hh_mirror | Applicant: China Sorrows (Derek Landy's 'Skulduggery Pleasant', series)

Current Location: Sorting Room

Entry tags:

Applicant: China Sorrows (Derek Landy's 'Skulduggery Pleasant', series)

((OOC: In the Skulduggery Pleasant canon, when a person first sees China Sorrows, they fall instantly in love. The ability isn't gender bias, it will affect men and women equally. In addition, within the canon, is the susceptibility to control somone once their name is known. These abilities may or may not affect the characters at Hogwarts if that is the mun's preference. If you think it will be fun to play into it, e.g. to let a character fall for China, then you'll need to let me know through OOC or pm. For more information on China, check her user profile. Her mun.))

China Sorrows; her hair, black as deepest sin, framed her face while her eyes, as pale as her brother’s had been, scanned the sorting room. The heavy doors closed behind her with a soft fwump. The skirt she wore was a light green, and the jacket was of a green deeper than a thousand crushed emeralds. Her necklace was exquisite, having cost two very fine men their lives. At times, she wore it as a tribute to their sacrifice. Other times, she wore it because it went well with the skirt.

China walked to the desk at the far end of the room, situated below the large arched windows that overlooked the lush grounds of the castle. When she sat down in the chair the quill, having been unanimated next to a scruffy piece of parchment, became animated, standing at attention on its gold-point. China eyed it. A small smile graced her lips. She noticed that as she leant in to read the parchment, the quill was slowly turning clockwise on the desktop, grinding into the grain. Curious, she thought.

At the parchment’s top it explained that any verbal answers would be written down by the quill. The addendum and questions were all written in the elegant, Edwardian script. She was intrigued. She read on.

State your full name.

“China Sorrows,” she said. She eyed the quill as it matched her word, for word. It scratched away at the parchment, matching the looping Edwardian script of the listed questions.

1. What is your favourite cheese? Why is it your favourite?

“I enjoy Durrus cheese. It has a mild flavour and a creamy taste that becomes stronger and fruitier as it ages,” she said. “I prefer it at its peak.”

2. Who would you kill first, Barney or Carrottop?

As self-professed by China, she was neutral, and would remain so. “I am a collector. I am an observer. My resources, and my standing, must be in order before I’d commit myself to a vexatious endeavour like murder. My apologies.”

3. What time is it where you are?

She wasn’t sure, because where she was, was at this desk, answering silly questions. “It’s dark.”

4. If you were Albus Dumbledore returned from the dead, which member of the Order of the Phoenix would you sexually harass? How would you harass them? If you are Albus Dumbledore, please answer as if you were Sirius Black.

She gave the question some thought, because even though it meant nothing to her, it must’ve some meaning and need for someone else. “I don’t know these people, but if this Albus came back from the dead, he’d no doubt be a vampire or a heart-beat challenged significant other like a zombie, and I’d suspect his interests in sexual harassment would be nil.”

5. If you are pushing to be in:

A. Slytherin - please state the clever, witty name of the bar in which you bartend, in the dark.

“Arachne’s Chalice,” she expressed.

However, China wouldn’t be bartender. She thought that any endeavour into being one, would become too much; her clients as it stands were a handful -- with expressions and proclamations of intense, true love and whirlwind passion. It happened to get old, quick.

B. Gryffindor – Debate whether Harry should ultimately end up married to Fred or George. Use examples from a variety of world mythologies to bolster your argument.

China tapped a manicured nail on the desk, starring at the question. She couldn’t recall any homosexual marriage based stories in mythology, but she did know that certain species of animals did participate in homosexual acts, humans for one, dragonflies and hyenas for another. “I don’t know these people, so I can’t express a well enough analysis, and without knowing if Harry is a monogamist, or polygamist, I’m sure either of Fred and George would be adequate for his obvious... needs and feelings.”

C. Ravenclaw – You guys are supposed to be smart. Explain why my desk is inundated with paperwork at all times, even though I’m constantly disposing of it.

China sat back in the chair, letting her hands rest over the arms. She smoothed her forefinger and thumb together slowly, as if stroking invisible dollar bills. “I suspect you’re a bit dim. Frankly, I would have discovered ages ago that students were magically adding to the pile. I suppose for a lark.”

D. Hufflepuff – Prove you are not useless.

“I’m sure you’ll soon see my usefulness,” she expressed.

6. Offer a bribe to the members of this community so that they will not squib you. Items used in bribery do not necessarily have to belong to the person offering the bribe. Do not threaten us rather than offering a bribe. A threat indicates you either don't really want to be here, or don't have enough sense to answer the question properly. The hat will automatically squib you, regardless of other votes, if you do.

She didn’t let it show, but China was taken aback by the final question. She composed herself. She wasn’t in the habit of offering up her possessions as bribery. Bribery she was adept in, though her means normally ended up in her associate offering the item with good graces and love. She understood she didn’t have to offer something she owned, but what else did she have on her? She chose the one thing on her person she could be without. From her jacket pocket, China took out a small service-like bell and placed it on the desk. Its handle had been weathered by the elements, and grew fungi within its wood. The bell itself was perfectly preserved, silver and reflective; it couldn’t be damaged by time. It was the bell used to summon the Sea Hag of Glendalough. The Hag had a spiteful personality, and if she remembered corrected, kept asking her visitors if they wanted to drown, as casually as if she were asking if they wanted tea with their biscuit.

She would welcome suggestions but wouldn’t be inclined to care. She looked at the bells silver surface, gave herself a once-over, and waited.

"I have read the hogwarts_hocus faq, and understand it is a crazy, cracktastic sorting community and RPG. __China Sorrows__
I have read the hogwarts_hocus rules and agree to abide by each and every one of them. __China Sorrows__.
I agree to be a good sport and not get my knickers in a bunch. __China Sorrows__.
One day, marmalade will rule the world. __China Sorrows__"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"I'm quite used to it," he said, though it was annoying that his own ability to cause nigh painful arousal by mere proximity didn't work on any of the beings he'd found here. Except for maybe one or two, but he had to think on that.

He would have liked to see her fall to her knees before him, clutching between her legs with her cheeks flushed and her lips just begging to be bruised with kisses. "You may call me Apos, if you like," he said.

He closed the distance between them, lifted his hand to trace his fingertips down her necklace, further.

Her pale eyes took in Apos.

She couldn't read him as well as she could other people. The others had a habit of succumbing to a sweet gesture, an intense look and a bat of the eyelashes, forgetting for the moment the neutralism this castle had on aspects of her person. She sighed within. He looked nice enough, but she was hundreds-old. Incidentally, she wasn't sure what lurked underneath that pretty-boy blond façade.

His proximity was irksome. His feely-ness was painstakingly annoying, but her outward appearance still smiled her smile. She only slightly felt his touch on her skin, and for the moment, that's what she preferred.

"It's lovely to meet you," she said.

"I digress," he said, smiling a little. Not many people were happy to have met him at all. He rather liked it that way.

His fingertips travelled down her necklace to her cleavage, and he took a step closer.

Yes, he really wanted to see her on her knees. He wanted to pierce her skin and watch her blood drain.

China took a step back, narrowing her eyes, the act coming across seductively. "I'd like it if you'd keep your hands to yourself, darling."

Don't touch me, she thought.

((Mun approved. ♥))

Behind that fake seduction there was fire and he wanted it, lamented that he couldn't taste it. But he could taste her anyway, couldn't he? "I'd like it if I didn't," he said, smiling pleasantly.

He moved quickly; his hand shifting to the side of her neck as he kicked her knee in, falling with her as her leg gave out and she fell to the ground. Making sure she fell on her back, he pulled her hands up, placed his knees on her elbows to keep her arms still and fisted his hands in her blouse.

He tore at it, and her bra, until her breasts spilled out and he could cup one of them with his hand, pushing it up and running his thumb over her nipple as he watched from above, an amused expression on his face. "I get so bored, waiting in this room. But you'll entertain me, won't you?"

It happened too quickly for her to react.

When she went down she must have cracked her head against something, the edge of the desk? the floor? now she was dazed and a throbbing drummed in the back of her head. She was disorientated. Then she felt the pressure on her elbows and chest, and then the sound of fabric tearing, cool air on her flesh and then hands groping her. She whirled.

"What the hell!" she screeched, thrashing her legs, trying to dislodge her attacker. She got angry and the tattoos started to show. From all over her body black patterns formed a plethora of symbols. They spread up her arms and across her chest, filling every exposure. She glared those beautiful pale blue's at Apos, the markings coiling around them.

Ah, she was talking too much. He frowned a little, and pulled his hand away from her breast at the first touch of those odd little runes. He was disappointed.

No, he didn't like it when they struggled in this way, and there wasn't enough trauma in her eyes. She tasted bland, this situation, tasted bland in his mind. "How disappointing," he moaned, looking down at her sadly.

Six red wings burst from his back and he lifted himself up and away from her, settling on his feet a few metres away. His eyes remained on her bared flesh, on her legs where her skirt had slipped up. Such a pretty thing.

((Mun approved.))

China got to her feet, she was a mess.

He had torn a favourite blouse and had gotten grunge and dirt over her jacket and skirt. She hiked the collar of her jacket back on her shoulder and glowered at Apos, her markings stark against her pale complexion. She was all but calm on the inside.

She had been attacked in a way she wasn't familiar with, it was strange to be in such a situation. She had been in fights, had even put up a strong enough fight in return, but they weren't sexually fueled. She knew her enchantment had been all but neutralized indefinitely within these castles walls, she found it hard to think that it could have lead this man to such extremes. Maybe he wasn't exactly functioning. Then it dawned on her, she had nearly been raped. Anger was at the forefront of her mind.

She tapped the symbols on her forearms, the gleamed against her skin. She opened her arms wide and a wall of light erupted from the space and streaked across the flagstone floor towards Apos.

Apos has been struck by lightening a few times, had even been close to a satellite powered beam of pure energy. This was a little like that, only it made his skin crawl in a wonderful way and he found he wasn't dead after, which was good in a way, because even when he crumpled to the floor, he could still feel electricity passing through his synapses.

His muscles twitched periodically, his back arching and fingers flicking as they would. He was humming. "Nnnh...that was uncalled for," he complained, as if he'd instead been slapped on the wrist. He didn't sound all that angry or hurt, just disappointed. Like a child who'd lost their toy.

China was absent from what transgressed from her attack. She was staring at the floor, a light coating of dust gleaming in the light of the floating candles. She sighed, it wavered, it acted more for balance. Her hands were shaking. China wouldn't have openly admitted this, but it was clear by her body language. She was rocked, rocked to her core, to her foundations. No man, woman or child had acted in such a desperate, violent and obsessed way. Different adjectives ran through her heard until one was close enough, psychotic. He had tried to invade her, to rape her? This was all very new to China and her charms.

Her enchantment had never disappointed her in such a way before. The charm was just a means to an end, it helped in getting her hands on priceless artifacts without having to actually pay for them. Had she been wrong? Her, China Sorrows, incorrect. She shut her eyes tight. She clenched her fists, stunting the shaking. Soon her knuckles went white with the effort.

She picked up on Apos' humming and was shocked into staring at him. The attack had affected him, but it seemed to have the affect of being smacked by a rolled up newspaper. Uncalled for, she lingered on the words, the thought dripping like acid through her conscious and her limbs. She tightened her fists ever more, to the point where they bit into her palms. She took of her jacket and flung it to the floor, scattering the dust and dirt accumulated in a small twister. Her tattoos stood in stark contrast to her slender, fair complexion, the candlelight gleaming in her pale eyes.

Was this going to eventuate into a fight? Was she emotionally equipped to take him on? She had spent so many years claiming neutrality, sure she had helped out Skulduggery now and then, but this was involving her now, was she turning into him, a vivid abyss of hatred and revenge? Would taking on this, this psycho, end her up with a completely ruined outfit? She glowered at Apos, lying there, helpless and yet still the predator. She unclasped the exquisite necklace around her neck and let it coil onto the desk's surface. As fragile as her nerves were, she wasn't going to go through the woe of loosing that necklace.

She stared down Apos. Waiting for his next move, and wondering if things got dyer, would someone come and help her?

Would someone save her?

(Approved...obviously)

Distressing damsels were Kuronue's thing.

Distressing damsels facing him (her?) were also his thing. The bastard had hurt Kaga the day before. He wouldn't stand for it.

So when he saw the state she was in, and the boy's (girl's?) grin, one that definitely wouldn't have been out of place in Makai, he pushed all aside and pulled his sickle from his waist. The only way of holding the bastard back was to kill him, and he'd seen death, created it, more times of than this new female likely had. So he did her a favour.

Coming up behind her he threw his sickle wide and swung it around until the thin wire attached to his blade coiled around him like a python and rested itself finally by sliding halfway through his thigh. He tugged violently, his wings flaring as he did, and watched as the wire cut through skin and bone until the boy was in pieces on the floor. It would take him a while to heal, likely.

He drew his sickle back to him and shook the blood off it, then picked up her jacket and turned to her. He tried to look harmless, which, considering he was a long nailed and fanged demon, wasn't all that easy. He held out a guiding hand, urging her to the table with her application. "Are you okay?" he asked, trying not to look at her torn blouse. He'd offer her his vest, but it likely would cover about the same amount of flesh.

Her first instincts were to cringe away from Kuronue, he brought images of vampires flooding through her mind, and his violence towards Apos always flicked a self-preservative switch.

Her body moved on its own, her mind flushed with questions that this place had a habit of creating, rather than answering. Did this place do things to people? Break their minds? Was this place brainwashing individuals? Were she to be next? She groaned, which could have been taken as a response to painful stimuli as she sat down in the chair, resting her hands, clenched into fists, on the desk's surface. She took a moment to calm herself. She had misjudged this newcomer, his voice was soothing enough, and he seemed interested in her well-being, instead of her body in one of those disgusting ways presented by the fallen Apos. "I'm fine." she intoned, more forcefully then she had intended.

She opened her hand out, towards Kuronue, waiting for her jacket. She looked into his eyes, searching for something, a threat perhaps? "What's you're name?"

Is that how it went? The flailing, pathetic, bird-brained damsel asking for her knights name? She was pretty sure it went similarly.

He cleared his throat a little awkwardly and held out her jacket for her to take. She wasn't fine. Kaga hadn't been fine for a long time, and he, too, had once, many centuries ago, been in her position. "I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner," he said, softly, trying to convey how very much he felt it. "We knew she was dangerous, but we haven't gotten the chance to warn everyone just yet. Hopefully she'll be sorted soon and you'll be safe." He felt reasonably guilty for not being able to protect her, or Kaga.

He met her eyes and tried once again to look non-threatening and not charming as he usually was with females. She didn't need it right now. "I'm Kuronue," he said, giving he a small closed lipped smile to hide his fangs. "If you want, I can get you something to cover yourself a little better."

She took her jacket, snatching it more like, which was not her intention. She was brought out of her wallowing reverie at the new information of, she.

"She?" China said, glaring, not at Kuronue, but at that fact. A woman had attacked her. Had aimed to do much more to her. A woman. That factor in and of itself brought a tone of shame on her shoulders. She sighed, resting back into the chair. She placed her jacket on her lap. "I can't believe this." She was stoic for a moment, then remember the facilities of polite manners, spoke again, absentmindedly. "Nice to meet you, Kuronue. If only it were on nicer terms. My name is China, China Sorrows."

She cleared her throat, looking down at her wrecked blouse. "Yes, it would be nice if you could fetch me something new. A red silk dress would be sufficient, if available. Size six." She waited another bated moment and then looked back into Kuronue's eyes. She was becoming more comfortable, more business-like. "I'd like to be apart of this, this group." She had summarized from his use of 'we'. If there was more, she'd want to join this little niche. She had a boding feeling that the castle wasn't going to allow the end of Apos.

He nodded. Traumatised and she's already thinking about what nice dresses she wants to wear, he thought. Typical human female. He called a house-elf and reiterated her wish for clothing, then asked for some tea to calm her as well. The elf disappears quickly afterwards and he sat on the edge of the table, keeping a respectable distance.

"Well, 'it' would be more appropriate, I guess. She's a hermaphrodite." He trusted Kurama's analysis of what she was, though she looked passably male to him, if not small in stature and somewhat androgynous. He rubbed at his neck. "There's another you need to be wary of, Karasu, but he hasn't been around as of late. Still, you need to be careful of tall men with long black hair and a mask of over his lower face," he said, gesturing with his hands as he talked.

He nodded his head a little, something of a polite bow that was horribly impolite given the pretences. He didn't care much for manners. "I wish it was under better circumstances too, but don't let her ruin your idea of what Hogwarts is like...it's a nice place. Peace to the point of boring at times. Plenty of man-candy about," he said, giving a tentative grin.

((Mun approved. ♥))

China tried to bolster her outward appearance as nonchalant about what had happened. She was nervous, and frazzled about what happened, but she had to be strong. It was a pride thing. She did so by making it seem she had moved on, but wanting something knew to wear. A completely new wardrobe change. She had asked for a red silk dress, but when the house-elf arrived with it, she blanched inwardly. She glared at the ensemble in its bandaged hands, and stared down at the elf, it wasn't worth employing any degree of charm this castle had left her with. "Take it away. Bring me black three-quarter cargo's, a blue tee, and a leather jacket. Now," she barked. She watched as it reacted anxiously and disapparated before her. Seconds later it reappeared with the specified clothing. "Thank you," she said, rather harshly. "Away with you." The house-elf wrung its sore-ridden hands and disapparated. She didn't bother giving Kuronue a glance.

"Turn around, I don't want you peaking." Kuronue turned his back on her, as requested. His eyes caught the exquisite necklace that remained on the table, his mind became a busy tangle.

It took a moment, but when she changed and came around the desk, to now be in front of Kuronue. She was wearing her specified clothes. Her three quarter cargo's, the tee under her jacket with its, also, three-quarter sleeves, finishing by her elbows. She still wore the heels from her previous ensemble. It was more casual attire for China, but she made it work. She hadn't given much thought to the reference of man-candy, but she knew a ploy at lightening a mood when she heard one. The name of the castle intrigued her most, however. "Hogwarts? Is that the name of this place?"

The necklace had caught his eye for the amount of jewels in it. He picked it up, looked at it a little closer, and calculated how much it was worth, how much he could have gotten for it in the Makai black market. He would have lived quite well for a while on the necklace alone. He placed it back on the table when she came to stand before him again.

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," he said, then glanced to the side and shrugged a shoulder. "Of course, for all the professors we have, hardly anyone holds classes and if you want to learn magic you'd best teach yourself." He looked back to her, his steel-blue eyes glinting with amusement. "Some odd things happen here, but its best to just take it all in turn and go with the flow."

Hardly any professors held classes. That made China's mind buzz with plans. With magic at their fingertips, if she became a professor she'd have centuries old texts at her ample fingertips. She had to investigate this, could there be a way, after ridding herself of this room, to become a professor? Yes, something worth investigating in deed, she'd be able to advance her collection. How lovely.

"Interesting name," China said, it seems very airy, like she couldn't care to give the statement anymore inflection and emotion. It wasn't an important enough statement in her mind. She had caught Kuronue appraising her necklace, she had feigned naivety, but made a point of dwelling on the knowledge, on the way his eyes sparkled like many of its fine jewels. She narrowed her eyes infinitesimally, the act seeming appreciative to an outside source. She was not about to part with it. Not to some creature like Kuronue.

"Odd? Odd as in what, exactly?"

He smiled. "Talking hats, the sky rained pink once, and we had a bout of spontaneous combustions a while ago. The sun had the face of a baby for a long time, but then its soul got eaten and, uh, it turned inverted and guttural. Oh, and the food will occasionally change your gender or make you talk in haiku." He shrugged, narrowing his eyes back at her. "The people here are quite different too," he added, grinning widely. "My lover is a samurai from the 1600s."

Her expression froze, and after a moment relaxed. Her smile seemed playful. "Oh, that odd." China said. "I'm sure you two are very happy with each, regardless of the age gap," she added nonchalantly.

She left the opposite side of the desk and moved to Kuronue's side, leaning back against the desks edge, in effect facing Kuronue while standing next to him. She lent back a bit, watching him intently. She was working him.

"So, Kuronue, was it?" She flicked her hair over her shoulder. "Would you know, for instance, if this place holds old books, say, on magic and whatnot?" She crossed her arms and smiled alluringly.

He could feel something...her own magic perhaps, brush over him, and saw the fluctuation of her ki. He narrowed his eyes a little further. "It's not really an age gap, he's thirty something, and my age is hard to gauge physically, but I'm about 500 years old mentally." He shrugged again.

"As for the books, you know, you could just ask instead of trying to influence me. It'll get you a lot further in this place, especially when everyone is one high alert with people like her," he jerked his thumb in Apos' direction, "around." Though his tone was kind, he really didn't appreciate being manipulated.

She was pretty sure, and Kuronue liked pretty things, but he wasn't an idiot. He didn't live as long he did for falling for cheap tricks and pretty faces.

She stared at him, then looked away, sighing, licking her molars. "Fine." She said, narrowing her eyes. "Where are the rare magic books?" She stared at him, smirking.

There seemed to way of tap-dancing around Kuronue. He was sharper than the others, and with his lover, probably less prone to flirtation.

He was in no way less prone to flirtation, he just preferred to be the one flirting, and he didn't like flirting to be used as a means to an end (unless the end was sex). "There not so much rare as 'restricted' for whatever reasons. The library is your best bet, or you might want to check out Knockturn Alley in the Wizarding world.

He leaned back on his arms, crossing one leg over the other at the ankles. He lifted his chin a little, looking at her as if appraising her. She seemed like a manipulator, he wasn't sure if she could be trusted, and he was glad he hadn't told her about the small group of people who were fighting the good fight against people like Karasu and Apos.

That said, he'd still fuck her given the chance. She was attractive, after all. Fragile, like her name, almost. He'd bet she was a real hellcat in bed too, given the chance to let her hair down. He wondered if he should give her one of his chocolates.

He flashed her a charming grin. "If you like, I could show you Knockturn Alley one time."

Ah, the one liner. China knew a pick up line when she was on the receiving end, this one was no exception. But, magic tomes were her vice, her forte, and because of that, she was leaning closer to a yes, despite her inside struggle as to whether she liked Kuronue, his charm, his flare, his handsomeness, or disliked him, for being him.

The language in her crossed arms changed, leaving devil-may-care and going into protective tension. She eyed Kuronue, her jaw set. Fine.

"Yes, I'd..." Good God. "I'd like that very much."

He felt like cackling. Oh, she was just like Albel and Elric. Another one to work on with his charms until they caved. Although, she was actually female, so there wasn't the gender thing to work through, just her prudishness.

He smiled instead, his eyes glinting with pure mischief. "Ah, wonderful. Perhaps once you're sorted I'll come and find you. There's lots of interesting things in Knockturn Alley, lots of rare magical things. It's worth a look at, even if you aren't interested in anything other than books." There's that charming grin again, just shy of a Romeo-hair-toss.

Applicant: China Sorrows (Derek Landy's 'Skulduggery Pleasant', series)

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

Vote: Slytherin

Re: Vote: Slytherin

Re: Vote: Slytherin

Re: Vote: Slytherin