SUSANNA CALLAWAY

SUSANNA GRACE CALLAWAY

OOC

Member name: Cranberry

How you found us: I don't even know, Caution probably?

Other characters: N/A

Activity level: I'm kind of a busy bee, I've got play rehearsal almost every week day, but that's only for about another month or so and then I'll be much more active.

Code word: Verified by Bee


Basics

Full name: Susanna 'Susie' Callaway

Gender: Female

Age: 16

Divine Parent: Aphrodite

Powers: Aesthetics, amokinesis, minor charm speak.


Personality

General personality:

vibrant // susie has developed an inextinguishable spirit over the years that has, without fail, managed to pull her through every single hardship and stressful situation she’s ever been in. bright-eyed and enthusiastic, she makes an effort to put on a smile every day and show the world that even though it’s a shitty, unfair, and unsatisfying place to live in, she is unfazed. it’s a rare thing to see susie with bad posture or a frown, simply because she is determined not to let anything get her down.

overconfident // despite many a humbling experience throughout her life, susanna has, without fail, pursued everything she’s wanted without a smidgen of hesitation. she believes whole-heartedly in her own capabilities, but on occasion, she overestimates herself. whether she does so mentally or physically depends on the situation, but it's a common occurrence whenever the stakes are high.

artistic // although susie has never been great with a brush or a pencil, she is incredibly talented with all manner of cosmetics and has a keen eye for fashion. she enjoys designing and constructing her own clothes, and often tries out bold designs and colors with her eyeshadow and eyeliner. she's known for wearing oddly colored lipstick and eyeliner, and theming her make-up around certain things, from seasons, to animals, to emotions, to gods.

aggressive // susie is anything but passive. she is fiercely protective of those she loves, and vicious in battle. although it takes a lot to set her off, once you get her pissed, there’s no going back. she confronts problems head-on, often appearing too blunt for her own good, and outright refuses to beat around the bush. if she doesn’t like someone, the public will know about it, and a clash will be inevitable. dauntless and impulsive, susie has a habit of causing a peaceful situation to escalate rather quickly.


Likes:

• Bold make-up
• Matchmaking
• Piggy-back rides
• Roller skating
• Hot tea

Dislikes:

• Dieting
• Fish
• Manipulative people
• Bad hair days
• Nighttime

Goals: Susie strives to bring happiness to as many people as possible, whether it's by setting them up with their perfect partner, giving them a makeover, or just smiling at them as she walks by. If she manages to brighten someone's mood at all, even by a very small gesture, she considers it a day well-spent.

Fears: Susie is terrified of being forgotten. It might seem irrational, but she's had nightmares where she'd come to camp or school or home and find that no one recognizes her and the very thought of such a thing scares her to death. She's also afraid of centipedes.

History

Claimed?: Yes.

Camp experience: 4 years.

Mortal parent: Unknown. Adoptive parents are Gina and Patrick Callaway.

Other relatives: N/A

History:

Susie's origins are very unclear. All she knows of her biological father is that he was of Korean descent and didn't want anything to do with her. No letters, no photos, no meetings, not even a name to hold on to. She was adopted at the tender age of three months by Gina and Patrick Callaway, two suburban newlyweds. They brought Susie up in a solidly middle class household, and introduced her to beauty pageants almost as soon as she could walk. Her toddler years were filled with fake eyelashes and sticky lip glosses and crocodile tears at the yank of brushes through her hair.

After a bit of persuasion (mostly her father taking up for her and her signature pouty-lipped look that Gina could never resist), Susie was taken out of pageants and spent a year in her mothers undivided care. She accompanied her to house parties where bottle blonde ladies pinched her cheeks and remarked that she was 'so exotic!', as if she were a porcelain doll. She observed the charm of the socialite and how, when her mother was out of the room, they'd refer to her as 'that little Oriental girl.' She'd never say anything, just pull on the hem of her dress and wish she was invisible.

When she first started school, she had children constantly approaching her to ask why her eyes looked like that or why her hair was so dark. After school, she spent at least ten minutes curled up between her mother's lap and the steering wheel, a wet spot growing on the fabric of Gina's pretty purple sweater.

For her first few years in elementary school, Susie remained a social outcast, sitting at the same empty table every lunch period and drawing pictures at the picnic benches beside the playground. Although her mother arranged playdates with many of the local children, her father had baked treats for her classmates on many occasions, and she’d even taken to bribing other children to sit with her with toys or change, there was not a friend in sight. Her diagnoses of dyslexia and ADHD didn’t do much to help in that aspect.

It was after lunch on a chilly January afternoon that all that changed.

One of the school bullies had been giving her a bit of trouble, and she was in the process of squirming in between one of his cronies when she felt something tap on her shoulder. A glance to the side revealed tiny, clawlike talons, and then a feathery body. A dove had found its perch on her shoulder. One of the boys pointed, reached out a hand to touch it, and the bird attacked, flapping and pecking furiously at the leader’s face. By the time the snowy bird had fluttered off into the trees, the bully was sprawled out on the ground and a crowd had gathered around Susie.

She went down in elementary school history as the ‘bird girl’. Doves would settle on her outstretched finger and nuzzle against her cheeks and chew on her hair, and her classmates would crowd around her, awestruck. It was an odd push to fame, certainly, but second graders were remarkably impressionable. By the time she’d reached fourth grade, she was one of the most popular girls in the entire school and had attracted a close-knit group of friends that accompanied her everywhere she went. Her mother was absolutely thrilled.

In sixth grade, a new boy moved to town. Plagued with a severe leg deformity, he had an awkward gait and a headful of curly hair. Just as Susie had, he sat at the same empty lunch table and read books during breaks. Despite the influence of her ‘posse', she approached him, placing her tray next to his and asking him what he was reading.

His name was Simon and he was a very nice boy. He’d come over for snacks after school and the two of them would sit together in every class they shared. Naturally, her parents teased her about having a crush on him, but her feelings for the boy remained strictly platonic. He’d even found a place within her clique; her friend Margaret had leaned over from her seat in Math to slide a ‘do you like me check yes or no’ note over meant for Simon.

After writing a quick sonnet and erasing the dots on Margaret’s i’s to replace with hearts, she’d handed it over. But sixth grade was a tumultuous time, and the relationship failed to find any traction. Even if it had, it would have come to an end a few months later.

Because when that day rolled around, neither Susie nor Simon were still at the school.

It had started out as an ordinary Wednesday, Susie was in second block trying to catch up on her sleep schedule, when the school receptionist’s voice rang out over the intercom, calling her to the office. After the customary ‘oooooh’s and ‘what’d you do’s died down, she made her way down the hall to find the principal waiting for her. Miss Baxter had never been a kindly woman, and had earned the nickname ‘Scales’ for the leathery texture of her skin and frequently delivered overly harsh punishments. She beckoned Susie to follow her into her office, where she proceeded to climb up onto the table and turn into a winged, black-eyed, snarling beast.

No, really.

If not for Simon busting down the door and quite literally dragging her out of the building, she probably would have been dinner. She wasn’t exactly in a great frame of mind while her friend (who, for some reason, had fur on his legs?) yanked her by the arm through rush hour traffic, but that didn’t stop who had once been Miss Baxter from pursuing, screeching and spitting acid.

It took Simon hefting her over his shoulder and veering off into an alleyway to momentarily throw off their adversary. He’d puffed out a rushed explanation that she didn’t catch (her brain was too busy processing the fact that her principal just tried to rip her throat out), before pulling her up onto her own doorstep and banging on the door. Her father was the one to answer, and before he could ask why his daughter’s hair was smoking, Simon was shoving him towards the garage.

Needless to say, it was a very awkward ride. Simon had spent the entire time explaining the situation through exclamations of ‘TURN LEFT HERE!’ and ‘HIT THE BRAKES’. Apparently, Miss Baxter was actually something called a harpy, and the Greek gods of legend were very much alive. And the real kicker was, Susie was a daughter of one of them. Who exactly they were was unspecified, but divine blood ran through her veins and there were monsters who would gladly snack on her bones.

A very enlightening conversation, for a twelve-year-old.

Just as they pulled up a hill to what appeared to be a wide, Greek-style arch, Simon ordered Patrick to stop and for Susie to exit the vehicle. A kiss to her father’s cheek was the only goodbye shehad time for, before the car rolled on back towards New York and the sound of wings flapping descended on the two children.

Simon barely had enough time to yell for her to ‘look out’ until talons clamped around her ankles and she suddenly was being dangled upside-down by her foot, jaws snapping in front of her face.

From the swirls of green and black clouding her sight and Simon’s frantic yelling, she was barely able to make out the image of a dove, pure white and very familiar. Instinctively, she reached out a hand, and deposited into it was a black and pink container of lipstick.

“Why-” She began, dodging a lunge from Baxter.

“OPEN IT!”

She fumbled to get the cap off, and instead of a cosmetic, her sweaty fingers now clutched the hilt of a sword. Her attacker growled, and out of pure instinct, she swung. The pressure on her foot disappeared, and her vision blurred in clouds of golden dust.

The next thing she knew, someone had sprayed perfume into her face and her head, really, really hurt. Susie sputtered and coughed, catching a glimpse of something glowy and pink hovering above her head. A hand patted her back, stroked her hair.

“Ladies, I do believe we have ourselves a new sister.”



Camp Half-Blood was...a difficult place to get used to. Her new siblings were incredibly welcoming, if not a bit overenthusiastic, and had opened up their wardrobes to her until her parents shipped her some clothes. They fawned over her silky hair and plump, pretty lips, showed her what table to sit at when breakfast-time rolled around and took her on a complete tour of the facility. Needless to say, there was a bit of sensory overload, and she spent an hour or two sitting in the Big House with Chiron, drinking tea and playing chess.

It took her a month or two to get used to the schedule, and in that time, she found more companionship than she had in seven years of public education. When the time came for her to return home, she almost asked if she could just stay another year. After two days back in school, she returned to do just that. Every Christmas and summer she’d stay a month back with Gina and Patrick, but now that she knew she was an entirely different species than her adoptive parents, things became a little awkward between them. Gina still tried to make her attend house parties, but Susie’s time beating the snot out of practice dummies and climbing up walls that poured out lava had made her a tad less tolerant of middle-aged white ladies looking at her like some foreign flower.

Her mother has not invited her to another since the one where she caused every one of Gina's friends to leave in tears.

Camp Half-Blood has done wonders for her Susie’s self-confidence and charisma. She’s become quite the social butterfly, and even made a hobby of match-making, counseling couples and setting up dates for whoever asks. It's a far cry from editing love notes and whispering ‘do you like so-and-so’ in ears, but it's been a very welcome change.

A change she intends to make the most of.