bloodstained rose, dark night of the soul

Blessed is my divine fury

"Make no mistake, if you choose to wallow in the darkness—
I will drown you in its depths."

Summary

Charlotte Halloween is a demon hunting nun who is part of a long standing holy order. She has taken a righteous vow to assist the church in keeping dark forces at bay to protect humanity. Though stoic and impassive, she has a tender heart, a tragic backstory, and not quite unrequited feelings for her hunting partner, a grand inquisitor called Father Nathaniel Valentine. Charlotte's piety is one of her greatest qualities, but that most treasured trait of loyalty also causes her internal grief and strife as she finds her heart not only devoted to God, but also to the feelings of platonic love and respect for Nathaniel that begin to grow into something much stronger, and darker.

Overview

A Penitent Bride who is as surly as she is beautiful, Charlotte is quick to anger but hides her emotions behind a mask of neutrality. She is surprisingly shy when it comes to matters of the heart, feeling awkward and flustered when put on the spot. Not much one for small talk, she usually stalks off when approached by strangers as her social skills are lacking, especially in comparison to Father Valentine's. She is wholly uninterested in forging new relationships with others though she finds herself repeatedly getting stuck with an everchanging roster of new people in her life.

While withdrawn and a bit cold, she still has a large heart, but because of her past, she prefers to keep people away as she is quite emotionally frail and tender-hearted, though she hides it behind a blank and passive facade. Through meeting and working with Nathaniel, Dominic, and Ven, she chooses to become more expressive and allows herself to demonstrate her naturally nurturing character more often.

Though serious and a bit brooding, Charlotte still maintains a dry sense of humor and often plays along when Nathaniel is feeling playful. Because of her religious upbringing in an all-girls environment, she reacts shockingly bashful to Nathaniel's flirtatious antics or Sister Niamh St. Patrick's salacious remarks. She prefers order and procedure—when her routine of cleaning her guns after a hunt gets interrupted, she gets irritable and moody.

Charlotte specializes in the removal of malevolent ghosts and demons and prides herself in her skill. She can usually be found studying or training with the other Sisters at the Penitent Bride convent when not on a mission.

Personality

Positive Traits: hardworking, loyal, analytical, steadfast, strong leadership qualities.

Negative Traits: overly critical of others and herself. can be terse and quite rude, especially when moody. though often tender, her heart is closed to the outside world. doesnt like to accept negative emotions or moments of weakness as valid/true or relevant.

Story

Born as Maria Luiza da Silva, Sister Charlotte Halloween grew up in a large and loving family in Portugal. She was orphaned at a young age and placed into the care of Our House of Lady Fátima, a church-run orphanage and boarding school for lost and troubled girls.

As an adolescent, Charlotte grew quite the temper but relied on her faith to keep her steady. The head nun, Sister Catarina, noticed her unyielding faith and rigourous discipline—brutally steadfast in her beliefs—and nominated her as a candidate to join the renowned yet esoteric convent that trained Penitent Brides. She trains hard and studies dutifully for years, and with nothing of a family or home life to distract her, Charlotte excels. As tradition, she is christened with a new name¹ as she takes on the mantle of Sister Charlotte Halloween once she has earned her place amongst the ranks of the Penitent Brides.

Charlotte befriends Sister Niamh St. Patrick, and holds her, along with the other Sisters at the Brides convent dear to her heart, though she rarely expresses it.

¹: Donning a new name shows the Church that one is committed fully and wholeheartedly to the Holy Cause.

Ending

Charlotte and Nathaniel are granted a rare dispensation from the Church after taking down The Black Herald. They spend the rest of their days living peacefully in the French countryside, often writing letters to Dominic who is now in the Americas. They run a small books and curiousities shop, and it is rumoured by the townsfolk that the surprisingly elaborate garden in the courtyard was planted by the shop curator in tribute to his wife's family.

Theme

Devotion vs. Desire....the complexities of human emotion and the sacrifices often required by religious devotion. Can personal desires and spiritual commitments coexist? I'll actually write about this later I'm lazy lol! Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aliquam eget sapien sapien. Curabitur in metus urna. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Phasellus eu sem sapien, sed vestibulum velit. Nam purus nibh, lacinia non faucibus et, pharetra in dolor. Sed iaculis posuere diam ut cursus. Morbi commodo sodales nisi id sodales. Proin consectetur, nisi id commodo imperdiet, metus nunc consequat lectus, id bibendum diam velit et dui. Proin massa magna, vulputate nec bibendum nec, posuere nec lacus. Aliquam mi erat, aliquam vel luctus eu, pharetra quis elit. Nulla euismod ultrices massa, et feugiat ipsum consequat eu.

Trivia

Nicknames: Chérie (by Nathaniel), Lottie (by the Sisters at the convent)
Weapons: Shotgun, 'PRAYER'. Dual pistols,'SAINT & SINNER' Rifle, 'BENEDICTION'
She carries an assortment of knives and firearms nestled in the depths of her skirts.
Despite her small stature, she has the strength of a 6 foot, 230 lb. man.
Born left-handed but forced to use her right.
Something of a teacher's pet as she is Mother Superior's favorite.
She doesn't like the smell of juniper because it reminds her of her mother's perfume.
She thinks that Dominic and his "doll's" clothing styles are gaudy and garish.

Likes

routine & structure
killing demons
cleaning her guns
studying scripture
window shopping

Dislikes

physical affection
small talk
vegetables
the smell of juniper
being teased/the center of attention

Design

Red crosses across sleeves of dress.
Hair length is mid back.
Ash cross worn on forehead when hunting.
Usually has a neutral or slightly grumpy expression on her face. If drawn with Ven, she sports a soft look on her face. With Nathaniel, her expression depends on the situation, but she does have a larger range of emotion with him.
When she is out of her nun vestments, she wears a modest longsleeved white dress with her hair tied up in ponytail by a blue ribbon.
While you can draw her with makeup for aesthetic reasons, canonically she runs around bare-faced.

Relationships

❤❤❤❤❤
She is very much Death Before Dishonor™ personified and puts her duty above any feelings she may or may not have (thank you very much!) for her eccentric partner. As her feelings grow for Nathaniel she is plagued with conflict and guilt over breaking her vows.

❤❤❤❤
Initially, Charlotte sees VII as something of a monster, but still senses a glint of humanity within him that is worth saving. She is cold to him at first but eventually, she opens her heart and they grow a loving, sibling-like relationship over time, in which she coddles him in her own way.

❤❤
Charlotte dislikes Dominic and calls his creations "abominations of God's will." She does not trust him but tolerates him because of Nathaniel. They have a tense and strained relationship. In the beginning, Charlotte often feels guilty working with Dominic because of VII essentially being a walking portal to the void.

❤❤❤❤❤
Sister Niamh St. Patrick is the closest thing to a best friend in Charlotte's life. Niamh often teases her about her "emotionally constipated" ways, and likes to fluster her with her crude language and behavior. The bond they share means a lot to Charlotte, whose life is marred with loss.