Archived-Sash

I retreated into safety, the world of illusion, in the stage, in the footlights, all eyes on me and no-one really seeing Because I do not talk backwards, because I do not say (Tgin Emoceb Seilfrettub) And the night does not become butterflies. I give nothing of myself to the audience, As I do it with mirrors And string And sleight The delusion of illusion and the hand deceives the eye... My life is strobed like lightning by a follow-spot, And looking backwards I can only see The corpses of the animals and birds who strutted with me on the darkened stage And helped me fool them all. Charms of birds And hatsful of dead rabbits. - Zatara, Book One:The Invisible Labyrinth The Books Of Magic, by Neil Gaiman

Enchanter of the Free Council
Born: 1987
Age: 27 (like many of her Path, however, she looks younger)
Sleeper Alias: Olivia Twist
Rank: "I'm versatile."
Physical description: Grunge-hot, trashglam, derby-chic; tall, leggy, and dressed like a thrift store manniquin, Sash rocks poker-straight pale blonde hair, torn leggings, and usually a few incidental scrapes and bruises. She has a dainty tattoo of a red heart on the webbing of her left thumb, matched by a black spade on the right, as well as a cadeuceus on the left side of her neck, and is never seen without a black bowler or trilby hat, out of which she is seen to conjure all manner of tricks.
Nimbus: The hush of the crowd before the big act comes on stage. Electric anticipation, breathless silence. Goosebumps and the pulsing of blood in ears.
Themesong: Smile (Pictures Or It Didn't Happen) by Amanda Palmer: Smile; the end is near, and it's high time. This light's amazing, man, so time your Instagram; the Rapture, swallowing the land, but we're the last one's laughing - pictures, or it didn't happen! Get it, because we'll all be dead, and no-one dead can use a camera
Would Be Played In A Movie By: Kesha

Dealer's choice; Sash in Brisbane, January, 2015. Photo by The Tranter.

Timeline

"What do I know of magic? Why, nothing, my masters. Nothing at all. Save that a little magic is a most dangerous thing." - The Fool, Book Four:The Road To Nowhere The Books of Magic, by Neil Gaiman

• April, 1987: born in Newcastle to boilermaker Daniel Grant and his Russian bride, Valeriya Volkova.
• September, 1993: brother, Mischa, is born.
• January, 1998: mother, Valeriya, diagnosed with breast cancer.
• August, 2000: after a long, hard struggle, Valeriya passes away.
• December, 2001: Awakens, and runs away from home, taking Mischa with her.
• 2002 - 2003: Promoted to parent and living on the street, she scrounges a living for her brother and herself, grifting and stealing and performing tricks.
• July, 2003: Discovered by Damocles, who schools her in the reality of her gift, and introduces her to Awakened society. Tongue-in-cheek, adopts the name Olivia Twist (often introduced simply as "Twist", and known affectionately to some as "Twistie").
• November, 2004: Meets the boy who would become Ricochet in Surfers Paradise during schoolies week, and the two quickly become close friends.
• 2005 - 2008: Continues her magic act, and as her skills grow, so does her following. Adopts the stage-name Sash the Spectacular, which eventually becomes more commonly-used - without the adjective - by fellow Mages than her original shadow-name. Acts as eyes on the street for the Sydney Consilium. Often travels to other Cities to help other Mages with issues that crop up requiring a magically versatile and physically dynamic agent.
• 2009: Is briefly pledged to the Silver Ladder, before being summarily booted when she proves to be just about the personification of everything that is antithetical to the entire Order. The Free Council take her gladly.
• 2010 - 2011: Continues performing, scamming, keeping her finger on the pulse of Sydney's Inner West, and occasionally traveling to assist other Consiliae.
• 2012: Becomes a popular finalist on the reality TV show, Australia's Got Talent, launching her briefly to national attention. Is obliged to drop out when dealing with a threat to the Sydney Consilium overwhelms her schedule, and also at the insistence of I. P. Smith.
• May, 2013: Witnesses Ricochet's Awakening, and is overjoyed to include her best friend in her shadow-life.
  • June, 2013: Greets her old Master, The Director, at the airport on his return from the States, and welcomes him back into the country.
• February, 2014: The timebomb drops in Sydney. Most of the Consilium is wiped out. Sash is interstate at the time, and so survives, but returns to a different timeline than the one she left.
• October, 2014: Chairs the Free Council meeting at the national gathering of all persons esoteric and arcane, and is a significant force in the initial uncovering of the timestream diversion that was effecting them all, and then in the discovery of the time-doors nearby, and their effects. Three weeks later, travels to Canberra and assists Beckett Shore in a delicate parley with the Seers of the Throne.
• December, 2014: Answers a summons from The Director to fly to Perth at one day's notice and assist in a ceremonial capacity with the signing of the new Charter of that Consilium. Is drawn into a matter effecting The Pinnacle, and with standard gung ho-ness, takes a running dive into it, head-first.
  • Late December, 2014: Travels to Canberra to comfort a grieving Beckett Shore, after the execution of Princess Pwnage. Gets both of them shot to pieces by Banishers. After a quick triage in Beckett's kitchen, mostly consisting of a sharpened spoon and a needle threaded with fishing-line, they both go out drinking and, somewhere along the line, forget to seek medical attention until several hours later.
• January, 2015: Accompanies Beckett Shore to Brisbane to stop the demon-possessed corpse of Princess Pwnage, and with the help of the local Consilium, they manage to put her down. Sash winds up with the grisly task of being the one to successfully dig the soul-stone out of the burning cadaver, before it is completely destroyed. She is observed to be uncharacteristically terse throughout the entire affair, and even to fumble her cards a few times.
• March, 2015: Returns to Canberra. Is drawn into an excursion to a part-Arcadian pocket realm, to examine some Atlantean ruins; while there, becomes embroiled with the Canberra Consilium in a tense standoff with what appears to all intents to be Cernunnos, The Horned God. After a desperate battle, largely driven by mortal terror, the Mages triumph and he is apparently defeated. Sash, Evelynne and Beckett immediately leave, head to the nearest pub, and begin drinking furiously to forget.

Sash and Beckett, immediately before turning to face The Horned God. Yeah, it got weird.

• April, 2015: Signs a five-show contract with Cosentino the Illusionist, to open for him on his Australian tour, and invites Beckett Shore along for the ride. Plays host to Romulus Arlington, while he's in town on business, acting as his guide in a whirlwind tour of Sydney. Two weeks later, travels back to Canberra. Meets and forms a friendly relationship with the enigmatic Mr Joker. Does some mysterious business with the Changelings, Belladonna, Specter and Alexander Cross. Following the conclusion of the deal, she disappears into private conference with Belladonna for an hour, from which they both emerge looking haunted and shaken, and she accompanies the three fae back to Brisbane.

History

"First rule of magic; always be the smartest guy in the room." - J. Daniel Atlas, Now You See Me

"Trust me."

An agent of chaos, a harbinger of change, and a talented sorcerer walk into a bar. The barman says, "Hello, Sash."
Fast-talking, indefatigably cheery and compellingly cocky, Sash is a charming rogue. As an enemy, she'll get you every red light when you're in a hurry, and sour your milk overnight; as a friend, she'll turn up at your house at 4am on a weeknight drunk and expecting to crash on your couch, but you can trust her never to swear in front of your boss or your mum, and to wingman for you like the Devil himself.
If she has a macro flaw, it is that her amusing irreverence sometimes veers right up to the very brink of dangerous recklessness, which can be outright obnoxious for her companions, but this also makes her uniquely well-adjusted for the life on the edge of the impossible that being Awakened entails.
To say that Sash does not know when to sit down, shut up and stop drawing attention to herself is to suggest that she is not in total and conscious control of her actions, which would be to do her a disservice. She has simply been Awake too long, faced down too many eldritch powers, endured too much weirdness and survived too much danger to really be outwardly intimidated by anything, anymore.
She's quick-witted, exciting and easily distracted. She's brilliant, ambitious and utterly anarchic. She's trouble in tight pants. All her friends have bailed her out of lockup at least once, and she's forever getting worked over by the mob for running her game on the wrong corner, or fleecing the wrong guy.
She's a thrill and a worry, and one of these days, she's going to get in over her head...
If only you didn't like her so damned much.

Currently

Which Sash do you want? Sash, the brilliant social engineer? Sash, the talented and charismatic illusionist? Or Sash, the morally-unreliable, substance-addicted criminal?

Her habit for travel notwithstanding, Sash currently lives in Sydney, working as a surprisingly successful (Fame:1) street magician, intermittent pro gambler and occasional pickpocket. She says she's just waiting for the right backer to catapult her to superstardom. She says she's going to be the next Criss Angel.
She says a lot of things.

Quotes

"There’s daggers in men’s smiles. The near in blood, the nearer bloody." - Donalbain, Act Three Macbeth, by William Shakespeare

Quotes by

"Probability and I agreed to see other people."

- the only explanation she ever offers, about anything.

"Fee-fi-fo fuck no."

- on the subject of Ogres, via email, April, 2015.

"I am Sash the Spectacular, Mercury Rising, Hermes of the Fallen World, Laughing Liar to Angels and Demons, Red Daughter of The Wolf, and I. Will not. Be hunted."

- bluffing The Horned God that she wasn't terrified, Canberra, March, 2015.

"How am I again the voice of reason? Have you people met me? I'm a mess, fuck!"

- in Brisbane, January, 2015.

"Look, at this point, all we have to fear is Fear Itself - and, if you ask me, Fear Itself needs better duds, to really make the impact that he's looking for."

- in reference to the overtly sinister costume of the Lichtor, Threat, to Beckett Shore. November, 2014.

"Oh, I hate angels..."

- a rote complaint, groaned aloud whenever the subject of dealing with agents of the Aether arises.

"Spidermage, Spidermage, does whatever a Spidermage does..."

- often overheard during her parkour runs.

Quotes about

"I've seen her 'round Sydney a few times, busking with her little 'magic' show. I let her go cause it's more guile and fast fingers than supernal. She's sensible enough to know where to draw the line. If you catch her on your streets just pick her up, let her know you'll be watching, gently, and maybe buy her a meal. Better to play nice than have whole Consilium up in arms about persecuting a sweet young innocent. Plus she's proven useful in the past."

- I. P. Smith

"She's a jumpy girl, got up me for cleaning my gun. I mean, it wasn't like I was going to shoot anyone, or anything like that! She's friendly enough, I suppose; just far too talkative for my liking."

- Striker

*laughs heartily* "Sash? Pure gold, that girl. I regret having to leave that one behind - if ever I needed a 2IC, it would this one every time. If I had five mages like her, we'd bring an end to the Quiet by the end of the month."

- The Director

"I'm sorry, man, but Sash only has three emotions; mischievous, drunk and smoke-bomb. And hungry! Never forget hungry. But not, like, love. That'd just be weird."

- Ricochet

Conversations

"He says, 'only trusted members of the Consilium'. I'm a trusted member of the Consilium, right?"

"Well, Piper, you're definitely a member of the Consilium."

- with Piper Rayvenryder, April, 2015.

"Look, people get themselves all invested in the wrong concepts, and they lose perspective. Take truth, for example; it's not actually important whether something technically happened or not, the only thing that matters is whether reality is served by the story."

"Sash...that sounds an awful lot like a blatant and flimsy excuse for lying."

"Well, not just lying; it excuses a lot of history, too."

- with I. P. Smith, February, 2015.

"I may have accidentally wiped twenty-four hours of my own memory trying to do exactly the same thing to them, due to their shielding..."

"Hell, I've had weekends like that, too."

- to Beckett Shore, December, 2014.

"Calm yourself. It will not happen, child."

"Firstly, I'm not a child. I'm a sixteen-year veteran spell-slinger, which means I have seen shit, including more than one would-be apocalypse, and I am calm - startin' to get pissed off, now, but calm - and just because I'm Robin to his Batman does not mean I'm your monkey, no matter who the Hell or Heaven you are, so I'd be very appreciative if you'd reciprocate the courtesy and respect I have shown you up to this point, or, unless he says otherwise, I'll put you on top of a fucking Christmas tree."

- to a certain angel she'd just met, December, 2014.

"Look, man, I don't care what you think you saw, clearly you were tripping balls - and we should probably get you a blood test - because fairies do not, can not, have not and never will exi-...actually. Hunh."

"What?"

"I...guess it doesn't really leave a lot of room for skepticism when you routinely light your smokes with magic, does it?"

- with Ricochet, November, 2014.

"Why? How? Why? Would you...ever...join The Silver Ladder?"

"...I just wanted to be somebody."

"You're somebody to me."

- with Ricochet, September, 2013.

"Sash, you've got two choices; gracefully bow out now, due to 'family issues', or you can have the entire panel of judges rip your act to shreds in front of a national audience."

"Jesus Christ, Javert; alright, already. Just one question, though; is your beef with the idea of 'fun' in general, or just me having it in particular?"

- with I. P. Smith, on her brief reality TV career, August, 2012.

"Whoah, there, Captain Bigotry! Let's just pump the breaks on the Prejudice Train, shall we? We have no evidence that vampires are universally awful."

*later that night*

"...okay, so vampires are pretty much universally awful."

"Cool. Do I get a prize?"

"There are no prizes for racism, Tommy."

- with a former Cabal mate, alt. timeline, January, 2009.

Rumors

"If you're going to be crazy, you have to get paid for it or else you're going to be locked up." - Hunter S. Thompson

• Has no real magic, only tricks.
  • Has no tricks, only real magic.
    • Even the Guardians aren't sure, which is why she's such a source of vexation to them.
• Attended a Free Council meeting while deathly hungover, during which she pulled a rabbit out of her hat. Then turned it into a sandwich. Then ate it. To say nothing of the detox smoothie she conjured from thin air...
  • And still managed to have Dresden asking her counsel. Now that's magic.
• It's all an act. She's a plant for the Guardians.
• Will be heading up "Running Away Classes" for the Free Council
• Is very, very pissed-off about the death of Princess Pwnage
• Literally sold Fae magic to the Changelings.
  • What, like ice to the eskimos?
    • Yes.
      • ...so, what did they pay her?
        • Sash isn't talking...only smirking, wordlessly.
• Those three strokes of glitter on her cheek are not actually makeup, but scars from where she got mauled by a really fabulous werewolf.
  • Shut up, Ricochet.

Inspirations and Soundtrack

"I don't believe in no-win scenarios." - James T. Kirk, Star Trek

• Dave Franco as Jack Wilder, Now You See Me
• Ruta Getmintas as Dutch Velders, The Strain
• Zatanna, from DC Comics.
• Russel Brand.
• “If I had a dime for every time I’ve heard 'We’re all going to die,' or 'I’ll kill you,' I could afford a better apartment. You can only listen to so many threats of destruction, doom, or death before you start tuning them all out. So I followed the wolf out of the building, then went home." - J.C. Nelson, Free Agent
• Fame by Mree: You ain't seen the best of me yet; give me time, and I'll make you forget the rest
• Ladies And Gentlemen by Saliva: Welcome to the show, please come inside...
• These Days by Bon Jovi: She came looking for some shelter with a suitcase full of dreams, to a motel room on the boulevard; I guess she's trying to be James Dean
• Thrift Shop by Macklemore: I wear your granddad's clothes; I look incredible. I'm in this big-ass coat, from the thrift shop down the road
• Rake At The Gates Of Hell by The Pogues: Hear the angels call above them, watch them as the cold air sucks them down to Hell; goodnight, God love them! If any should escape above me, I'll beg and cheat until they trust me, drag them down to be damned with me, laugh at them as they forgive me
• Kansas City Shuffle by Joshua Ralph: You look left, and they fall right into the Kansas City Shuffle. It's a they-think-you-think-you-don't-know type of Kansas City hustle, where you take your time, wait your turn, and hang them up and out to dry
• Dream On by Depeche Mode: Feel the fever coming, you're shaking and twitching; you can scratch all over, but that wont stop you itching
• Stewie by Redgum: Some people had plenty, while others had none; for the same working week, it seemed, year after year, worked over by coppers for tipping the scales - life wasn't meant to be easy
• Microwars by Kingswood - Ricochet: Now I'm of the mind, we all should have the guts to be bold, and do you have the time? 'Cause I'm not in a rush to get old
  • Kryptonite by Three Doors Down - Ric for her: I really don't mind what happens now and then, as long as you'll be my friend at the end
    • Dust To Dust by The Civil Wars - both of them: You're like a mirror, reflecting me - takes one to know one, so take it from me; you've been lonely, too long
• All The Same by Sick Puppies - The Director: Wrong or right, black or white, if I close my eyes, it's all the same. In my life, the compromise; when I close my eyes, it's all the same
• 90 Ninety 9 by Limp Bizkit - I. P. Smith: And if you're wonderin', I've got plenty of flows - I'm makin' plenty of friends, and many a foe, but as the audience grows, security knows stoppin' me now is kinda serious
• Ladies And Gentlemen by Short Stack - Beckett Shore: Then he looks her in the eye, she considers hiding spades and trumps so bland - such a crush or subtle ties, and disclaimers wish for wings, in idle hands. And he said, 'Baby, jump!' Oh oh oh oh, from the hospital, we're honorary members of the red carpet academy
• Let You Down by Imperial State Orchestra - Evelynne: I've got the training, but there's no explaining my flawed psychology, but the letters and all those definitions hardly make an apology; you know I'm going to let you down - and you know, I don't want to deceive you. If I could change, I would do it now
  • Thick As Thieves by Dashboard Confessional - Evelynne for her: I don’t break easily; you’ve got my counsel, thick as thieves. If there’s a crime, we’ll keep it secret, for there’s only trace amounts left in your blood. You may be a sinner, but you may be justified
• Come As You Are by Civil Twilight - the late Princess Pwnage: Come; doused in mud, soaked in bleach, as I want you to be - as a trend, as a friend, as an old memory. And I swear that I don't have a gun, no, I don't have a gun, no, I don't have a gun
• I Can't Imagine The World Without Me by Echobelly - Awakened society: They said, 'Oh, shut your mouth; you don't know what you talk about.' I wanna know, if this is just a game, can anybody play? Can everybody win?
• Levitate by Hadouken - Magic: Heart in my mouth, but my head in the clouds; I can feel it rising - bound to the Earth, but we could ascend, I’m realizing
• Tokyo (Vampires And Wolves) by The Wombats - The Mysterium: Astrophysics; you'll never be my closest friend. I find no comfort in what my mind can't comprehend
• Already Lost Control by Grinspoon - Guardians of the Veil: Can we join an army of you, and help you out in battle to defend your point of view? Turned tables, it's just like you said; now I'm in the army, I'm probably better off dead
• You Will See Me by Dan Le Sac feat. Scroobius Pip - The Silver Ladder: This book you discarded as a pamphlet will ignite shit. I will work ten times harder than before; I will create art, I will create beauty - I will create so many things that you can't ignore, but I will not do them in your name
• Sway by Julie London - The Adamantine Arrow: Like a flower bending in the breeze; bend with me, sway with ease. When we dance, you have a way with me - stay with me, sway with me
• We Weren't Born To Follow by Bon Jovi - The Free Council: This road was paved by the hopeless and the hungry, this road was paved by the winds of change, walking beside the guilty and the innocent - how will you raise your hand when they call your name?

OOC Info

Member Information
Player:	P. Saunders
Number:	2003100615
Domain:	Sydney