Blanche Bennett's Questionnaire

They currently live in Buffalo, New York in a rented top floor studio apartment. The rent was cheap, there was enough space for their art, and the subway was only a few blocks down. Now some might feel indifferent about their..."unique" forms of taxidermy (they do pretty well shipping globally) and the murders of crows that flock to their feet when they do happen to step outside, but hey, everyone can be a little quirky sometimes. Their landlord has seen enough shit in his life where this often times doesn't bother him, as long as they don't stain the carpet. Luckily the local hardware store has been doing fantastic in terms of business with all of the polyethylene sheets they've been selling!

Blanche has an online store, of course; they make a decent amount from custom work and global shipping (most of their clients reside in Europe). Their love for animals and attention to detail really shine in their creations! It especially helps that most of their supplies come from the streets themselves; their crow friends also help with supply and demand (in exchange for food). Commissions are expensive enough to bring in the monthly rent while not needing a second job, and they'll often sell scraps their feathered friends steal  find on their daily adventures.

Besides rent, money is often spent on food and utilities; any extra is saved and spent on their expensive taste in Victorian/Gothic clothing and tattoos. Unfortunately work has been a bit slow lately, so they're hoping for a miracle...

Blanche wants to change the world with their art. They want to sculpt the flesh of the living and bring about a new era of culture. To craft with flesh is to become divine, a title they believe they so greatly deserve for all of their hard work. It's not their fault others have such poor taste, in fact it's pitiful. They will understand in time though, and when Blanche delivers them the new Garden of Eden of their making, they'll be praised. 

This is their ultimate goal. There is no limit, no obstacle that can come between a God and their Heaven, and often times an artist will have to destroy their work in the pursuit of greatness. It is all for a higher purpose, an even greater good.

It is all a true artist can hope to create. 

Growing up in a small Kentucky town is about as great as it sounds for Blanche- given that they refused to bend to the extremist Christian ideals their family had placed upon them since birth which resulted in many bruises. Their inner rebellious fire only grew and spread when they reached adolescence, luring in other "lost" and "broken" kids and raining hell and chaos upon those who cast them out. They were 16 when they dropped out of school, finding a new twisted sort of peace in the juvenile detention center they called home for almost a decade. 

Blanche's parents, Sarah and William Bennett, had five total children throughout their marriage. Blanche was the youngest, and the first to denounce their family customs. They never got along with their other siblings and were even compared to them almost on a daily basis. After the incident, they all lost contact. Blanche refuses to change this.

Siblings: Edger (oldest, male), Ballard (male), Edith (female), Edward (male, second youngest)

Blanche has been with many different people since their time in school to the months after they were let out of prison. A majority of these relationships were nothing sentimental, just materialistic exchanges or attempts at finding some form of comfort and companionship on lonely nights. There was one woman that stuck around longer than most though: Harper Quinn. Blanche met her a few days after their release, and the two clicked almost immediately. Harper did a lot of heavy lifting to keep what they had intact, but Blanche was too far gone in their own ego to stop putting themselves first, and after three long years the two decided to cut it off and remain friends. Harper still holds a slight grudge against her ex, and hasn't spoken to Blanche in person since beginning her college career a few months before they were contacted by The Talent.

Blanche would outwardly lie about their worst fears and play the game of pretending they don't exist. That fear itself is a weakness fabricated in the mind as a way to hold onto trauma. That fear is the sturdiest rope used when shepherding the lost and guiding them to a newfound lie. 

Their biggest fear is failure. 

The unknown possibility of watching their dreams vanish to nothingness, to drain an unfathomable amount of blood, sweat, time and energy into creating the perfect vision, the perfect world, and have it all be for naught. Blanche does not fear death, death comes for us all in the end, but to die for nothing, to fulfill no greater purpose...that is the most frightening thought. That is the dark shadow looming in the corner that they refuse to acknowledge, the elephant in the room that they will feed their final bullet. 

They have wasted enough time being a sorry prodigy locked in a cell. They have wasted enough tears and screams fending off cruel hands and words. They do not want to live as a wasted breath, for their existence to prove to the ones they despise that they were right all along.

Blanche is also afraid of deep waters and tight spaces, but those are easier to actively avoid.

Blanche's most prized possessions are their sewing kit and collection of craft needles (sewing, knitting, leathers, ect). They always carry something with them, whether it's for working on a simple craft in a small cafe or using larger ones for self preservation. Harper had bought several as anniversary and birthday gifts, and those selections are most often used. Blanche would often times bring them when visiting and help with costumes and cosplay, and all the necessary sizes and points are kept in a makeshift carrier (something like a canvas paint brush holder, but for sharp objects and made of leather). Blanche would not openly admit it, but they love these the most for the sentimental value they hold for something they once cherished, but lost. There is a pair of knitting needles that have custom engravings of various animal skulls that they carry on their person at all times (for self defense now).

If you asked this question directly to Blanche, they would probably laugh in your face and tell you everything is fine.

Everything, obviously, is not fine. 

Their apartment smells like the dump, their rent is starting to go back up and they have little extra money for crafting supply restocks, and the crow friends are delivering less and less shiny things (maybe there's someone else feeding them now that Blanche is busier?). It all sucks, just little things piling into bigger things. The worst contender of it all though....loneliness. Blanche has little to no friends in their area; Antonio is busy with his new grandkids, Birdie was picking up more shifts, and Harper is buried in books trying to study for an English degree. They have phone numbers of previous contract coworkers, but one is a busy barista, the other lost her phone, and one fucking died (that number is also blocked since there is an impersonator now. thanks Cinder). Blanche is considering biting the bullet and hauling their ass to some clubs or something, but that requires more time and effort than they're willing to give.

Who knows though, maybe that'll change soon.

Blanche sets an alarm every morning, at 6:50 am, so they can give themselves 10 minutes to lay in bed and wake up before actually starting the day. They then set start up their Spotify playlist (oops all Ghost) and hop in the shower before beginning a 20 minute natural hair care routine (to get it styled and super silky). Teeth are then brushed, makeup is done, and an outfit is selected. This might be another 30 minutes to an hour, before they move on to breakfast...which is often times just some cereal or eggs and toast. If they're feeling really good and adventurous that morning, they might even make a full English breakfast, but it's usually saved for weekends. They plan everything to be ready by 9am, to either begin working on personal projects or spending some time out for shopping and restocking. This is usually determined by the amount of food they have for their crows. 

Blanche used to go clubbing frequently once they got out of prison, which stopped for a while (until recently). They have much nicer outfits for such occasions, which fall under categories that are the opposite of their day to day fashion. They'll usually go for something that shows more skin, especially if the club has blacklights so their blacklight tattoos will show. So rather than a huge trench coat, gloves and boots, crop tops and slitted pants or skirts are more preferable. They will take several hours just doing makeup, something that fits with the scene of the event they are attending (the shades are usually left behind and jewelry might be swapped out). 

If the occasion is more of a formal type dinner or higher standing event, they do own one or two nice black dresses for those (they save the fancy lace for formal wear). They also have several packs of foundation to match their skin tone incase the tattoos need to be covered up, but most times they will only worry about the one on their cheek and leave the blackout ones alone.

It would probably depend on the size and location of Blanche's (slowly growing) circle of peers, but they would prefer to go out for drinks and have a fun night on the town. Traveling can be expensive, but who knows! They have some wealthier buddies who might be open to hosting if they ask nicely enough, so maybe they'll "siege" Phylum's castle for their next party and have a good time. If everyone is unfortunately super busy and unable to hang out/host, they will go out and get themselves a nice drink and sit alone in their apartment crafting and relaxing.

If you ask them, they'll dig back to their childhood. They'll talk about their failed plan, how they wish they just burnt the house down while everyone was asleep, that they maybe falling asleep cradled in flames would've provided some sort of warmth and comfort they've been seeking ever since. They'll talk about wasted time in prison, watching the years go by while they turn fellow inmates against one another for fun. All of the projects that were never finished, the ideas that were never brought to fruition. 

No, their greatest regret is not doing more. Not showing enough love and gratitude, not being there when she needed them. For all the times they left her alone in bed early in the morning or bailed on a night together on the couch. For being such a self-centered piece of shit that they didn't realize the true value of what they had.

They miss the moments and memories that never came to be.

They miss her.

And they despise him for it.

Blanche's gifts all revolve around medical practices (or malpractices?) and taxidermy. They fuse their passion for art with their primary craft to help recreate bodies and keep innards off the floor. It should be noted they have no medical license. All medical based knowledge is from prior readings and studying anatomy (as well as previous work with [REDACTED]). They personally aren't sure if the harbingers actually grant wishes or not, because they practice their skills so often they just seem to be naturally improving. Maybe starting the jobs unlocked their inner potential and they were always destined for greater things (which makes sense since they are the best). Maybe next time they finish a project, they can make it come alive! Or they can train the murder of crows that live outside and visit on their balcony to be cool familiars like their new witch friend's cat! The possibilities for growth are endless and they will only get worse.

Blanche grew up in a heavily Christian household, in a heavily Christian neighborhood. Their father would beat the love of the Lord into their back with his belt every time they misbehaved, which only fueled the hellish fires born from confusion and hatred. Why did his love have to hurt so bad? Why were they so harshly punished for simple human desires? To be forced to repent and beg for forgiveness for questioning, rebelling and simply being human?

To hell with all of them. They would rather set the world aflame and rebuild it anew than bend a knee to a benevolent god that cared not that we bled and sacrificed so much to live. If to be human means to obey or suffer his wrath, they will invoke his fury and laugh.

But, perhaps things will change. Perhaps their partner's beliefs will reshape them, and together, they will stand hand in hand as the world burns around them.

The world was always a dangerous place. The leather boot of the powerful always come down crushing the oppressed beneath them, the honeyed lies of tempting men twist your arms until they threaten to break, and people die.

People always die.

We are all destined to die at some point, but so many of these deaths are gross and messy and early. Perhaps there is fine print written in their fate that if specific events align in their path that that is what must happen... but what is the point? Why do the people crave such violence, but at the same time those who wish to change are pushed against even harder? Maybe the world should burn, maybe it needs to so it can be built anew. Like a vast forest set ablaze so the young have room to grow and nurture the earth.

Maybe, just maybe, everything is just totally fucked and Blanche and their girlfriend need to speed up the process with chemical warfare and car bombs.