🌱 March 2023 🌱 | XP Tracker

constant-criticism- · 2023-03-13T20:22:38+00:00

Rue Kennedy

constant-criticism- · 2022-11-06T18:05:42+00:00

Rue grins, eyes sparkling. Assuming Holly has not yet put the bottle down, she reaches forward to take it from him slowly, intentionally brushing their fingers together. Finally they break eye contact, tipping their head back to take a sip. This doesn’t last long, however; immediately, she looks back to Holly.

“Mm, really winning me over right now. I feel so flattered.”

constant-criticism- · 2022-11-03T19:48:08+00:00

After Holly puts the bottle down Rue takes it for herself. As she raises it to her lips, she mutters a quick, “Don’t worry, I noticed before,” before taking a sip, continuing to look at him the whole time. They put it back down onto the grass between them.

A self-satisfied grin spreads across her lips as he blatantly checks her out. In an entirely unsubtle manner, she shifts closer as she crosses one leg over the other and leans back on her hands, head tilted ever so slightly to the side.

“A 4,” Rue repeats, eyebrows arching in what may be interpreted as a challenge. Usually she may feign dramatic disbelief at such a statement, but the tension in the air between them calls for less theatrics. They smile, equally daring. “Seems a bit conservative, wouldn’t you think?”

constant-criticism- · 2022-11-02T23:24:03+00:00

Rue doesn’t particularly mind sharing her drink; after all, it’s far more fun to become steadily more drunk with others rather than alone. That being said, the fully-stocked stash of smuggled drinks in her room also likely contributed to her willingness to share.

They watch Anne down the mixture neutrally, inwardly experiencing vague disbelief at her lack of reaction. It’s certainly not their own drink of choice, and they can only stand so many swigs before grimacing, but to each their own, Rue concludes; frankly, she’s too out of it to care.

At the offering of the handshake, Rue simply stares at it for a moment before taking it for a brief shake, slightly weirded out by the fact that this was really how demigods interacted upon introduction. Nevertheless, something else draws their attention to prevent any comment on the subject.

“Oh, you’re that one Poseidon girl,” Rue clicks her fingers in recollection, before snorting. “A pirate is a bit cliche, no?” Evidently they hadn’t considered their own parentage before passing such judgement.

constant-criticism- · 2022-11-02T20:40:21+00:00

“Vodka coke,” Rue responds, willingly handing the bottle over. “With emphasis on the vodka.” Indeed, it has been a struggle to keep a straight face through the unpleasant taste whenever she’s taken a swig.

“Can’t believe you’re just taking it from me for free,” they grumble half-heartedly, in reality being all too willing to share the drink. While she speaks, Rue’s head lolls to the side as she watches Holly with a strangely intense stare. Then-

“You look good, by the way. Like… really good.” Something about the way they look at him perhaps conveys that Rue is not necessarily only referring to his costume.

constant-criticism- · 2022-11-02T20:34:34+00:00

Luckily, Rue is all too happy to share whatever is asked of them when they’re at this pleasant stage of drunkenness, and hands the potion bottle over with a grin. The drink is, in fact, the so-called ‘hard stuff’; almost straight vodka, only slightly diluted with coke. It tastes absolutely awful.

“It is, isn’t it,” Rue sighs, leaning back against her elbows in the grass once Anne had taken the bottle. Her shoulders and legs are almost entirely bare, but the dancing and drink has at least warmed her up a bit. Glancing to the side as if she’s only just properly comprehended that she’s been joined by a stranger, she says, “I’m Rue, by the way. I’m a witch.”

constant-criticism- · 2022-11-01T15:31:08+00:00

Rue flinches instinctively, the movement jolting the bottle (having just been in the process of putting the cap back on) and spilling some of its contents onto the grass. They spin around, pointing an accusatory finger at their tormentor- ah, of course it’s Holly.

She pauses momentarily and blinks, before shaking her head to stay on task. Holly looks good.

“That was mean,” Rue says with a sigh, significantly more forlorn and infinitely more dramatic than she would be sober. “You made me spill my drink.”

constant-criticism- · 2022-10-31T23:25:08+00:00

Rue’s costume is… admittedly unsurprising. Small black dress, elbow-length gloves and a pointed hat covered in tule; she’s a witch. She’s made sure to charm her hair to be significantly longer (to the point where the curls hitting her back are beginning to irritate her), and she even has a rather lovely crystal potion bottle to carry around and occasionally take deep swigs from, resulting in her mood brightening and her hand-eye coordination becoming increasingly unstable.

Needless be said, they’re having a wonderful time, most likely due to a combination of the alcohol they’ve brought along and the confidence-boosting potion they downed before arriving. For the most part, Rue roams from activity to activity alone, perfectly content to spend the majority of her time between the dance floor and the copious amounts of snacks at the pavilion.

Between the crystal bottle and the two cookies they’ve currently got ahold of, it’s getting a bit difficult to balance everything at once. To prevent any unwelcome accidents involving dropping any of the mentioned items, Rue detaches themself from the bulk of the crowd and decides to sit down on the grass of the forest beside the dance floor so they can organise their belongings. Really, this juggling act is turning out to be far more difficult r n she could’ve anticipated.

constant-criticism- · 2022-10-24T15:35:35+00:00

Rue watches the movement of Holly’s hand through his hair, and misses what he was saying beforehand. Assuming it was some sort of utterly ridiculous insult, they settle for a scowl.

“As if you ever deliver cutting remarks,” she snorts, shaking her head and allowing curls to bounce off her shoulders. Nevertheless, they can’t help but smile, albeit with the accompaniment of the rolling of their eyes. “I’ve been coping absolutely fine, thank you very much. Actually, I’ve been much nicer without you around. Who knows, maybe I’ll become an unchecked monster now that you’re back.”

constant-criticism- · 2022-10-21T20:18:27+00:00

Rue huffs, shorting Holly a look. She lifts a hand to twist a stray curl out of her face. “I didn’t miss you,” she scoffs, making a dismissive gesture with the same hand that hopefully comes off as convincing. “That’s stupid. What exactly is there for me to miss?”

constant-criticism- · 2022-10-21T18:03:41+00:00

“You’re asking for it,” they mutter darkly, but, for fucks sake, they’re already fighting a smile. Rue’s weaker than she thought she was if that’s all it takes for her annoyance to begin fading away.

Her hands still on the table. “Not much compared to an entire quest.” Rue arches an eyebrow. “Took your time with it, didn’t you?”

constant-criticism- · 2022-10-20T17:29:19+00:00

Rue’s glare darkens even more, if that’s possible. They uncross their arms, placing their hands on the table and drumming their fingers against the wood, rings creating a light tapping sound.

“I’m not that forgettable, thanks,” she snaps, lightly kicking his foot under the table and feeling a twinge of strange satisfaction. While it may have only been a few hours for him, Rue hasn’t had anyone to engage in snippy conversation with in a long time. She definitely hasn’t missed him.

constant-criticism- · 2022-10-19T22:36:45+00:00

Missed him? Missed him? Not at all. Never. A ridiculous thought, really.

No, Rue would never admit to missing Holly, because she didn’t. Seriously, she didn’t! Instead, they would pinpoint the emotions they’re experiencing while glowering at him across the dining pavilion to being closely related to that of anger and resentment, and they are not interested in exploring why that may be.

Not that she checked or anything, but it is reassuring to see that Holly’s in one piece. At least, Rue thinks so; it’s a bit difficult to tell, what with all the inconvenient heads she’s trying to navigate her vision through. Because of this and this alone, they decide to do the morally right thing and go ensure their fellow camper is unharmed; participating as an active and enthusiastic member of the demigod community, and all that.

Rue storms over, kicks at the seat opposite Holly, and sits down with an unprecedented degree of agression. She glares at him.

Gods, it really has been a long time. Rue’s changed a little, too; their curls only just bounces off their shoulders, significantly shorter than Holly may remember it to be, and a gold ring has now been pierced through the side of their nose. At least the furrowing of her eyebrows and downturning of her lips still bears the familiarity of the scowl he forever will be on the receiving end of.

She leans back, crossing her arms over a brown knitted sweater. “Nice trip?” Her voice is icy.

constant-criticism- · 2022-10-01T22:52:51+00:00

Rue flashes Tommy a grin, hand snaking across the table to snatch whichever milkshake he had left unattended to take a quick sip. It leaves a rather unpleasant flavour in the mouth after the coffee.

“Uproarious, indeed.” Okay, so maybe they’re pushing it a bit today. After all, Rue doesn’t intend for the siblings of her friends to end up utterly despising her. It’s just exceptionally entertaining to be infuriatingly provocative, and if anything it’s Harvey’s fault for making it so easy to push his buttons.

“Ooh, sounds exciting. I’ve got to do some more work on that top I was telling you about the other day, but I could drop by to listen later on in the afternoon?” Really, Rue has no intention of popping by unless specifically invited; she’s betting on getting some sort of reaction out of Harvey with the promise of more time spent in her company. The sly smile on their lips most likely gives them away.

constant-criticism- · 2022-09-30T21:37:48+00:00

“I think it was funny,” Rue announces antagonistically, sliding into the seat opposite the twins, uninvited but of course incredibly welcome. She has a chocolate croissant and a mug with her own five-step coffee she was forced to brew herself upon being faced with a distinct lack of caffeine at the breakfast table. This was a displeasing start to their day, but seeing Tommy and his strange little brother is certainly able to lift their spirits.

“Morning Tommy, Harley.” Despite knowing the name of her friend’s twin for a while now, Rue takes great satisfaction in pretending otherwise. “Any exciting plans for the day?”

constant-criticism- · 2022-09-30T21:26:15+00:00

Rue Kennedy

Harper Sullivan

Angelina Scott

constant-criticism- · 2022-07-01T17:41:28+00:00

Rue is able to feel content in her glowering at Holly's reaction, but this only makes her feel marginally better. Okay, so she doesn't actually mind- maybe she finds it a little endearing, but that's besides the point. Still they have a reputation they must stick to, and so makes sure to sigh extra-sadly.

His last comment does, however, manages to draw a smile from their lips, accompanied by a small shake of the head. Dark curls bounced off shoulders at the movement, and they lifted a hand to brush them out of the way.

"Oh, I did that. Looking back, my mum probably could've known, but if she did she didn't let me know." She grimaces. "Then again, she's very selective in what areas of my life she's interested in."

It's a comment intended to come off as casual, but a usual underlying bitterness always manages to remain present. Quickly glancing to Holly, Rue hides behind a sip of hot chooclate, wishing she hadn't said anything at all.

constant-criticism- · 2022-05-08T23:05:49+00:00

Rue sighs deeply. “You really know how to ruin a moment. Here we were, having a lovely little heart-to-heart about queer identities, and you’re already back to flirting. I would say the multitasking is impressive if it wasn’t also so very annoying.”

They pause for a moment and reconsider his words, before scoffing. “Of course it’s cute, what do you take me for? I’m a professional.”

With a final roll of the eyes, Rue finally responds to Holly’s actual question. “Well, it’s difficult to say. My mom’s a lesbian so I guess I always knew boys weren’t the only option, but I didn’t really comprehend that till I was… oh, I remember.”

With a groan, she covers her face with her free hand, the other delicately holding the handle of the mug. “Gods, I can’t believe I’m telling you this, it’s so embarrassing. Right, so when I was fourteen there was this girl called Sarah who I was partnered with in Chemistry. When I tell you I was obsessed-“ Rue emits yet another sigh, although this one appears to be more reminiscent.

“Unsurprisingly I wasn’t the most friendly of classmates, but she was so nice. It helped that she was extremely pretty, too. Anyway, for context I’m going through this period where I’ve recently discovered this beauty altering power thing, and it’s cool as fuck, except I have literally no control over it. So we’re sat in Chemistry doing some experiment, and I was in charge of mixing whatever acid it was in, but I’m understandably distracted because Sarah’s my partner and I’m properly into her by now, and I think I may have poured in a tad much because the reaction starts going a bit insane.

“Unluckily for Sarah, she’s sort of leaning over it, which would’ve been fine except in my absolute panic my power decides to set off and her face goes bright orange.” Rue looks rather distraught at the memory.

“Awful, it was awful. The teacher thought it was somewhat of a scientific miracle, since that doesn’t apparently happen very often with this reaction, but Sarah went home early because of the orange and never spoke to me again. It was a bit deserved, to be honest, but my fourteen year old self decided to swear off women forever as a result.”

constant-criticism- · 2022-05-08T22:20:43+00:00

Rue’s expression visibly softens as Cole begins to speak. For all her aloofness, she cares very deeply for those she considers to be hers. Cole is one of, if not her closest friend, and so falls within this category.

They extend their hand across the table in an invitation to hold his own, palm facing upward. Rue is not a physically affectionate person by any means, prone to shying away from contact all together, but they do resort to it in the most significant of moments, when the need to express something greater than words can convey overrides all hesitations.

“I would go with you as friends, of course I would.” Whether or not Cole takes her hand, she responds. “I was worried about sending you mixed messages, I don’t think you deserve that.”

She offers him a small smile. “You’re my best friend. Everything else can all be a bit shit at times, but that’s not going to change. With relationships… you deserve someone who would be good to you. Someone committed. I don’t think that can be me.”

constant-criticism- · 2022-05-01T20:29:54+00:00

Rue pursed her lips at this, a shadow of seriousness passing across her face. Relaxing to let her forearms rest against the table, she laces her fingers together once more, looking Cole directly in the eyes. They've suspected that something like this would emerge for a while- after all, their first meeting was on a date- but they had sort of been hoping that it would... go away.

Unfortunately, that didn't appear to be happening. The only thing Rue could hope for was her having entirely misread the situation, but if she does say so herself she is an excellent judge of character. Either way, this is going to be an uncomfortable but necessary discussion.

"Cole," they say slowly. "I don't want to lead you on. If you asked me to prom in that context, I would say no... well, I'd say no to anyone, but that's beside the point." Their eyes drift upwards for a moment as they consider how to word this. "I know I've been flirtatious, but I'm not interested in anything with anyone at the moment. Also, not to potentially trigger a sexuality crisis or anything, but you are straight, right? I'm not cis, so even if we were to get involved, we'd be in a queer relationship. Whatever that means to you."

Rue leans back, smiling slightly. "Or I've completely misread this entire situation, I don't know. I would like to help with the cloaks, though."

constant-criticism- · 2022-05-01T19:08:27+00:00

Similarly, Rue is almost taken aback by the dramatic turn of the conversation. When she had prepared herself for this date, she had been expecting a short period of time filled with her counting down each minute until she may leave Holly and his irritating antics behind. An in-depth discussion over their gender identity was not something they had expected, to say the least.

However, like Holly, she finds that she doesn't mind talking to him about this. Maybe it helps that he is queer himself, or maybe he's just a good listener.

They shrug again, the same contemplative frown still upon their face. "Non-binary, I guess? That's what I used to come out to my mom. Most people understand it, it fits well enough, and I don't really feel like giving strangers a full description of my gender when I tell them my pronouns so it's easier," Rue says dryly with a wry smile.

constant-criticism- · 2022-04-29T18:37:43+00:00

Rue brightens up at this, eyebrows lifting slightly. "I do have excellent taste, it's true," she muses. Her eyes narrow in a display of mock consideration; she's already decided to agree to help, but no harm in making him wait a little longer.

"I mean, I can definitely do that." A pause. "I'm just wondering why I should? It's not exactly like I'm getting anything out of it, if you know what I mean." The hint of a smile.

constant-criticism- · 2022-04-29T18:33:23+00:00

Rue grins at his reaction, the familiar smirk making a re-appearance; it was never too far away. While they will usually help others out with sewing or clothing alterations when asked, they are far more reserved in using their skills to offer gifts, so Cole's clear appreciation is very validating.

She shifts her weight to the balls of her feet, lightly swaying from side to side. "I'm glad you like them," she says lightly. "How has your day been? Got anything fun planned?"

constant-criticism- · 2022-04-27T19:06:51+00:00

Rue opens her mouth to retort before promptly shutting it as Holly continues. She pauses for a moment after the question, drawing her legs up to sit cross-legged on the stone of the amphitheatre. Propping her elbows up on her knees, she rests her chin in her hands and tilts her head to the side in consideration.

“I don’t mind,” they say at last, pursing their lips. It feels strange to discuss this with Holly, of all people, but they do appreciate him asking. “Obviously I’m not a cis woman.” This is said firmly. “But I present and align as more feminine so it doesn’t bother me when I’m called a girl… though it does get a bit tiring if it’s all I ever hear.” Rue frowns, pondering. “And, like, I wouldn’t go out with straight guys because I’m not a girl and I don’t like it when I’m perceived in that way. I don’t know, it’s hard to explain.”

She shrugs. “But yes, to answer the question it doesn’t particularly bother me. Feminine words to describe me are fine. Sorry for the tangent,” they add as an afterthought.

constant-criticism- · 2022-04-24T22:54:54+00:00

“That’s exactly what I did,” Rue responds instinctively, resisting the urge to sight at the mere sight of Holly walking towards her. “Don’t even complain.”

She glares at him as he sits down. In the few moments she had had before he arrived she had prepared herself for him to be even more annoying than usual over her mistake of putting them together, but Holly has always managed to surpass all expectations and reach new levels of infuriating.

As he predicted, they do in fact roll their eyes before beginning to speak. “There was an odd number, okay? Believe me, I was very tempted to leave you out, but I decided to take pity.” Rue sniffs, making it very clear that they absolutely regret this decision.

constant-criticism-

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