and every demon that was in her way. She found her way to Scarlet Oak, Michigan, and tired of travelling, decided to settle there for the time being. That demon-church might have had something to do with that decision. No building with that many dependent souls (or demons) in it was ever going to get past her. |  ADELAIDE & not the words of one who kneels FULL NAME: Adelaide Marie Harrington NICK NAMES: Adele, Adelina, Sister Adela Maria CURRENT AGE: 479, eternally 60-ish DATE OF BIRTH: 17th May, 1530 RACE: Angel TYPE: Virtue; Angel of Independence SEXUALITY: Pansexual CURRENT RESIDENCE: House on S Beams OCCUPATION: -- PARENTS: Salvatore (guardian) & Orelia (virtue; faith & piety) SISTER: Ambra (virtue; individualism) SPOUSE #1: Giulio (fallen; deceased) SPOUSE #2: Joseph Harrington (mortal; deceased) FRIENDS: TBD ENEMIES: Demons, Dependence  • She no doubt smokes more than most people think she should. • Her baking (& cooking in general) is awesome. • She will carry those heavy bags herself, thank you, & she knows how to cross the road. • She's a more-than-talented white witch with skills particularly in wards, though she's a notable healer too. • When she drinks she prefers proper liquor, please.  ✖ ABILITIES: • Holy Magic: Angels are natural white witches and healers. As such, they have a special magic that can only be used by them. Holy magic can be used to bless items, places, or people, and it’s an immensely powerful blessing. Not only will it serve as a ward against anything demonic, its very presence can hurt anything demonic. It can also be used as an offensive magic against anything demonic, fallen angels, and nephilim. Inversely, holy magic can be used to heal anything angelic – including angelic-blooded humans. • Psychic/Elemental Powers: As one of the creator races, and already strong witches, angels are sometimes born with psychic and elemental powers, mimicking those of humans. It should be noted that there are not elemental angels the way there are elemental humans and elemental fae. Some angels simply have a small, element-based power, or affinity for an element, without being a full-fledged elemental. There are no levels involved. • Detecting Their Own: When coming across a person that is angelic blooded, angels know it. Plain and simple. They know the person is angelic blooded and how strong it is. What’s more – they know if coming across one of their own descendants. ✖ STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES: • Detecting Demonic Presence: Angels automatically know demons, and with this, they automatically know if a person is demonic blooded. What’s more, they can detect curses (even if they don’t know how to break them). They also know fallen angels and nephilim on-sight. • Unholy Magic: Just as the angels have holy magic, the demons have unholy. They are as weak to it as demons are to holy. So there will be no marching in and conquering the demons with holy magic alone. In this respect, the angels and demons are perfectly even with each other. • Angelic Law: Angelic Law is not to be broken. Breaking these rules won’t bring about some sort of trial if caught – it’s simply an automatic fall. There is no wiggle room, or hiding your crimes. You do it, you pay. End of story.  • Angels are personifications of Virtues. • They know their Virtue from birth, as do their parents. It is their mission on earth to inspire and aid humanity to embrace this Virtue. • While there can be more than one angel of virtue with the same virtue, they tend to steer clear of each other and stay on opposite ends of the world. They find this the most efficient way of spreading virtue. • What is unique about angels of virtue is the fact that every one of them has a corresponding demon of vice and sin. In essence, each angel of virtue has a built-in arch-enemy at birth. • As an Angel of Independence, Adelaide’s natural enemy would be any and every Demon of Dependence. ✖ INDEPENDENCE’S POWER: As an Angel of Independence, Adelaide’s powers are two-tiered. Unlike many angels (or demons, in fact) her presence alone is not enough to make someone feel more independent -- but it is a start. Her presence is something of a passive ‘foot in the door’ that lets her use her own active methods (talking, persuasion... that kind of thing) to a greater effect because people will either feel more inclined to listen to her or her words seem to mean more. Either way, when she is around they are more likely to hear her than they are if the same conversation were to be held over the phone. The rest of her power is an active thing, effecting people within a radius of around 15 to 20 feet depending on how much energy she’s putting into it. People do begin to feel more independent around her, yes. She doesn’t need to touch them, either, she can focus just as easily on that one person by talking to them alone. They are so much more inclined to hear what she is saying -- and actually take it in.  NAME: Pippa EMAIL: See contacts page PB: Jessica Lange TIME ZONE: GMT LYRICS USED: ‘My Way’ by Frank Sinatra, ‘Mission’ & ‘Pillow of Your Bones’ by Chris Cornell  DISCLAIMER: This is a character journal for the RPG Light of May. I am neither Jessica Lange nor Adelaide Harrington and no money is being made from this. It is just for fun. |
