❝ I count the grains of sand at the shore, and measure the sea. ❞
The illusive, enchanting Oracle of Delphi; It is said that Apollo loved her so much, despite it being unrequited, that he refused to let her die. Anthousa would be reborn in each lifetime, somewhere between being a mortal and an immortal, dancing on a thin thread of the Gods.
If you seek her out on your own, Anthousa runs a store called ‘Elysian,’ named after the holy fields that always escape her. On the surface, she is seen selling medication among other concoctions, as well as a paraphernalia of antiques and souvenirs.
To patrons who speak the phrase, “Only the brave deserve the Fair” to her, a new variety of goods is unlocked for them: Medicines become brews that awaken new strength, or relics become weapons with immense power, passed down from heroes and even Gods of the Greek World.
❝ Every God is just a man playing a fool. ❞
❀ 𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙨;
ɴᴀᴍᴇ: Anthousa.
ᴀʟɪᴀsᴇs: Hyades, Haliantha.
ᴀɢᴇ: She looks to be around her early to mid-twenties.
sᴇxᴜᴀʟ ᴏʀɪᴇɴᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ: Heterosexual preference.
ʀᴇʟɪɢɪᴏɴ: Hellenistic.
❀ 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙;
ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ ᴏғ ʙɪʀᴛʜ: Corinth (originally) Lerna Lake, outskirts of the Underworld.
ʜᴏᴍᴇᴛᴏᴡɴ: Corinthia.
sᴘᴇᴄɪᴇs: Hybrid, possibly a demi-god.
ᴛɪᴛʟᴇs: The Oracle of Delphi, The Pythia, Anthousa the Fair.
❀ 𝙥𝙝𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡;
ᴇʏᴇ ᴄᴏʟᴏʀ: Light brown.
ʜᴀɪʀ ᴄᴏʟᴏʀ: Blonde/Fawn.
ʜᴇɪɢʜᴛ: 165cm.
ᴡᴇɪɢʜᴛ: 62kg.
ᴛᴀᴛᴛᴏᴏs, ʙɪʀᴛʜᴍᴀʀᴋs, sᴄᴀʀs, ᴇᴛᴄ: Heart-shaped freckles of a light pink shade occasionally become apparent under her eyes.
❀ 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙨;
ғᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴏʀᴀᴄʟᴇ: Gifted by Apollo, Anthousa is able to see visions in both her awake and dreaming state. She can see the past and future of those she chooses to, however upon her pulling away from the deity, he has stripped her of the ability to foresee her own future.
ғᴏʀ ᴇᴛᴇʀɴɪᴛʏ: While appearing to be human, Anthousa has the blood of Gods thrumming in her veins which allows her to practice magic, and have a higher survivability than other mortals. Despite this all, Anthousa is aware that she can die, hence why she prefers to be called eternal as opposed to immortal.
ғᴏʀᴇᴠᴇʀᴍᴏʀᴇ: As she is the pythia, Anthousa can summon pythons to attack for her, or defend her at the very least. She also has Apollo’s golden lion as a summon, though it takes shape of a grey-black house cat named Skía (also called Shade or Shadow at times) and acts as her familiar in these modern times.
❀ 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙖;
ɢᴏᴅ ǫᴜᴇᴇɴ: Anthousa's primary staff. A manifestation of her strongest magics and powers, God Queen takes shape in a staff embroiled in gold, with black lining, twin serpents (alike pythons) that cradle a crystal. While it looks like an onyx, when Anthousa dormant powers begin to dwell, a kaleidoscope of gold sparkles stir within it. The strength of her illusions increase tenfold with God Queen, and are near impenetrable. No one other than Anthousa can wield God Queen.
ᴄᴀᴅᴜᴄᴇᴜs: The staff of Hermes, which at times Anthousa is permitted to wield. When asked how she came into possession of it, or how she even got Hermes to loan her Caduceus is something that remains elusive. With it, Anthousa is able to manipulate the stars through astrology and astronomy.
ʙʀᴇᴀᴛʜ ᴏғ ᴄɪʀᴄᴇ: Alike Circe’s staff, Anthousa’s tribute to the Goddess of magic is similar in the sense that it allows her to turn objects and living beings into different things. While often not used for malicious intent in comparison to Circe’s staff, this staff of Anthousa’s is used more for illusions on a wide-scale basis, and often more for glamouring purposes.
ʙʀɪᴅᴇ ᴏғ ᴀᴘᴏʟʟᴏ: As if her title as pythia isn’t enough of a reminder of Anthousa’s ties to Apollo, the staff he had crafted and gifted to her as a proposal certainly is one. While Anthousa did of course deny marrying Apollo, that doesn’t stop the God in reminding her just who she is indebted to for her powers. Needless to say, the Bride of Apollo is Anthousa’s second strongest staff. It can act as a bow, somewhat, much like Apollo’s, with the drawstring being made out of a ray of Sun; In addition, it is remarkably strong in light magic, rumoured to even blind Helios. This staff in particular rejects any other beholder other than Anthousa, however Apollo is also capable of wielding it.
❝ It's dark in my imagination... ❞
Born a child of a large family, Anthousa recalls that she’s “somewhere in the middle” of several siblings in her first incarnation that she calls her ‘original life.’ Her father was a Spartan with his roots never truly escaping him, and her mother a reckless Corinthian that stole his heart. Her parents ran a stall in the agora, and the girls were either expected to help and eventually run the stall, or be wed to the most appropriate suitor if they were opposed to returning to Sparta.
Having been raised in Corinthia, Anthousa grew up admiring the hetaera and the way they used their words before using their bodies to sway and move people to give them what they wanted or needed; Particularly people in power.
While never being one herself, the hetaera she befriended taught her their ways, and this later inspired Anthousa to become one of the most powerful women in Greece: The Oracle of Delphi. Hence, she ventured to Phokis. Anthousa is vague on how she managed to catch Apollo’s eye, though has described it as, “Given his promiscuity, it wasn’t particularly hard if you had a pretty head sat on your shoulders.”
It is suspected that she seduced the God to get her position, and would explain Apollo's obsession with her.
Apollo later gave into her charms, and gave her the gift of seeing visions of the future, thus leading to her speaking prophecies and riddles in his name to those who sought out her advice. Initially, Anthousa did as she was expected and spoke the visions she truly got — In time, however, she let her manipulative ways take charge and said what she wanted everyone to hear as opposed to what they needed to hear whenever she could benefit. Apollo didn't seem to mind, given that her end of the deal was still being fulfilled.
Known to be wise as she was beautiful, many believed her last name 'Fair' came from her looks, which oft caused them to call her 'Anthousa the Fair,' though Anthousa herself dislikes this title. The common misconception only heightened when she found The Fairest Five within the Seelie and Unseelie Court.
It is said that Apollo loved her so much, despite it being unrequited, that he refused to let her die. Anthousa would be reborn in each lifetime, somewhere between being a mortal and an immortal, dancing on a thin thread of the Gods.
The tale of Anthousa and Apollo proved to be useful and made claiming her title as pythia to be easier each lifetime. Many saw this as a good omen, that a child from the Elysian Fields was gifted to them by the Gods, while others thought of her as a harbinger of demise. To Anthousa, it mattered not which they believed, as long as they unanimously feared her.
❝ Signed, sealed, delivered. ❞
Hello!
Thank you for taking interest and the time to read Anthousa's extended bio, and even this out of character section here. While I don't normally do this, Anthousa is a character who is perhaps the most complicated out of all of my other OCs.
Now, as an oracle, Anthousa knows and sees everything — While this applies to her, it does not to me. Meaning, most of the time in threads, she will very likely ask your character to 'indulge her in conversation' or to explain something, because while she does know, I do not want to make the RP one-sided. That's not fun for either of us.
In terms of seeing the future: Please let me know OOC what you want her to foresee in your character's future.
Ship-wise, nothing is set in concrete for her at the moment. I prefer writing ships with chemistry, and while Anthousa is alluring and flirtatious at times, most of the time she does not mean to pursue anyone romantically unless it is blatantly obvious (and discussed between writers).
While canonically I do ship her with Vergil from Devil May Cry (along with have her be the mother to Nero, etc.), I will not be forcing that narrative onto people who are roleplaying with her for the first time. I will not bring up the subject, matter, etc. unless approached!
Even if by some fate I write with anyone from the DMC-verse, these rules apply; I will not be forcing anyone into anything.
Keep in mind, if I happen upon a ship that suits her, Anthousa is monogamous and thus no multi-shipping will occur once she is committed; Playing the field is different, of course!
Some of you have already written with Anthousa on her locked account, and those relationships will continue.
For plotting, I would prefer to be contacted via DMs, either on here or on Discord — The latter is only an option if we are mutuals on my personal (@mermaidere).
I look forward to writing with you! ♥
XOXO,
Merm.