| "Though she be but little, she is fierce!"
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"I hate to inform you, but I have my own fucking plan."
— Amanda Palmer
"And Lady Stark is not your mother, making you... the bastard. Let me give you some advice, bastard: never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor, and it can never be used to hurt you."
— Tyrion Lannister
xxxxxNearly forty years ago, Eliza Dunlin married Joshua Milner in a rather hasty way, such as happens in small towns. Notably, she did so shortly after returning from Europe, from whence she had vowed never to return. Well, she did. And then their 'premature' child, with her interestingly darker-than-whitebread cast to her skin, became one of those open secrets that small towns all know about but only the children are cruel enough to actually talk about.
xxxxxKids are little fuckers.
xxxxxMinerva J. Milner joined the Army pretty much as soon as she legally could, and fucked off out of Aleswich just as soon as she damn well could. She stayed gone, too. Christmas — well, just can't make it this year, Ma. No, Easter's pretty bad, too. She came home for her father's funeral six years ago. Now, rumor has it, Ma was doing poorly, the kind of poorly that involves words like "terminal." Eliza seems better these days; locals report seeing her outside the home Nerve bought for her. Maybe she was briefly a newt, and got better.
xxxxxSooner or later, everybody goes home. And Autumn Dunlin got what she wanted, filing the Milner serial numbers off of her cousin, and restoring the proper Dunlin identification. Since changing her name and owning her biological family, Nerve's become a Dunlin's Dunlin; she's as invested in the family as people who didn't go off to serve their country for a couple of decades: she owns a business and has thrown herself into family business.
"What we remember from childhood we remember forever - permanent ghosts, stamped, inked, imprinted, eternally seen."
– Cynthia Ozick
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| RP Hooks
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"Better to not give in to it. It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart."
- Finnick, Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.
- Army: A Sergeant in motion outranks a Lieutenant who doesn't know what's going on. Not a mercenary, but this is still true.
- Dead & Breakfast: Nerve is often at this Dunlin holding. She has faithfully gone there to read to Autumn every day since Jeremiah's death.
- Dunlin: See that bit down there about her mom? A Dunlin Is Always a Dunlin. The Dunlins (mostly) welcomed Nerve with open arms on her return. She dropped the Milner name — legal name change for an adult in Maine's a matter of filing a paper or two — and took her mother's maiden name as her own soon after. Her birth record has likewise been legally amended. She takes the saying far more seriously than most: A Dunlin Is Always A Dunlin. The family's security and safety is her first and foremost thought, always. (Family Status •••)
- Ghosts: Sometimes, she can see them.
 - Milner: It's openly acknowledged (though rarely referenced anymore, as no one gives much of a damn in the Dunlins) that Minerva Dunlin is not the biological daughter of the late Joshua Milner, given that she doesn't resemble either Joshua or his wife, Eliza Milner (nee Dunlin). She went to the Milner family events as a kid but since she got home, she seems to have taken up her true roots... in fact, the Milners may not even know she's back — she hasn't spoken to a single one since she returned.
- Mechanic: See above. And also below. Don't touch the tools.
- Military: Nerve got her dad to sign on the dotted line so she could join the Army at 17. She spent twenty years fixing tech in just about every theatre there's been, and stationed in Germany in between; she retired a Master Sergeant.
- Motorcycles: And how. Nerve owns Dunlin Custom Cycles (located at dp12). Own a bike? Need parts/maintenance/just want to talk shop? Stop by. She doesn't repair much anymore, mostly makes custom bikes, but she might make an exception.
- Recently Changed: And somewhat uneducated. No, really, completely. She seems to be getting on okay, though.
- Spirits: She can see/interact with them.
- Well-Traveled: She's been all over Europe and chunks of Asia and the Middle East over the last twenty years or so.
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| Contacts
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That had been one of the first things that she had learned:
The center of the seesaw has neither up nor down, but upness and downness flow through it while it remains unmoved.
You had to be the center of the seesaw so that pain flowed through you, not into you. — I Shall Wear Midnight, Terry Prachett
Dunlins
- Anna sweet – There will never be another woman for me. Every time I think one of us lives by the strength of their convictions, I look at her. Ringtone.
- Bean – My sister. Knows what's best for me sometimes even when I don't.Ringtone
- Bastian – Sometimes the hardest thing is just letting go.
- Barnabas – Tell me, we both matter, don't we? Ringtone.
- Boyd – I owe Boyd more than I can possibly express, and I trust him now more than I can say.
- Carys – Anyone who so much as looks funny at Kitten had better watch out... she'll kick your ass before I can.
- Catriona – Pennies in a jar, Cati. Ringtone.
- Charmaine – She's my kind of sarcastic smoking acerbic. ♥
- Compton – Over the horizon is another bright sky. Ringtone
- Lou – Four million late-night calls from Germany later, you're finally home. Good.
- Ma – Sometimes, hope pays off. Ringtone.
- Patrick – The last of the great White Hats. I love this man. Patrick as a child. Ringtone.
- Stan – Winner and still champion. Ringtone.
- Treya – A Dunlin Is Always A Dunlin. ♥
- Vanity – I used to send her souvenirs - scarves and jewelry and stuff.
- Xenos – One of the few people I'll actually ask for help. Ringtone.
Band
- Charlie – Hunh.
- Eilee – Tell me if it hurts us.
- Maxie – Oh, kiddo.
- Nyudo – Okay, but if we put the flux capacitor here...
Damn Close
Everyone Else
- Linton – Oh.
- Meadow – Probably secretly rules the universe. This theory makes a shocking amount of sense. Ringtone.
- Molly of the Frozen Peas – Thanks.
- Rae – Fellow machine-head nerd woman. Explains things. Travis's woman.
- Scarver – Somewhere between "the sadistic bastard I pay to stick me with a needle repeatedly" and someone I actually like.
- Wagner – You're a bastard. I'm not fooled. That's okay.
Gone?
- Chance – Cool.
- Clara – :(
- Jensen – Usually there's more space between 'I love you' and 'I'm leaving' than a single frakking day.
- Katalina – Sister. Never alone again. Ringtone.
- Kayla – ♥ Come back when you can. I'll miss you until then.
- Irene – Family, no matter what. No matter where. Ringtone.
- Laila – She helped with Ma.
- Nick – My best friend. I keep watching him leave to deal with his life, and it never gets any easier.
- Phineas – Good luck.
- Remy – I have a tender spot in my heart for cripples, bastards, and broken things.
- Soph – ♥
- Stu – I drink tea when I'm drinking tea with Stu. Except now I send him postcards. :( No more tea. :( Maybe he'll send me tea from wherever he's gone. :( I still won't drink it because I don't know how to make it. :( Ringtone.
- Travis – Good nurse. Pisses me off that he quit or whatever. Damnit.
- Wesley – Someday, I'm gonna be wrong. I might like that day.
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| What People Say
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"Uh, Nerve?" Stu chews on his bottom lip, thinking about that. After a while: "She's a good person. Knocked around by life. Tough, but more fragile than she lets on. A bit lonely. A bit lost."
Katalina gives a soft shrug, handing the piece off. "Some trouble in the circles Boyd and I frequent. It had all my attention - briefly. There is a lot of crazy shit happening in this town. And you, you just take it all in stride. Like 'oh hi my cousins turn into rodents, how're you?'"
"Oh, that's just Nerve," Soleil assures him. "She never seems impressed. If she does, it's because - I don't know. The whole island just blew up or something along those lines."
Soleil, to Ross: "Nerve's doing alright, yeah. She got to patch me up, that helped, and then other stuff...she'll be fine. I mean, she's Nerve. Barring getting decapitated or something, she'll be fine."
Arkady, to Stu: "I have a bike that she fixes. I help with her mother's care. And we are both Afgantsy.....and do not much care for idle talk. It is restful to have a friend like that."
TXT: Xenos - I wouldn't know anything about keeping things to myself. (See what I did there?) *hugs* Enjoy your shooting. If anybody's going to find zen amidst a hail of bullets, it'll be you Minerva.
Rathbone: "The best revenge is a life well lived, Nerve. You've showed them. You've realy showed them. Look at you. A veteran and a businesswoman. A pillar of the community and her family. Someone dependable. Someone people respect and care for. Someone with multiple lovers and fuck you if you say something about it. This is your life. You've carved it out for yourself. And that's amazing to me. It gives me hope for what I can do once I've moved past this moment."
'Dude, she would and could put you in a box before I could blink," Pat tells Ludlow with a grin. "Everything I learned about gunfighting? I learned from -her-. Trust me, you don't wanna mess with that. I've seen Green Beanies wilt under her stare," he adds.
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| An Aside
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The only thing you can rely on is that you can't rely on anything.
Don't sell your soul for self-esteem.
Don't be plasticine.
Don't forget to be the way you are.
– Placebo "Plasticine"
Minerva Dunlin is absolutely ridiculously strong-willed, both in terms of Willpower and other stats to back her resolve up, and she's part of a family where the family ghosts get invited to all the parties, and "your cousin has a demon in his head" is just a statement of fact. She can still be surprised or frightened or what have you, but it's increasingly rare, and very difficult to shake her from her chosen path of action.
half underwater – i'm half my mother's daughter – a fraction's left up to dispute
the whole collection – half off the price they're asking in the halfway house of ill repute
half accidental – half pain full instrumental – i have a lot to think about – you think they're joking?
you have to go provoke him... i guess it's high time you found out
it's half biology and half corrective surgery gone wrong – you'll notice something funny
if you hang around here for too long ago in some black hole before they had these pills to take it back
i'm half jill – and half jack
and when i let him in i feel my stitches getting sicker – i try to wash him out but like she said: the blood is thicker
i see my mother in my face – but only when i travel. i run as fast as i can run but jack comes tumbling after...
– The Dresden Dolls - Half Jack
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| Minerva "Nerve" Dunlin
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| Apparent Age:
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Late Thirties
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| Occupation:
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Mechanic
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| Virtue:
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Fortitude
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| Vice:
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Pride
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| Family:
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Dunlin ••••
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| Breed:
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Ursara
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| Accord:
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Den-Warden
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| Band:
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The Artificers
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| Soundtrack
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| Tracy Grammer Trio - Ordinary Town
Raised on hunches and junk food lunches
And punch-drunk ballroom steps
You get to believin' you're even-steven
With the kids at Fast-Track Prep
So you dump your bucks on a velvet tux
And you run and join the dance
But your holy shows and the Romans know
You're just a child of circumstance...
Jason Mraz - 93 Million Miles
240,000 miles from the Moon
we've come a long way to belong here,
To share this view of the night, a glorious night,
over the horizon is another bright sky
Oh, my my how beautiful, oh my irrefutable father,
He told me, "Son, sometimes it may seem dark,
but the absence of the light is a necessary part.
Just know, you're never alone, you can always come back home."
Snow Patrol - This Isn't Everything You Are (Nerve & Autumn, formerly)
Florence + The Machine - Only If For A Night (Nerve & Autumn, presently)
And I heard your voice
As clear as day
And you told me I should concentrate
It was all so strange
And so surreal
That a ghost should be so practical
Only if for a night
And the only solution was to stand and fight
And my body was bruised and I was set alight
But she came over me like some holy rite
And although I was burning, you're the only light
Only if for a night
Redlight King - Built to Last Thanks, Barnabas
I've been beat up and broken down
And I've been there a thousand times
I may have walked through the worst
in hell my friend
And we all got our reasons why
I get my life from the things I have
And it all flies by so fast
I may have walked through the worst
in hell my friend
Now I know I was built to last, built to last
Johnny Cash - I Won't Back Down Also via Barnabas
Well I know what's right, I got just one life
in a world that keeps on pushin' me around
I'll stand my ground, and I won't back down
Hey baby, there ain't no easy way out
hey I will stand my ground
and I won't back down.
Jessie J - Do It Like A Dude
Ciara - Like A Boy Thanks, Xenos
Florence + the Machine - Shake It out
And I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don't
So here's to drinks in the dark at the end of my rope
And I'm ready to suffer and I'm ready to hope
It's a shot in the dark aimed right at my throat
Noah Gundersen - Family Thanks, Autumn
So bum me a cigarette, buy me a beer
Till I'm happy to be here, happy to be here
With all of my family, hookers in heels
And the men who watch them like hungry black eels
Jack Savoretti - Soldier's Eyes
'Cause like the enemies that we are battling
I am nothing but a human alien
Left with nothing else but to keep wandering
Down this path whilst stopping my hands trembling
Katy Perry - Part of Me From Autumn
This is the part of me
That you're never gonna ever take away from me
Throw your sticks and your stones
Throw your bombs and your blows
But you're not gonna break my soul...
Kristin Hersh - Your Ghost
I think last night (you were in my dream)
You were driving circles around me
Amanda Palmer - Runs In the Family
Mary, have mercy, now look what I've done
But don't blame me
because I can't help where I come from.
Noah Gunderson - David
I want to hunt like David.
I want to kill me a giant man.
I want to slay my demons.
But I've got lots of them, I've got lots of them.
Gear Daddies - Stupid Boy
And lord I'm sick and lord I'm tired of love
And lord I can't believe it's true
Ya know I really thought I knew you but I don't
And after all this time I come to find
You're just another stupid boy
Florence + The Machine - Landscape
You put the gun into your mouth
to bite the bullet and spit it out
Cause it's running in the family
All the riches flow to me
Cause she's just like the weather,
can't hold her together
Born from dark water,
daughter of the rain and snow
Cause it's burning through the bloodline
It's cutting down the family tree
Growing in the landscape, darling,
in between you and me
Florence + The Machine - Breath of Life
I was looking for a breath of life
for a little touch of heavenly light
but all the choirs in my head say, no oh oh
Sometimes There Are Text Messages. (NSFW)
Nerve Loves Slogan T-Shirts. (Possibly NSFW)
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