< Our Motley | Buncha Motleys | Mercedes Motley >
The small informal group currently known as "Sky's Motley" formed in 1979, formed organically from a mass of escapees who escaped from the Hedge in September of that year and a small core of hangers-on who wanted to try belonging to a Motley once again. 11 strong when it began, the Motley suffered from attrition due to its leaders inexperience in Changeling matters, interpersonal conflicts between members, and the other challenges faced by a mass of people bound together only by chance and their own spoken word.
One of the members, Mercedes, barely lasted a few months with the Motley before going through a nervous breakdown and sheltering with the Winter Court and eventually even further afield. Poor broken Eliza simply found herself unable to cope with life in the real world, becoming nearly suicidal and requiring constant oversight, which only further strained the bonds of the motley. The final straw came when Alexander Harnley, after defeating his fetch and reclaiming his life with the help of his fellows, declined to join the motley on its second anniversary instead striking out to form a motley of his own and taking several of its members with it. Their singular success taken from them, it seemed that the motley was doomed.
It was ultimately the actions of Charles Sebastian Bryant that saved the association from complete dissolution. Approaching an elder and more experienced Changeling, bereft of a Motley and reluctant to try to form one on her own due to her own history, Charles managed to convince Sky to accept an oath to his motley and try to help bind its members closer together than mere words would allow. Though somewhat reluctant, Sky agreed to this task and ultimately to leadership of the Motley (which took her name).
In many ways the motley still shows the signs of its haphazard origins, the individual members not having a whole lot in common. The bonds that keep them all together are forged of Wyrd and the shared hardships they've all endured - both the troubled times of their first year, and the harsher and harder obstacles that have troubled them since. Having survived the short-term, the motley settles in for the long haul.
Membership
Sky was kept in a jeweled castle in the Heavens, locked away like some Princess in a Children's Story. She isn't sure how she escaped, except that she has horrible dreams of falling from a great height to this very day. One of a group of 7 who escaped in 1959, this is not Sky's first attempt at leadership and honestly she didn't want to be put in this position. She nightly worries that this Motley will break apart just like her last one, with no one to blame but herself. The memories she has of Blind Thomas' takeover of the Freehold shortly after her first Motley self-destructed don't help at all.
Despite this she's managed to keep a cool head in a crisis, and pull her Motley out of a number of dangerous situations. When not engaged in matters of leadership, Sky likes to keep herself busy with artistic pursuits -- she dabbles in painting and poetry, and is a well-regarded dance instructor. Quite active within the Court of Desire, particularly around the time of the Revel, when she works overtime to help ensure that the festivities are potent and every effort is taken to bring a little blush of happiness to all the attendees. She also tends to serve as judge for any competitions among Courtiers, something Augustina has little patience for personally and thus is glad to delegate.
Sebastian was the black sheep of his well to do Boston family, the culmination of which was when he and his young lady-love ran off to elope, regardless of what cultured society had to say about the match. That was in 1865; Sebastian vaguely remembers a bright light, the sting of the Thorns, the pain of transformation. He was taken as a Gardener, while his Lady-love was but one of his Masters many beautiful Flowers. Sebastian eventually escaped, to find the world much-changed, but his beloved remains in Arcadia still.
While he'd never taken to a life of privilege, Sebastian was something of a natural leader and found himself in charge of the small Motley of escapees that formed. If navigating the Society his fellow Lost had built felt natural, though, Sebastian was lost himself within the strange new world of the 1980s. Much more comfortable as a second to Sky (who he feels only needs a bit more confidence to excel in the position), "Charlie" leads a humble life as a Gardener while "Sebastian" navigates the Freeholds' tumultuous social scene with ease.
Lynn doesn't speak much about her time in Arcadia, and even less about her time before she was taken by her Keeper. Initial inquiries were simply met with silence, and by now most people know not to bother asking at all. Now and again she awakes in the middle of the night, screaming, shaking and wide-eyed until Jenny or Sky can hug her and tell her everything will be okay. If she lets anything slip, on those nights, her Motley doesn't share it with others. Then one night, while she was working her job at Target, she thought she saw something and went a little crazy. She was taken in by the cops, processed and turned over to a mental hospital where she was filled with drugs. They asked her questions, and she still didn't say much, but they learned a little bit about No Eye.
Nobody is more "pro Motley" than Lynn. They're the ones that saved her; they needed the help of the Freehold, but they were the ones that got it done. She thinks up a new name every couple days, puts together little efforts to bring everyone closer together, practically maintains the Hollow all by herself, and always makes herself available for help or just a bit of company. All this despite not really having much in common with any of the others -- when not fervently working to make everything work, she spends most of her time by herself and seldom asks for anything except to be left alone for a bit.
Jenny remembers her time in Arcadia as a never-ending chase. She was set loose before the Hounds, run until her heart was set to burst and her legs burned, overtaken and consumed only to be reborn. She could never slow down, never stop; any break in the Hunt was only a chance for them to catch her. Eventually, as she tells it, she simply ran fast enough that she was able to get away. Memories and intellect returning as she raced through the Hedge. What her memory doesn't allow for is the fact that her "daring death-defying escape" happened at the same time as the escape of eight other Changelings. She wants to think it all a coincidence, or some trick of the Wyrd, but truth be told its a subject she prefers not to think about at all.
Jenny spends most of her time living her rather normal life. A personal trainer to the well-off and out of shape, funding her way through Night School to get a degree in Nutrition, Jenny runs in marathons and jogs every morning but her favorite sin is simply sitting down and enjoying a long leisurely lunch or just lounging in the pool all afternoon working on her tan. She'll even sleep in late on the weekends, spending the time watching TV or just sleeping until noon. Her boyfriend doesn't understand it at all, and god help her, she can't quite seem to explain it to him.
When the Marble Palace of the Midnight Giant began to list to one side, the Giant went into the world of man. It was there that he found Kelvin, a quiet strong boy who played basketball in one of the worst parts of the South Side back in the 60s. Black of skin, strong of bones, and best of all, not one to create much noise. The Midnight Giant took this one straight away, putting him in his satchel and returning to his Palace, where he stretched Kelvin like taffy and subjected him to vile concoctions that strengthened his frame and made his muscles hard like steel. Then, placed under the Southwest Wing of the Palace as a support, the Giant was pleased as his home was once again even.
While Kelvin was forgotten, he did not forget the Giant. One night, as he tells the tale, he gathered his strength and heaved with all his might such that the Midnight Giant's palace lost its footing and tumbled end over end down the mountainside above which it was perched. Forgotten and overlooked, he then simply left, making his way through the Hedge and into Boston. He's still, in a lot of ways, the quiet support that is sometimes overlooked. Most of Kelvin's attention is directed toward the Summer Court -- he watches over some of the poorer parts of town, making sure someone is paying attention there, and does whatever is requested of him by David or Samhain. Many wonder why he hasn't joined a Motley more devoted to the Court that consumes his attention; others note the way he hangs around Lynn and fawns over her every word.
Stryck Wiki