Siobhan Byrne
The Basics
Name: Siobhán Byrne
Gender: Female
Age: 21
Race: Human
The Physical
Physical Description: Siobhán is tall, six feet perhaps, shapely, and lithe. Shes pale, as if dusted with chalk. Her eyes are large, and while kind they are likewise unfathomably sad. The bright amber orbs peer out from underneath a heavy curtain of lashes, and out of a sharply angled face, with high cheekbones, a pointed nose, and a proud chin. The hair that falls in long, cascading waves, is the red of autumn leaves. Her ears are veritable pin cushions, with little pin pricks in them enough to arrange hoops, studs, rods and chains into any configuration she might fancy. Her left arm is covered in a complete sleeve of tattoos, from her collarbone all the way down to her fingertips. Its a chaotic mess of styles, images, and scrawls, all collected over time.
Her choice of wardrobe is seldom her own, she takes what she can get. But when she gets to pick, she likes a pair of worn in jeans, casual t shirts and a pair of cowboy boots. If the weather demands it, its whatever jacket or coat she can get her hands on. Once upon a time she might have been picky. But times are tough these days.
Talents & Weaknesses
Skills: The curse strikes both ways, and Siobhán is perpetually inspired to grow her talents. She is a particularly talented musician in her own right and have through the years learned to play several instruments, including guitar, piano, violin, and flute, and while she rarely has use for the knowledge, shes also a deft hand at the hurdy-gurdy and the accordion. But her pride, and the true shining star in her repertoire is an almost otherworldly singing voice.
Music isnt her only talent though, and almost more out of a necessity, as having to escape became more and more of reality, she also discovered a love for fast things. Like cars, and motorcycles, and shes become quite adapt at driving at high speeds. A vice, like any other, but she does get such a rush from slamming the gear in to place and flooring the pedal until the engine roars.
Shes a charmer to, a fast talker, with the gift of the gab and a motor mouth that eight times out of ten can get her out of trouble. The other two? Well, thats when you need to haul ass and get out of dodge.
Powers:
Unhappy Muse Siobhán is cursed to inspire those around her to greatness. Linger in her presence and you will find that focusing on any task you undertake becomes much easier. Your little hang-ups and doubts about your own ability evaporates. You become your most talented self, your most creative you. She doesnt impart skill though; she just allows you to be as good as you can be but makes improving yourself much easier.
The price you pay though, is steep. Because with time the joy you find in your new inspiration ebbs away. Sure, you painted the greatest painting you ever could, but youre not happy about it. The sculpture you welded together looks fantastic, but you cant find any satisfaction in the completion of your work, and the song that you wrote, feels like ash on your tongue when you sing it.
Vulnerabilities:
Unnatural Hunger Food wont sate her; drink wont clench her thirst. Siobhán is cursed to nourish herself on the happiness of others. She drains it out of them, while they create. Their sense of satisfaction with a task well done, or their pride over something that they have made, is what she must consume to stay alive. She can go to a concert or attend an art show opening to get enough to sustain her. But to stay well, she must devour the joy of those whom she herself inspire.
Under The Hood
Personality: A lot of people have the wrong idea about Siobhán, really. If only they would get to know her, they could maybe see past the veneer of a blood sucking tick, shameless exploiter, and the general wall of cavalier indifference she presents and see to the heart of the matter.
That shes a woman perpetually on the run, scared of any attachment, or pain it might bring her. Who always needs to burn every bridge behind her and ruin any hint of a friendship she ever comes across, or risk hurting those around her in ways they might never recover from.
Which is too bad, because Siobhán is by nature a caring soul, kind and sweet, bubbly, and friendly. Its just life on the edge thats forced her to act against her nature.
Backstory: Up until age fifteen Siobhán lived an incredibly unremarkable life. She lived in NYC, her parents both worked in marketing, they had a decent flat and she went to a decent school. From a young age shed always had an interest in music. So, her parents put her through piano lessons, she sang in the choir and was given all the support one might need to grow and cultivate what turned out to be quite a remarkable talent. Time rolled on. She and some friends began playing together in a lil garage band, just for fun.
Then she went with her parents on a vacation to Greece. Oh it was amazing, swimming in the ocean, hanging out at the beach and going on excursions to see all the old ruins and the amazing things they had discovered there. It was fantastic. Then one day, while she was sitting alone a boy approached her. He was her own age, handsome, sweet, and he had heard her singing to herself while she enjoyed the sunshine. He told her she sounded amazing! And had she ever heard of the muses? It was sweet flattery, all of it, maybe Siobhán was one of them? Maybe she was blessed by them? Had she heard about the amulet, supposedly hidden away in one of the ruined temples nearby? The one who would make anyone who possessed it into the worlds greatest performer.
Siobhán was a rational mind. She didnt believe any of it. Obviously, this boy was just trying to pick up some tourist girl. But the notion lodged itself in the back of her mind and wouldnt let go. The next day her parents had decided to go to the aforementioned ruins. A stroke of luck that was. There she found herself, wandering between the columns, empty rooms and across mosaic floors, from one dead garden to another. All the while thinking about her future. She wanted to be the greatest singer the world had ever known. Not because she thirsted for fame. But because she wanted to be the best at something that she loved to do. She wanted to be able to touch hearts with her voice.
Lost in thought, she wasnt paying attention to her surroundings. Thus, it wasnt so strange that she didnt notice when the ruins were no longer there. The crumbled stone replaced with beautiful marble walls, the pillars now stood in proper rows, tapestries now draped the walls and hypnotic incense, and colored smoke filled the air. With a start, she realized that she stood in a nearly empty chamber. Save for an altar, where, on a cushion, lay a silver amulet the size of her palm, with a cord of woven gold. To this day she doesnt know how she ended up there, or how she knew that the amulet was the one the boy had spoken off. All she knew, right then and there, was that she needed it.
She rushed forward to grab it, but as soon as her fingers touched the cool metal her life as she had once known it ended. There was a blinding flash, and a searching pain through her arm. Then she woke up with a start back in the hotel room. Her parents said that theyd found her, passed out in the ruins, and that she had been out cold for nearly a day. Doctors had been called but had found nothing wrong with her. The final verdict was dehydration and heatstroke. Siobhán wasnt so certain. The last thing she remembered was a face, beautiful, imperious, twisted in rage and screaming at her.
It started small from there. Her parents suddenly began to perform better at work, launching their careers in to overdrive. Her friends got better and better at playing in their little band. But with time, as they got better, they all seemed sadder. Her friends stopped coming to practice, one after the other, until there was only Siobhán left with her guitar. Her parents, while their careers rose, began to squabble more, and seemed more and more stressed and dissatisfied. Selfishly though, what Siobhán noticed the most, was how hungry she always felt.
It was the curse that had begun to take its toll. Her friends had gained their inspiration, but in turn Siobhán had devoured all their joy of music. Her parents, both creatives in their field, had been launched high, but now hated their work, and never took it with them home. So now she starved, slowly, and didnt even know why. It wasnt until one night, when she was finally so hungry, and so weak that she could not get out of bed that one of the muses came to her and explained her punishment.
For her hybris, and her thieving greed, she had been punished with her greatest desire. She had everything she needed to be the greatest, she would always find it easy to create, and to learn, and to grow in her art. She would inspire others to greatness as well. But in turn she had to feast on their joy, until they had none left, and art held no happiness for them anymore, and somehow, someway, thanks to the curse, they would know that it was her fault.
Since that day, life became a hell for Siobhán. She has to go out and find happiness to eat, so she must inspire others to create. Often, she will do so by joining a band, or starting one, and feed off it. Or she will allow herself to become somebodys muse. There are no less than three break out novels with characters inspired by her among the pages, a couple of photographers got their start capturing her on film, a few paintings here and there have her as their motif and she knows of two statues that are supposed to be her as well. All of this, so that she can eat, and survive, and maybe find a way to break her curse.
These days, with the rise of the witchhunt, Siobhán lives a life in constant motion. She cant afford to stay with any one artist for long, or stick around with a band, lest she risk someone who knows what theyre looking for to discover her. After all, pull a thread, and youll soon discover that most of the high rise and then hard crashes among the creatives in the NYC area all seem to have a single young woman as a common thread between them.