Heartless Devil-Flower

HISTORY

Mother and father were diplomats from two opposing families who met to negotiate a truce. They argued by day, they argued by night, and they argued even as they fell in love with eachother. Later they argued at their wedding, they argued when they woke up, argued when making love, and argued when watching tv. They don’t hate eachother. It’s just their way. So used are they to manipulating the minds and hearts of others that they do it onto themselves without thinking about it; it’s all a game to them. And so it was obvious that, when they had a daughter they both loved very much, that child was going to be an important pawn in their ritual of cat-and-mouse.

But they were not prepared for the consequences. Sow a storm... and reap the whirlwind, as they say.

The child was a natural prodigy at curses, though of course not formally educated in them. Because her feelings were being tossed about (sometimes as quickly as several times in a heartbeat) all the time for years, something snapped and her talents augmented themselves a hundredfold in self defense. For months their mansion was plagued by burglars, freak accidents, kitchen fires, and the occassional incursion of frogs attempting to steal your carkeys. A befriended curse master came to investigate and quickly found the cause. Although not trained, the young girl was naturally producing curses out of any strong emotion she felt.

So he took her away to train, for the protection of both herself and her meddlesome parents. He explained to her what sort of supernatural scarring had etched itself into her from years of turmoil and how to get a grip on herself. Confindent that he had done a good job, he released her back into the world at the age of 15 to attend a highschool and get on with her life.

But girls that age start taking an interest in boys. And boys that age (and younger, and older, and teachers too - randy bastards) noticed that their new classmate was starting to fill out very nicely. She quickly earned the name “Heartless” at that school: try dating her and you’ll soon find yourself cursed. Not that this stopped the first couple of hormonally overcharged teens from trying, but their wooing soon stopped after the first few traffic accidents.

Left with no choice she transferred to a school for girls only, at the advice of her cousin Jinx. When she heard this history the assassin casually remarked that Heartless was a bit like the Devil Flowers. These are said to be beautiful flowers that bloom at night and release the sweetest scent known to man. Few people can confirm this, because one whiff of their scent is enough to kill an adult elephant. They feature strongly in tragic tales of romantic youths with self-destructive urges, and were once favored tools amongst courtiers who wished to eliminate their rivals (but they stopped being so once it was found out that most courtiers who died from these flowers had actually accidentally killed themselves).

At the time Jinx told all this, a gossip-hungry BMX happened to walk by and overheard it all. And thus the new name was a matter of fact.

DESCRIPTION

To say that this nineteen year old young lady has ‘good looks’ is a bit of an understatement. It is perhaps ironic because of her unique curse, but Heartless is one of those rare kind of girls that aren’t just attractive - she’s genuinely beautiful, albeit in a sad kind of way that makes you want to hold her for hours without saying a word and take away the pain. (Not recommended, she’ll probably curse you.) She has ankle-length hair of an absolute, inky blackness with fiery red highlights. The same colors of Devil Flowers, of course. Her eyes are a vibrant purple, and her body... well, it’s really good shall we say? To all the women reading this: you’d probably hate her and want to be her at the same time. It’s just not bloody fair that she has all that and you hope she’ll get old and fat and miserable, the sooner the better. Heartless is aware of her rare good looks and tries her best to conceal it under classic scholarly robes that hides most of her shapes and curves under their many folds and layers. More attention means more curses. At the same time, her expression is usually one of stark emotionlessness. She has to do her damn best to keep her feelings in check all the time, so she tends to have a deadpan stoic look that is hard to break.

NOTES

When she was just six years old (before her talent manifested itself), her parents took the liberty to negotiate for an arranged marriage. When she is 22 she’ll have to wed with a certain Wong from the Heaven’s Blade Clan, who is five years her senior. Heaven Blade Wong (better known as The Grey Judge on the streets) is currently a C-Rank warrior who strives to uphold the law throughout Shen Zhou City. They respect eachother but don’t feel any genuine love (just as well!). * The safe haven of boylessness that is Jade Dragon High was recently compromised. With the arrival of three young men things got a bit different, and Heartless finds herself aiding and talking to these people more than she commonly does. Although she hasn’t fallen for any of them, they are rather distracting. One of them is dark and mysterious, and seems almost like a kindred spirit every now and then. This fellow also shares a room with her and it’d be so easy to just give up fighting it all and relax and share for once. Another is dashing and handsome, makes her want to laugh and be glad he’s around. A cool guy right out of a movieset that makes her eyes sparkle if she’s not careful. Finally, one has a raw animal magnetism that rouses years of repressed desires. When she recently saw him fight and could taste his power and rage on the air, she knew she wanted to be taken right there amongst the blood-splattered bamboo. Of course, these are fleeting emotions her iron will quickly beats down. She doesn’t love or lust after any of them, although she is starting to regret having to marry Heaven Blade Wong, a man she doesn’t particularly like, now that she’s starting to realize just how great the company men can be. And as for his part, Heaven Blade Wong keeps attracting little freak tornadoes. Every time he’s finished a report, it get sucked up and hurled throughout the station. He suspects he’s cursed by someone’s Grief, but he just can’t put his finger on it. Who has he recently hurt or disappointed? * And finally, the curse. Heartless Devil Flower is compelled to craft a curse out of every strong emotion she feels. As long as she keeps doing this, she’ll get a +10 bonus to all her rolls on Daoist Magic due to her heightened affinity with the balance of the world. But, if she fails to do this, the scars on her spirit rip themselves open and cause her to lose her breath in her Silver Chi (tied to Wu Wei, or “balance with the world”) until she does.

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