House of Cards OOC

So a quiet day on the range has inspired me to drag Davin back in. This might mean I end up dropping Justin but since he doesn't post a ton anyway, he can stick around for now.

So for those of you who might not recall, Davin is a member of the Bernard clan and thus uncle to Jordan and Hadyn. He used to have something of a relationship with Avery but they broke it off a while back amicably. He's an Eight of Spades and is in the business of getting unusual and rare items from Outside.

If you'd like to renew old CR or strike up new CR, just let me know. He's not a bad sort, really. :)

So. I kinda. Watched too much of Mads Mikkelsen and Hugh Dancy and started to miss people. So you can blame Bryan Fuller and Thomas Harris, yo.

For those who don't know, I'm Marie and I moseyed out here about a year ago due to ... stress and I'm very glad people have welcomed me back.

I'm bringing back Meghana (and knocking around the idea of Vasiliy but that's another week or three); who left a year ago to get money and a job to help her nephew on the outside. She's recently returned after an accident that cost the life of her brother and sister-in-law. Now if it was Meghana, she would have sucked it up and stayed but now she has said nephew in tow (about 1 1/2). She's come back and ready to deal with... all her issues.

For the newer players I don't know: Meghana comes from a 4th generation family in the Spades who had a spectacular mess while Meghana was growing up. Everyone on Deck assumed someone tried to kill her father and her; turns out she had to defend herself against her father and kill him. Because of this lie, she's alienated herself from her family and society at large. Now it's time to face the music.

She's kinda foul mouthed, arrogant, and emotionally confused because of the incident and her CR is somewhat lacking because of how she was. She's aware that she can't be the social outcast anymore by choice. So she's not quite the same lady who left the Deck.

Er, apparently.

This is Muzy, and this is Dr. Joanna O'Neill, Ten of Hearts. Born and mostly raised by her single father at the Heart outposts, Jo spent the first twelve years of her life happily going to the outskirts school and managing the tiny O'Neill household until her father decided she should take advantage of the better opportunities in Town, and he shipped Jo off to live with a distant cousin and finish up her compulsory education there. As is often the case when you start a new school at the awkward cusp of puberty, Jo had some trouble making friends, and instead she developed serious observation skills, watching her classmates as much as she ever played with them. As a result, it wasn't such a surprise when she decided to go Outside to college on a scholarship, studying first psychology at the University of Notre Dame and then going to medical school at the University of Washington, eventually qualifying to become a psychiatrist. The surprise was that she came back, and relocated to Town after her father's death.

She has a small practice in Town and coordinates with the other NPC therapists, including Milo and Suzanne. Hadyn has recently been nudged into seeking out her services, but she's always looking for more clients. Or if not clients, because this is the Deck and who seeks out psychiatric help really, friends and acquaintances would also be awesome.

:D?

Meet Sarah Gordon, Ten of Hearts. She's not the Queen, though she certainly expected to be rather than some Outsider with no history. If you think that sounds like someone with old blood, you'd think right. Sarah quite likes Outsiders so long as they stay in their place. It takes time to fully acclimate and understand the Deck. Someone not raised there can't begin to understand. That doesn't mean Outsiders are bad, only misguided. Why some of her best friends are Outsiders.

Sarah heads the Heart Public Relations Department. As you might expect she's outgoing, friendly and utterly charming (far more charming than her player). She's accustomed to the limelight and likes to keep herself there. She's played every card in her hand to accomplish that. You can read more about her here.

So I got myself another Club.

Meet Catherine Munwane, old Deck blood, in charge of the Clubs' PR since 2008, and Queen of Clubs to be. The Munwanes are best known for producing diplomats and counsellors, working in the background rather than being at the centre of attention. The biggest splash Catherine has made was when she opposed King Alexander and the plans he had for the Clubs' future.

While her official title is Head of PR, Catherine is de facto a Fixer. Well-connected through her own efforts and the Munwanes Outside, she's particularly skilled at making trouble go away quickly and quietly, and that service wouldn't be Clubs exclusive. So there's potential for backstory here if your character has dirty little secrets they want buried forever. Other relationships - established and future ones - are most welcome

More info can be found here.

Cheers!

--Ling

Hiii, Ana here. Figured I'd try my hand at a King of Diamonds. This here is Vincent, he's originally from the Diamond outpost, moved into the Castle after he finished getting a couple of degrees Outside. Anyway, I suppose Säde is on the verge of choosing him King. o/

Friends, Romans, Countrymen, Enemies, Other?

HELLO MY LOVELIES

Why yes, yes I have been rather absent lately. And I'm totally sure that bringing a character in after a rather long, fairly unannounced absence is probably the definition of insanity.

But dude. Dude.

It's Jinx. The shyest shy-person to ever shy around shytown. It will go perfectly with my bamfy spy-not-so-master-y-and-more-of-a-busybody-with-delusions-of-grandeur (who's name shall henceforth be shortened to Troll. Bamfy Troll).

Jinx is a Three of Hearts who came to the Deck as a baby and has no plans of every leaving. She tends to work as a scullery maid, though she's an aspiring artist who really enjoys doing pop-up art and sneaking paintings in castles when nobody's looking. Because she doesn't like it when people stare at her while she's doing things.

Quasi-familiar face ahoy. Emma, bringing back Lelial, the blind now-Four of Diamonds. She's "home" from another long exhausting book-signing tour and more than ready to finish off this current contract with her editor and then retire altogether. She's been back for a month or so, completed a successful challenge and is enjoying all the fall weather ever. Although she really misses Issac, sob.

So, huzzah Diamonds!

You all remember how easily enabled I am. Anyway. Ty here, with Dani. Genderqueer, identifies as whatever the heck she feels like that morning, likes breaking brains and is kind of a living ball of sarcasm and prickly. Despite this, she's a Club. It works, I swear. She's been around for three years now, works in the hospital in town as an aide, and has an awesome dog. See?

So...CR, lack of CR, acquaintances, enemies with longstanding grudges? All that good stuff. Hit me.

This started out with me wanting to try writing a Diamond of the despicable lawyer/banker variety. And here's the result.

Charles Winston, born and raised outside, married, one daughter, is the son of Säde's late husband, Frederick Winston. He's got family in the Deck but has never visited it himself until now. Long story short: the family company's in trouble and he needs Mother's help so here he is.

His tl;dr app is here.

I doubt there will be pre-existing CR except for the 'I knew your father/stepmother/other Winstons' type but I'm happy to plot future things of all kinds.

*off to work*

Cheers!

--Ling

Song here, and I bring to you one Margaret St. John (Maggie to her friends and Aunt Maggie to half the Deck), returning character, currently an 8 of Hearts and member of that suit for 30 years. You can read her app here.

She's a BAMF grand dame with a deadly aim who left her Spade roots when (at the ripe young age of twenty-nine) she fell in love with her mark (a certain heartfelt King) and became his paramour instead msters have (pretty much) stopped trying to make an example out of her for deserting them, or (as Maggie says) "stop sending me presents that I keep sending back in boxes." Some claim her vaunted gardens hide the bones of many a Spade seeking advancement. Indeed, few remember when she was the shining star of the Spades, their up and coming cleaner, spy and wetwork specialist.

Maggie is everyone's favorite "auntie." It's a role she's played so long that most people forget she was once the Spades' most feared weapon. She relies on charm and sharp eyes--and sharper wits--when need be. Maggie adores children and, due to lack of any of her own, has adopted most of the Deck. She plays the role of gossipy auntie quite well.

In reality she remains a strange blend of Spade and Heart. She sees the worth of both philosophies and has seen the worst of both philosophies when taken to extremes. She joined--and remains with-- the Hearts because the Spades committed the unforgivable and because someone must look out for their interests. Poor dears. It's a wide world out there. Some of them tend to forget that.

Maggie's a crack gardener and cook. She can often be found puttering in her own gardens or attending to those of the Hearts. She bakes the best brownies on the Deck and make a cheesecake to die for. She's unflappable, unsinkable, unassailable, and yet never cold. She'll do anything to protect her Hearts--and has--whether they know it or not. She'll continue to do so until the day she dies.

I know we have new players and characters, so hit me with your CR!

Dillon Huntly, Five of Hearts!

His application is here, but in brief:

Dillon is the only boy in the youngest generation of Huntlys, and their most talented musician after his aunt Charlotte. He has a pair of music degrees from the Berklee College of Music, can play guitar, percussion, and piano, sings in a clear baritone that can go from rock music to opera, and should, really, be higher ranked than he is. He should also probably, at twenty-four, be doing more with his life than working as a record store clerk, but he's not doing either of those things thanks to failing his first challenge after coming home and then getting knocked down a rank directly afterwards.

He'll insist he's got no interest in playing the challenge game, but that's not strictly true. He just can't quite summon the energy for it, especially given how it went the last time, so he's pulling the slacker act and living above his parents' store with his dog.

Hit me, babies.

Hey, guize--meet Ivona Wolf, a Spade brat in every sense of the word and, coincidentally, Clive Kelly's worst nightmare that he just can't wake up from ever ex-girlfriend. Ivona's the only child of an old Spade family and works as a diplomatic liaison for Outside stuff, also as a linguist, translator, princess-bitch, ect.

Info and stuff is here, CR is welcomed, plotty things are even better, comments, questions, you guys know the drill XP. /scatters luff and confetti everywhere

Hi guys, this is Justin who probably has a last name when I decide what it is but you know you can make yourself whatever you want in the Deck so does it really matter anyway?

Oh, this is also Ana. o/

Some of you probably remember Justin when he was here a while back. Not long after getting stabbed in the hand by Victor and running off to the Hearts (thanks, Ceiro), he skedaddled and tried to make his way out in the Real World.

Which worked okay until he conned the wrong group of large men with guns and figured coming back to the Deck sounded like a splendid idea.

He's about 21 now, a little more grown up than he used to be, still has an authority problem, still has a being-mouthy problem. Isn't really the image of a Heart, at all. But then, he probably wouldn't have fit in in any of the stereotypical Suit types and being a Joker isn't for him.

Guess who it is, guys. It is a Scallion. Cower in terror.

Okay, okay, serious intro now. Raphael is a 28-year-old artist Four in Spade Castle. He's the semi-scruffy guy you see passing in the corridor. He's also that guy you maybe saw on the Green last week being a living statue, or painting a mural on one of the cottages (look, no one said anything about the outside of them, just the inside). He might also be the guy you saw on the farms or in the stables as help was needed there and money was needed in his pocket and a match was made. You know. That kind of guy. Not exactly starving, but not really flourishing either.

Oh yeah, and he's the black dustbunny of the Chives. That should be mentioned too. Scallion isn't the name he was born with, just what he changed his name to. (He can hear the jokes in your head. Go ahead, make them. He's gotten used to them.)

More at his app if you're interested.

 Hi all! Drea here with not one, but TWO new characters for you! 

Possibly more exciting is this girl here, Rowan Maclean, the Hearts brand new QUEEN (at last!) Full deets are here, but the basic gist:

• 27, ran away from her crime ring family when she was 16, and accidentally stumbled upon the Deck soon after (~11 years ago)
• Originally named Rose Waylett, originally from the Isle of Man, changed name and adopted the Deck accent when she arrived.
• How much people know about her life pre-Deck depends on how close they are, but they'll never know her real name for Reasons.
• Until Queenship happened, she was a Nine working in Security, Assistant Head to Jordan until he poofled (unofficial Head since.)
• She's a bit judgey on the inside, but she's also fairly nice inside and out, so come at her, bro /o/

And then there is also Teresa Robledo, Four of Clubs. Full deets are here, but gist again:

• Deckbaby, mother's side old Clubs, father's side newish, 20. Older brother that's a guardsman named Lionel.
• Works as a barista/cleanup/other in her aunt's coffee in Town, Cafe Cocodrillo. Has lived in Town since age 16.
• Three pets: Xavier (fat cat,) Jojo (parakeet,) Naomi (hamster)
• Chipper, flirty, protective of her frands, helpful, and a bit of a compulsive shopper. (psst Zoe psst)

Aaaaand I think that's it. Hit me with your best shot /o/

Hay uze gais, 'tis Emma with Juliette, a new addition to the Joker set. Like all the Jokers, Juliette is a lot little strange, has an affinity for sharp pointy things, and is absolutely head over heels in love with her horse, Dutch.

It's highly recommended to read her info, but be warned for "triggery" stuff and whatnot, but the app explains a lot about this 'un that might not be so evident otherwise. Anyway, she's been around the Deck for about six years, so CR hammering out is more than welcome.

<33

Hello, I'm Yarn. I'm bringing in Marche and Marche is a Two of Hearts. Marche is androgynous, but you can use whatever pronoun you want because it's a secret!! ;D We're both new to the game, so we'll both be very confuzzled at first. So please be gentle. Anybody who wants to develop CR or just wants to say hi can do it here! :)

Hi fun friends. It's Qi, and this fabulous creature is Rita, Nine of Hearts, and most famously know for being the fantastic Ms James, mother of the fine piece of Heart known as Riley James.

Story short, she came to the Deck as a teen in 1988 (about 25 years ago) with her mother Edith for the sole purpose of kicking ass and taking names and maybe also something about finance but really primarily ass-kicking. She fell in love and married Riley's father but then, after the intense tragedy of losing her closest brother Max in 1998 (15 years ago), wound up separating from her husband and raising her daughter her own damn self. She's now 41, a Nine, working as a project accountant for the Hearts and anyone else who needs her, and still as ab-fab as a James woman knows how to be. Which is a lot.

Hit me with your best CR, brosis-es.

Hey Cards~

So right I already posted for her and nonsense but here is a shiny intro post for Evangeline Darcey Mae Huntly! Cousin of Zoe, she's a learning resources specialist, which basically means she helps all those high schoolers in the Deck choose classes/get into college. Also Alasdair's ex and she hates him okay so don't even talk to her about him (though she brings him up all the time) (she likes holding grudges okay). Peppy, cheery, ridiculous; you know you want to be best friends with her, so all ye Deckbabies, come and get some CR~ :D