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Appearance[]
Valour taking a picture of herself
Valour, Although petite, is also very strong. She has muscle built from years as a firefighter and is pretty athletic looking despite her shot 5" stature. Her skin is pale but healthy and her hair is a bright orange, melded from her human blonde hair and the red of the Phoenix, Euphemia. Her hair is soft and feathery to touch and when you look at it for too long it seems as if it flickers like fire. Valour's eyes bright, as a common trait umoung fatebound phoenixes and are a medium brown in colour. Her nose is large in comparison with her face and her expression is perpetually between a smug grin and a scowl, usually the latter. Her outfit varies because although Anastasia was never one for fashion, since fatebinding beauty has become more of a priority. She always wears heels because she likes that it makes her taller. She is very humanoid for a pheonix with only certain things about her actually standing out from the normal such as her hair, and sharp nails. After being fatebound she told her fellow firefighters that she dyed her hair orange to not arouse suspicion. Her outfit has changed over the course of her time at Waypoint, starting as her firefighting clothes (Firefighter jacket, A tanktop, army green cargo pants and combat boots) to something much more casual and feminine (a frilly red blouse, pencil skirt, grey tights and yes still combat boots). The reason for this was that phoenixes are very gaudy creatures who enjoy bright colours and beauty while Anastasia, had been a complete opposite it's clear that the Phoenix traits do infact shine though.
Personality[]
Valour is known in the domain for her bad attitude and aggressive personality. She isn't always of bad intention however her strong abraisive personality is commonly mistaken for anger and it makes her hard to handle more often than not. She does however have a strong spot for people she cares about, as seen with her friends, Faust and even the moonbeast Silver, who Valour continously babies much to Faust's disapproval. She isnt very good at socializing with others, bringing a whole new meaning to the term "socially awkward" however over time people have learned how to adapt to Valour's untraditional socializing means.
She also is seen to be very motherly, possibly a trait from the Phoenix Euphemia, making Valour what could be considered what would be a soccer mom with literal firepower. As seen with both her grimmelkin egg and Silver, both whom she considers close to being her children, she treats them quite protectively. Faust continues to dissaprove of this behavior, fearing that by being spoiled, neither the egg nor Silver can grow. At the end of Embolc Valour agrees that she will try to let Silver "fly from the nest" so to speak so that he can grow to be an adult although the notion upsets Valour greatly, who is lonely and enjoys the idea of taking care of something.
As Valour knew what it was like to have someone she loved burn and die before her eyes, and knowing the reality that she may very well live to see it happen, Valour is very (and some would say overly) protective of the people she holds dear, whether they know they are or not, showing that Valour isn't all anger and fire power but fire for passion.
Anastasia was a mostly happy person and that melding with the phoenix, Euphemia is what made Valour so angry and bitter in nature. She has resentment issues left over from her captivity in Tir Na Nog and from it has a fear of being locked or trapped in things as well as the suffocating dark. Because of this anytime she enters a dark space she will light it up with fire to make the darkness dissipate. Her fear of authority is a common problem in the domain, getting her into a series of troubles although it's understandable that she is afraid of having her freedom taken from her the way it was in Tir Na Nog.
Background[]
Fae[]
Euphemia was a noble blood phoenix born from the Redcrosse house in the fiery city of Findias although despite being a noble, she interacted with other nobles very little, aside from the few that had come seen her in her room. She was kept locked up in the Redcrosse house, a caged "bird" used only as a neverending supply for both her feathers and for her healing.
When the war broke out, Euphemia was ordered by her house to use her phoenix abilities to assist in the war. She learned quickly that it was the war was far from over, and that all the suffering she was enduring would never cease as long as she stayed in Tir Na Nog. Knowing that leaving would mean she was turning her back on her house, Euphemia fled Tir Na Nog, leaving the world of the terrible nobles behind.
She swore that day to never to fight for others again however it was not an easy habit to break, not when she had lived her whole life doing just that. When she found Anastasia, she was awed that there was another being who, like her, had risked it all for the sake of others. Why would she do it so willingly? Because she had the choice to do it. Because unlike Euphemia who was a martyr by habit, Anastasia helped people because she truly wanted to help them.
When Anastasia got caught in the fire while trying to save the last human child, Euphemia realized there was a way to save her. Not out of habit, not because that was the way she knew, but because she wanted to. She could save this human because she was capable of helping more people than Euphemia ever could. Because she wanted to.
Mortal[]
Anastasia Valori Volkov was born in Moscow Russia during the fall of the Soviet Union. Her father, Ivan was a Russian businessman while her mother, Oksana was a Belarusian waitress who worked in Moscow. Shortly after Ana was born the USSR fell and her parents felt that Russia was no longer a safe place to raise a child. It was then that they decided to bring her to the United States to be raised in the free lands America had to offer thus Ana was raised in the USA with both of her parents, really only speaking Russian when at home with her family, which is why she doesn't have a very noticeable accent. She was raised as an only child since she was always a bit of a brat, and her parents decided early on that they could really handle one. When her parents decided to move back to Russia, Anastasia opted out, as she had no place there after spending her whole life in the US. She still has contact with her parents, who occasionally come up for a month or so at a time to visit her, although Anastasia admits she is thankful that her parents come up only twice a year, as she can only handle so much of her mother's constant bickering about her getting married.
Anastasia's career into being a firefighter came from when she was young and her house caught on fire during the night. Nobody was hurt in exception to the family's dog, Sobaka (собака literally meaning dog), who wasn't able to be pulled out in time. Young Anastasia was upset about the death of the family dog and blamed the firefighters for not coming in time to save both her beloved pet, as well as the stuffed animals in her room. After that she strove to be a firefighter, committing herself to learning the necessary skills, and eventually being able to take her place as an official firefighter. Her career was going well and she got along well with her fellow fire fighters, as well as bonding with the fire dog, Spot (who no, was not a dalmatian but a really chubby black and white cocker spaniel who smelt funny).
She had one coworker in particular that she got along well with named Thomas. The two had met during the firefighting training and bonded over their passion for the profession, and became fast friends. During an apartment fire, she was on duty along with Thomas and two other firefighters, Marty and Franklin. Franklin, Marty and Anastasia were working the hoses and the house was engulfed in flames. Thomas was saying that he needed to go back inside because one person wasn't accounted for, and that putting out the fire would be left to them. Anastasia wasn't happy about this and tried insisting with him that there was almost no chance of the person inside still being alive and that running into the fire wasn't worth the risk but Thomas didn't take to the idea, saying that, as firefighters, they needed to do whatever was necessary to ensure the safety of others. He smiled and told her he would be right back after rescuing the last person so she smiled back and let him go in, while she went to help with the hoses. But he never came back out, his body probably turned to ash inside.
Anastasia went through a long mourning period over her coworker, leaving the fire station and firefighting for a few months. She eventually came to the decision that she would continue firefighting, in hopes to one day be even half the hero Thomas was. After talking to the firehouse, they took her back in and she continued to fight fires, although she learned to somewhat keep her distance from the other firefighters in fear of getting too close to them. Feeling that Ana had too many ties with Thomas she cast it aside and started going by her middle name Valori instead, refusing to let any others call her Ana. This rule was later broken when she told Faust of her name, allowing hin to be the only person who can call her Ana since Thomas.
Her fatebinding happened after she was caught in a situation of her own, where she knew there was a non accounted for still inside the theatre fire. Thinking of Thomas, she decided she would this time take the chance and she ran inside however she got trapped inside and couldn't get out, thus not being able to save the last person in the house. The Phoenix had come to the Mortal world and after seeing her bravery, bound itself with her so that she could save the last person in the fire and make it out alive.
Fatebound[]
As a result of being fatebound, Valour is a confusing mess, with Euphemia's vanity and Anastasia's bluntness. She is a very honest person although she can come off as abrasive and intense, her good intention often misinterpreted as aggression. This is shown during her many interactions with Bree. She attempts multiple times to compliment her in attempt to befriend her, however her comments are insults of endearment, and often come off as just plain rude. Blake and Faust are the few to understand that Valour's "insults" aren't actually insults but well meaning compliments, it's just that she doesn't understand how to voice it. Valour's lack of social skills make her hard to be around most of the time although she has a good heart and she does occasionally shine though as someone you can trust to talk to.
She has an duty to the firefighters although she can be problematic when it comes to other authorities trying to tell her what to do. She loves spicy food (she mentions in her bio that everything is better drenched in srirachha sauce) and sunflower seeds (despite being in denial about being a bird). She is also seen to fear the supernatural (As seen when she flipped out at the practical jokes played on her).Valour sometimes seems to struggle between her own feelings on things and how they conflict with the feelings of the Phoenix part of her. Example of this is her plain choice in attire in contrast to the gaudiness of the Phoenix, and also her bittersweet relationship with fire.
Euphemia's history explains why Valour is so bitter about being a noble, and her obvious disrespect when addressing fellow nobles or people with authority. To her being a part of the the house Redcrosse is not a privilege, but something she is extremely sensitive about. When addressing herself, or introducing herself, its rare for her to include her house name as she doesn't want the affiliation with house so disrespectful for even its own. Valour's self esteem is quite low although she often tries to bring it up by boasting about the beauty and power of phoenixes although mostly she's just trying to convince herself that as a phoenix there is more to her then just being the "bird" caged in Redcrosse. Valour is willing to throw her own life away for Faust, Because back in Tir Na Nog, phoenixes were worth how much they could take for others.
Connections[]
Firefighters: The Littlw Moscow fire station had easily been Valour's second home as she spent a lot of time there. Even after leaving she continues to have a strong duty to her firefighters and see them as a sort of family, although she once admited to Aurora that she feared getting too close to any of them, in the case some of them die it would hurt less. Although she no longer works there, with the borders back open she occassionally drives there only to turn around and leave without going inside, worried about the scare of changes.
International District (Russian Community) : As it was Valour's first home in the United States, she knows the area well and knows some of the other Russian speakers in the area. She doesn't know everybody there, but she at least knows the names of the owners of her favourite food places and the cute elderly Russian couple from Estonia who run the small store she always goes to for groceries.
University District : After the borders closing, Valour was forced to find a new home in Seelie territory, leading her to the Univerity District of KGU. Becoming a baroness there, she spent lots of time getting to know the place front to back and met with various students of all ages live there. Umoung these students were 4 fatebound which Valour became fast friends with, especially with a student named Chelsea who like Valour was a phoenix. Her death was hard for Valour, who still dreams of her, and Valour promises she will protect the U district, if not for anyone else, for Chelsea so that there is never anything like that again.
Opinions[]
People[]
Faust: Valour met Faust on her first day in the waypoint, sticking by him as he was just as new and confused as she was. Despite being complete opposites, an unspoken friendship developed between them over time, their powers and different demenors making a good tag team.Their friendship turned to romance although she will not admit it as such, and she has become very protective of Faust, sometimes over bearingly so. Her reason for this stems from her unresolved issues with a boy named Thomas back when she was a mortal. Thomas died trying to heroically save someone and Valour fears that one day Faust, who also helps people, will die the same way. (still working on this)
Aurora: Despite Valour's inability to socialise, she was quick to befriend Aurora, who she considers her a very good friend. She often goes to Aurora about advice for her relationship with Faust as well as her own hidden insecurities, which sometimes tends to drive her. She gets embarrassed by Aurora's teasing although admittedly she seemed to also enjoy it as it helps her read Faust better, through his over the top reactions. (still working on this)
Resh: Valour has a tendency to lose her temper with Resh, directly stating that she finds him to be obnoxious and arrogant, and far too full of himself. It was speculated that her dislike of him came from her own qualities which she didn't like. Later, this is indirectly proven by her own words "The flaws I see in others are always really my own". Valour is bitter towards Resh, blaming him for putting the idea of sorcery in Faust's head, although she begrudgingly admits later that if anyone were to teach sorcery to Faust, it should be him since Resh knows what he's doing. Her backwards compliment was infact geniune even if it sounded somewhat insulting at best. Valour tries to not interact with him too much however seeing as he is Faust's mentor, she sees him more often then she would like and even goes to ask him advice on a singular occassion, showing that maybe she does value his words despite her denial that she does. Although Valour doesn't get along with Resh, she does understand that he worries about Pearl just as she worries about Faust, and honestly she does wish for a world where Pearl and Resh can be happy.
Pearl: Valour doesn't interact much with Pearl however when she does, Valour is smart enough to tread carefully. Having seen her in battle, she knows of Pearl's frighteningly good skills and her love for improvising weapons. Valour is impressed (and not to mention somewhat disturbed) at Pearl's ability to happily shrug off the gore and terror around her and she's convinced that, despite Pearl's happy demenor, she must be psychotic. When asked to describe Pearl, she said that "Pearl is a great ally but would be a terrible enemy" implying that Pearl probably scares her to some degree.
Bob: Despite being repeatedly told of what a powerhouse Bob is, Valour continues to underestimate her power and competency in battle. This is proven many times over, as she states that somebody as small and cute as her could never harm a fly nevertheless be able to take on others in battle. When told that Bob had responsibility over the spiders she voiced her objection, saying that although Bob seemed nice she didn't trust her with the job. Despite her complete ignorance on Bob, Valour does like her, and tries to encourage her to stand up for herself more. She also worries about her going off to do missions.
Blake: Her impression of Blake is uncomfortable at best. She finds Blake's forward sexual advances on other Fatebound creepy and tries to not interact with them too much, aside from her usual snide barbs to them.
Mephistopheles: Her first impression of the mooncalf was very negative. Her disgust of it was reflected both on its appearance as well as her forward dislike for children, human and fae alike. Despite her initial distaste for him, Valour warmed up to the mooncalf, even letting him sit on her lap while she socialized with other fatebound. It has now become habit for her to bring sunflower seeds and share them with the mooncalf baby in a sign of friendship.
Principles[]
Seelie
- Bravery"': Bravery has steeled Valour in times of desperation however it has also left her reckless and stubborn. Having poised herself to take on whatever comes to her, she often gets herself into trouble and had a bad habit of trying to do everything herself, believing that to be her main and only purpose. After the incident with the cursed knife, Tempest explains to her that she needs to learn to rely on the help of others instead of taking it all on herself.
- Honor: Valour has a weird concept of honour. Growing up as a Redcrosse, her fae half's noble house tended to stretch the rule of what counted as "fighting with honour", and having such little loyalty to her own house, honour was not something her fae side was used to having. Her mortal self however, had a very strong sense of honour to not only her firehouse, but the citizens she helped fight for, giving her at least some idea of honour code and what makes up right and wrong. With her fae and mortal half so different, her idea of honour often wavers, sometimes being high while other times being almost non existant. This is shown during the moon king mission when Valour not only offers to burn the caught hostage for information, (much to Balthazar's disapproval and horror) but later tells her companions that they should kill him so he wouldn't have to go back to the moon king's cult and face punishment. Although she was offering this as an alternative to him facing the pain to come, this was not a good way to go about it and should not be trusted to deliver these decisions.
- Love: Love plays an important role in Valour's life, despite not being able to fully understand the concept herself. During the fae holiday, she does defend the notion that love is important against the unseelie courtier Dante, telling him that without love the waypoint wouldn't function and that everybody there has somebody to protect out of love. This is referring to both her and Faust as well as other fatebound around her, which she holds with importance. She admits that she wants the other romantically involved couples in the Waypoint to have a happy ending, despite her ongoing negative relations with them showing that even being rash she considers the love around her to be very important.
- Beauty: Even if she doesn't say so, beauty is an important concept to Valour. Her vanity is definitely a trait brought from her fae side which was a phoenix, gaudy flamboyant creatures that flaunt themselves with bright flashy colours. Taking from this, as a fatebound she takes pride in her appearance and goes out of her way to make sure everyone else around her knows it too. Valour has a material idea to what the standards of beauty are, and likes things to look good, frowning disapprovingly at things that she doesn't consider appealing to the eye. Despite this, she is slowly learning that things (like the mooncalf) can be beautiful in different ways other then physical appearance, and that some things (like Carin) can be beautiful but disgusting.
Unseelie
- Power: As a phoenix who had been kept inside of a psychological bird cage, she is thrilled about the idea of being out of Tir Na Nog, where she can do whatever she would like. In result she does exactly that, although sometimes it can make her reckless and even unstable. She admits that she is somewhat of a power seeker and with her new found freedom, will do what she wants regardless of how dangerous it is. "I can do whatever I would like, whether that be to save or... to destroy" However her preception if it changes after the Glory trial in which she is given power only to realise how frightening it is to hold the power of another's life in her hand and even admits that she isn't ready to be given that sort of power out of fear of misjudgement and corruption based off of fired up emotional wants.
- Passion: Valour finds that loveless passion is a hard concept to grasp, although it may have something to do with the fact that she has has trouble figuring out what she wants or how to get there.
- Change: Valour has a huge dislike for change , since most of her change has been difficult and not for the better. Over time she is easing into the idea that change can be okay however Valour is stubborn and hates the idea of trying and maintaining new things.
- Deceit: When merged with Thomas, Valour understood the importance of deceit. Not nessessarily to hurt others but for protection of others and sometimes, even to protect yourself.
Tropes[]
Metadata[]
Playlist[]
Fight Song by Rachel Platten
Bad Reputation by Joan Jett
The Call by Regina Spektor
Shake It Out by Florence and The Machine
Sacrifice by Zella Day
Miss Independent by Kelly Clarkson
She's Killin Me by Rocket to The Moon
Tangled Up In Me by Skye Sweetnam
Shut Up and Kiss Me by Orianthi
Titanium by David Guetta and Sia
Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys
Not Gonna Get Us by T.a.t.u.
Livin' On A Prayer by Bon Jovi
Burn by Ellie Goulding
Breaking the Habit by Linkin Park
Heart Attack by Demi Lovato
My Heart by Paramore
Fairytale by Alexander Rybak