Carla never wanted much, like many her aspirations were pedestrian and her life middle-of-the-road and she was happy with that much. She liked her job running a diner and her regular customers and her funny little Volkswagon Beetle that she knew she should really get rid of because it kept breaking down. She liked visiting the little art gallery down the street, felt ambivalent about her noisy neighbour Wendy and loved to go dancing. The only thing that would have really stood out about her - something she was quite shy about - was that she wanted to be an author.
It was a small fancy that she allowed herself in the privacy of her own thoughts, a possibility that was almost too sweet to let spoil by trying to realize it. Aside from a few half-hearted pages she probably would never have let it get beyond a daydream if it hadn’t been for the writer’s workshop flyer that was left in the diner one evening. The one that led her to Freya.
Freya was something else to Carla’s relatively sheltered lifestyle, the woman’s new aged affectations seemed so worldly and bohemian to her sensibilities. She was sophisticated and charming in a way that she found magnetic. Enamoured, Carla hung off the workshop chairwoman’s every word and when she was given a present after three weeks, “something I wrote, just for you”, she could hardly wait to get home before diving in.
It was a story, about Carla. A version of her that had made different choices and had realized her dream of becoming a successful writer with a breakout bestseller. The details were enthralling and engrossing in a way she never would have imagined, every nuance was better than her wildest fantasies.
Then it was over.
It seemed quite drab in comparison: her little apartment with the kitchen tap that wouldn’t stop dripping, her unreliable car and the tedious job that would eat up the rest of her life and give nothing back. That emotional comedown didn’t abate, it got worse. She tried replicating it but her own words rang hollow. By the time next week rolled around she was chomping at the bit to interrogate Freya for details. To maybe hint that she’d like to read more.
Freya’s unsurprised response was to offer to let Carla commission work from her. The prices were quite steep but Carla was overjoyed enough at the possibility to overlook it. For the next month she began to empty her bank account in return for superlative images of herself that felt better than anything real. It was fantastic until she ran out of money. Freya was superficially sympathetic but adamant that if she made special allowances for Carla she’d have to do it for everyone and she was very busy. The prospect of going cold turkey felt like losing a limb, so Carla begged and Freya relented, on one condition.
She just had to convince her neighbour Wendy to read something Freya had written for her. Wendy who worked down at the courthouse and had access to all sorts of things Freya and people Freya knew would find interesting. If Carla could do that then she might be persuaded to give her a little something.
Their arrangement has continued to develop this way, Carla is Freya’s gopher and catspaw. She doesn’t dare deviate from her master's wishes lest the supply of dizzying illusions dries up. Freya knows and has obviously done this before, slowly stringing her along into more and more questionable behaviour. Carla has done bad things for her, nothing hell worthy but she’s concerned. What Freya has underestimated is her underling’s tenacity, instead of rendering her helpless Carla’s desperation has kept her from knuckling under. She’s looking for a way to get one over on her dealer and invert their relationship, to learn how to make those stories for herself.
STATS
Personality: The main distinguishing features anyone would say Carla once had was that she was genial and slightly lazy. Now, honed by the insectile urges of addiction, she’s become crafty and rawboned, reaching back to her former easygoing nature to keep people relaxed up until the need becomes too strong and resurfaces.
Rage: Treating people in service jobs badly.
Noble: Everybody has a story.
Fear: Losing access to Freya (Isolation).
Obsession: Learn how to write her own magickal stories.
Wound Threshold: 50.
Fantasy Addict 50% (Substitutes for Lie, Substitutes for Secrecy, Protects Self.)
Aspiring Writer 40%* (Substitutes for Knowledge, Substitutes for Notice, Evaluates Self.)
Hospitality Worker 30% (Substitutes for Connect, Substitutes for Fitness, Protects Helplessness.)
Shock Gauges
Disorder: Addiction (Freya’s stories).
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