( meta ) the endless meme

[aesclepian]

Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is she heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
Benny is 5'6" with a petite, athletic build - measurements are 34-26-34 (75-64-75), per her played-by (Natalie Dormer). Her height is more or less average in this current era, and she wears heels fairly routinely.

2. How old is she?
Four hundred and fifty as of 2011. She was born in 1561, died her First Death in 1583 and has continued on her way ever since.

3. Describe her posture. Does she carry herself well or does she slouch?
She generally carries herself well, straight-backed, evident physical confidence; her manner can sometimes tilt the impression 'ladylike to the point of being a bit prim'.

4. How is her health? Is she fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
Immortals don't get sick, it's great.

5. How does she move? Is she clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
Awareness of her own physicality has been a pretty important thing over the years; she's graceful in a subtly deliberate way, there's a conscious element to almost everything she does. When she's been drinking she's a bit more inclined to flapping her hands and falling into sidetables, though.

6. How attractive is this character physically? How does she perceive herself in the mirror?
Benny has what you might call a fairly "unique" face- she can be very beautiful and she can be quite plain. Some angles and styles are more flattering to her than others, and this is what she perceives; most of the time, she makes the effort to 'show herself at her best', but she's been known to deliberately play up the plain oddity she can evoke for whatever reason.

7. Describe her complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
Pale and clear, for the most part; she tans if she spends much time out of doors, but not much, and that's pretty much it.

8. Describe her hair: color, texture, style.
Naturally brunette, she's gone blonde in the last few years (she has regular appointments with a colorist to maintain it) and cut it to her shoulders, significantly shorter than she'd previously been wearing it as a brunette. She has a natural wave, but no curl without the aid of styling products, and she tends to wear it down a lot of the time. When she had longer hair, she braided it more often than not.

9. What color are her eyes?
Blue.

10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
She has a rose-shaped brand as a member of the Blue Brethren Sisterhood.

11. What are her chief tension centers?
Her hands and hips.

12. What is the character's wardrobe like? Casual, dressy, utilitarian? Bright colors, pastels, neutrals? Is it varied, or does she have six of the same suit?
As far as a colour palette, she largely sticks with earth tones, muted greys, severe navy (she does like to have a splash of a jewel tone or something softer-but-sparkling, but as the accent or singular focus against a more severe or muted backdrop); her clothing tends to be quite tailored and unfussy, but she's fond of drapery at the neckline, ruffled blouses, pussy-bow collars and the like. She avoids most prints and reserves lace for lingerie and wedding dresses.

It'd be fair to say that her style often veers into 'dressing older than she is/appears' territory, suiting her manner. Much of her jewellery is vintage, but most of that was bought new or made for her- she's both been born to wealth and accumulated her own over the years, and it's reflected in her tastes. She's very fond of heels, but often looks at them with an eye to whether or not she thinks she'd be able to kick them off in a hurry if she had to. While she enjoys a heeled boot, she's not going to wear a pump or sandal with an ankle strap.

Her preferred perfume is Shalimar by Guerlain.

13. Do her clothes fit well? Does she seem comfortable in them?
They do! She'll buy off the rack and then have it tailored for a better fit, often.

14. Does she dress the same on the job as she does in her free time? If not, what are the differences?
At the clinic, Benny usually dresses unfussily and with flats; she does have the ubiquitous white coat, but generally prefers not to wear that, being as she's one of those inclined to think they spread infection. When she was working in hospitals, she'd wear scrubs.

15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Knickers! Briefs, not thongs.

Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
A helpful youtube!

2. How does she normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does she talk easily, or does she hesitate?
Quietly, evenly, unhurried; she speaks clearly, almost efficiently, she's good at making herself understood.

3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
Her natural accent is a bit French, generally - it's one of the primary languages of her childhood, the other being Greek with her earliest words having been Italian - but currently she's adopted a slight Hungarian accent when speaking both French and English, reflecting her alleged childhood in Győr. (She lived there during the '50s and '60s when she was married to Edvárd Bernát, and she is currently posing as the daughter of her stepson, Tivadar.)

4. What language/s does she speak, and with how much fluency?
...a lot of them. I've already mentioned Greek, French and Italian (the last one of those she relearned later, she'd consider Greek to be her native tongue above it), but she also speaks German, Hungarian, Russian, Turkish, Arabic, etc and so on. This is both a side-effect of the fact she's lived for a very long time in a lot of different places (none of them, thus far, primarily English-speaking countries) but is also related to her personal study. She has a Masters in Applied Linguistics! She doesn't speak Gaeilge, Welsh, or most indigenous languages. We could be here all day, let's leave it at that.

5. Does she switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
She'll usually default to whichever language both she and the people she's talking to are most comfortable with - she'll speak English to English speakers, but she'll switch languages if they have sufficient French, for example. Her English is fluent but very much learned, and slang terms and regional quirks occasionally soar directly over her head.

6. Is she a good impromptu speaker, or does she have to think about her words?
She's thinking on her feet as she goes, I'll put it that way.

7. Is she eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
For the most part she's fairly eloquent and considered, but when she's off-balance there are more hesitations. This almost exclusively occurs social or personal contexts (as in, those are the contexts in which it can arise); professionally and as a student, she's very clear on what she's saying and interactions tend to have a clear purpose. In social contexts, she can get a little awkwardly intent and sometimes becomes slightly flustered when it's pointed out to her. How I shot mortals, etc. This isn't entirely artless; most of the time, she's consciously presenting the image of someone who is much younger than she actually is, and she'll sometimes emphasize uncertainties that aren't that pronounced for the sake of reinforcing the idea of someone who is young and still learning.

Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is she book-smart or street-smart?
Book-learned and highly trained, she's been a student for almost as long as she's been alive and she's certainly more at home with study than relating interpersonally. That said, she's very old and she's been very involved with the world - there's a lot of life experience there to draw on, and she's quick-witted and capable. While she's been (repeatedly, in a manner of speaking) born into privilege, she's had to work hard to stay alive for as long as she has and as a result of quite a lot of factors, she's not what you could call sheltered. (This is, in fact, one reason why she'd never think to claim she's been anything other than exceptionally lucky, on the whole.)

2. Does she think on her feet, or does she need time to deliberate?
Benny has good mental reflexes; she doesn't like to be impulsive, but while she's leery of "going with her gut" (hers; if it's, say, Ayse's gut instinct in question, Benny trusts her mother almost implicitly), she is always thinking, planning and adapting in motion. She thinks before she acts, it's just sometimes she thinks very quickly. If she is forced to mentally flip a coin, though, she'll do it and roll with the consequences.

3. Describe the character's thought process. Is she more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
I'd describe her as a pragmatic idealist, most comfortable with logic. There's a strong element of very arrogant idealism that goes along with being a Serpent and a member of the Sisterhood, but Benny feels that her ideals are overarching concepts - big picture stuff. Day to day, in the more intimate context of simply living life, she's experienced and realistic. Her ideals are important to her, but she doesn't feel they're compromised by the fact she isn't naive.

4. What kind of education has the character had?
Extensive. She holds multiple degrees in studies of history with varying focus (specifically with an eye to building up a better understanding of how history is perceived by mortals and how that perception changes and develops over time and cross different regions), has a Masters of Applied Linguistics, and went to med school to ultimately certify as a trauma surgeon. She continued to follow medical science's developments and advances, and practises as a GP in France. Her informal study is yet more extensive.

5. What are her areas of expertise? What, if anything, is she interested in learning more about?
Medical science, history and linguistics are all the obvious ones. Also: killing people. Swordsmanship, hand to hand combat, firearms. She's taken all sorts of dance lessons (primarily because of how useful it could be to her in terms of learning better physical control, grace, etc), which is more something she's interested in than 'an area of expertise', given the varied and dabbling nature of her background. She's been writing and publishing novels for decades now and knows her way around the publishing industry. (The steady rise of ebooks and publishers' scramble to keep up with technology is interesting to her; she's considering her options for selling directly online and what kind of a market she'd have with the possibility of making English translations of her work more readily available.) She's never had trouble with the upper-classes, though she often finds them unwarrantedly self-important. Additionally, she's done a fair amount of child-rearing in her lifetime and has made a point of looking into early childhood learning and child psychology, because that's how nerds show their love. With books.

6. Is she an introvert or an extrovert?
By nature, very much an introvert.

7. Describe the character's temperament. Is she even-tempered or does she have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
I've described her general temperament as 'laidback and playful' - she's generally very even-tempered, it's easy to get her to play a little in conversations. Most of the time, she's calm, forthright and presents herself as a cultured, decisive and intelligent woman seemingly without much in the way of artifice. While there's a great deal of arrogance to her, it's not always something that's immediately apparent and first impressions are often more likely to suggest a self-deprecating, wry attitude; opinionated, but aware of her flaws and amiably self-skewering. She's sometimes easy to startle or bewilder, but harder to irritate or unsettle, and most people who know her will probably never witness one of her temper tantrums. (They sure are memorable when they happen, though.)

8. How does she respond to new people or situations? Is she suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
Benny's curious and readily engaged - she's interested in making new friends and acquaintances, and always interested in finding out more about the world and people around her, so she tends to be easily interested in new people and prepared to ask them questions and chat or talk about whatever. She's a little socially awkward, and can become disconcertingly intent or too curious in a way that reflects the fact she sometimes approaches people like interesting puzzles; she'll generally apologize and try to back off or make up for it if people point it out to her. This isn't to say she's without wariness, however, and she generally refrains from letting her curiosity run away with her good sense.

9. Is she more likely to act, or to react?
In social situations, react; professionally or with regards to her life and her life choices, act.

10. Which is her default: fight or flight?
Fight- but she'll leave something she doesn't deem worthwhile.

11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does she appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
Wit, silliness, a bit of gallows - she's generally quite quiet and a little bit sly with her own humour.

12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does she deal with them?
She does not, no! She has been through a lot by this point in her life, and much of that experience has been marked by trauma and grief, but she's never experienced the acute isolation that many Immortals suffer through - she's always had both of her parents to go to when and if she needed them, and their support has made a huge difference in her ability to deal with pain and loss in her life. Often, it's been enough to know that she can reach out if she can't handle something. Coming into Immortality already understanding what she was getting into meant that she was prepared with strategies to protect her own stability, and she's done admirably well with it throughout her life.

13. What moments in this character's life have defined her as a person?
Her adoption and her First Death. Her first assassination. Striking out on her own from her parents; reestablishing those relationships later. The first time she lost a child. Her initiation into the Sisterhood.

14. What does she fear?
...being beheaded. Also: either Matej or Ayse losing their heads. This is, admittedly, a very abstract fear; unlike most Immortals, Benny has genuinely had these two constants for as long as she can remember (she can remember kind of a lot!) and to be totally frank the idea of a world without either of them in it is inconceivable. They have always been there. She knows that this could change, but- why would it? Sometimes she worries, and sometimes they get phonecalls 'just because'. She's also, less abstractly, aware of the fact that Ayse may one day be obligated to go underground with the Council, and that's a more immediate fear - it's not something that would suit Ayse and it would feel very much like a loss for both of them.

She's afraid of never truly being a part of the world she cares so much about- she worries that the families she builds are exceptions to a rule of distance. And, of course, failure in general.

15. What are her hopes or aspirations?
To root out and destroy evil in this world, and make it a better place. That's how Serpents roll, tyvm.

16. What is something she doesn't want anyone to find out about her?
She has a lot of necessary secrets - Immortality, the Serpents, 'my name isn't actually Vanessza and Tivadar was my son, not my father', etc - but she's not interested in discussing with anyone her habit of distancing herself from her children (step- and adopted) as they age, even those who are aware that their mum isn't like other mums. It's something she does to protect her own well-being, because going through the immediacy of that kind of loss time and again wears at a person, but it's also something that hurts to do in and of itself and she's certainly sensitive to how it might be perceived.

Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with her parents.
'Startlingly long-term'.

Benny was initially adopted into the Crispo family (who gave her her name, Benevenuta Crispo), but her memories of her earliest years are pretty much nonexistent by now, and when she thinks of her parents, she thinks only of Ayse Bitlisi and Matej Stolsbord. She was adopted in 1564 and has since then maintained what she considers to be strong, close relationships with both of her parents. Their divorce was a challenge for her despite the fact she was an adult when it happened, and it did complicate how she related to them both for a while, but growing pains have been largely figured out and at this point she simply keeps her relationships with each parent separate from the other and stays out of their continued drama. They don't talk to her about most of their other romances, and that's fine.

Matej and Ayse both have that perspective of the mortal world that Benny personally lacks, and this plays some kind of role in the very defined parent / adult child roles that they occupy to each other. While she's thoroughly standing on her own feet, they are still her parents, they still have experience that she doesn't, they are still people she looks up to. She respects both of them a great deal and they both command a lot of loyalty and willingness to trust, though her relationship with Matej is sometimes strained by his unhappiness with her continued dedication to the Serpents. While they can go years without seeing each other, Benny does try to stay in touch and to make sure she's not unavailable when she can avoid it, and she values the opportunities she gets to spend parts of her life with them. Matej has given her away at each of her weddings, and she's consistently impressed with his ability to pretend to those unaware that each new husband is the first.

2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
Ayse did have a son before her, but he died before Benny was ever adopted. She may or may not have had Crispo siblings, but essentially, she's been an only child.

3. Are there other blood relatives to whom she is close? Are there ones she can't stand?
No blood relatives.

4. Are there other, unrelated people whom she considers part of her family? What are her relationships with them?
No.

5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
Serpents tend to be lone wolf types and Benny's wary of Immortals in general on the off-chance they decide she'd look cuter sans-head, so her friendships tend to be more transient than that.

6. Does she have other close friends?
She's had many, many friends, but again, mostly these relationships have been pretty transient. Some people left more of a mark than others.

7. Does she make friends easily, or does she have trouble getting along with people?
She generally does all right; some people find her periodic intensity a little off-putting, but not everyone.

8. Which does she consider more important: family or friends?
Family.

9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has she been married more than once?
Currently single, Benny is a five-time widow, most recently having been married to Edvárd Bernát under the name Dorothée Bernát. She's never been through a divorce, but she has at one point simply separated from a husband she no longer wished to be married to and waited.

10. Is she currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
No.

11. Who was her first crush? Who is her latest?
Benny is not really the 'crush' type.

12. What does she look for in a romantic partner?
She tends to be drawn to men who are much more emotionally outgoing than she is - intensity, drive and a lack of inhibition is beautiful and fascinating to her. She finds 'artistic temperament' pretty appealing (she's never been married to businessmen or bankers, put it that way), and has in fact been an artist's muse in her time. (Not a painter, and she refuses to pose for nudes on the basis that Matej really wouldn't care if she were a zillion years old at the time; when your father's Immortal, you are always his baby, and he doesn't want to see your tits out when he goes to an art gallery.) That kind of verve for life and willingness to push is both very attractive to her and also very useful in getting past the fact that Benny herself is pretty reserved and prone to letting people stay at arm's length, however much she likes them, if they don't demand otherwise. The type of men she prefers to be with have occasionally got her into trouble, but you have to keep life interesting somehow when you live as long as this.

Additionally, she won't be with anyone under the age of about thirty-five; she's four hundred and fifty years old, and while in recent years it's becoming increasingly awkward when she steps out with a man who looks like he could've fathered her, she'll take that trade-off versus actually feeling like she's robbing the cradle. No one she gets involved with is going to have the same kind of life experience - she took a long look at her parents' relationship and it would take a very, very persuasive Immortal man to convince her that getting involved with him wouldn't be a terrible long term plan - but maturity is important to her. She's also a little more likely to be interested in a man who has or wants children.

13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does she relate to them? If no, does she want any?
Like all Immortals, Benny is sterile, so she's not physically carried any children to term. That said, she's had a number of adopted mortal children - most recently the late Tivadar Bernát, her stepson - that she has raised, loved and considered to be her own, some of whom got to meet their grandparents. Occasionally because she was shoving a toddler at Matej rather than discuss how he hates that she's an assassin again! Family is important to her and doing her best to be a good parent is, in her view, one more way in which she can contribute to the world.

One day, she may consider taking on a pre-Immortal child as Ayse and Matej did with her, but she knows how her father felt (and continues to feel) about her induction into the Serpents and how he might look at her doing the same thing with a grandchild of his is something that she takes into account. It's sheer luck as to whether or not she'll ever encounter a pre-Immortal child, so at the moment it's all theoretical.

14. Does she have any rivals or enemies?
All head-hunters, because that's how they roll, and there have been a few Immortals she's come across in the process of carrying out assassinations who resented both her interference and the fact she shot first rather than answer their challenge. (She carries a sword because she knows she can't always get away with that, but she's profoundly disinterested in using it if she doesn't have to.) She's had professional rivals, but she tends to outlive them.

15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does she fall on the Kinsey scale?
About a one; she considers herself straight, but she also considers very little set in stone and she's certainly got an inquisitive, experimental frame of mind.

16. How does she feel about sex? How important is it to her?
Most people are influenced here by the opinions of the people around them, and Benny is no exception, with both Ayse's opinions and the worldly context that informs those giving her a starting point to work from for herself. Sexual freedom, therefore, is something she considers to be valuable in a way that is completely non-negotiable especially for women (being as they are, in fact, both women, this is why she finds Ayse's opinions on the subject more relevant than Matej's); attacking and controlling women through and with their sexuality is something she has inevitably both witnessed and experienced and it's a constant through history that she finds pretty tired.

One of the reasons she likes her artists so much is, simply, because they've also historically tended to be less disconcerted or concerned if she wants to try something new. Sex itself is a priority for her - she likes it, she likes the intimacy that goes with a long-term sexual relationship, she likes being able to frankly discuss what she wants and what she prefers and what she doesn't want - and her marriages and other relationships have all been pretty healthy and active in that way. It's not the sole concern she has in a relationship, but one that wasn't and wasn't going to become sexually satisfying wouldn't hold her interest for very long.

17. What are her turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
Stay tuned.

Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does she fit type?
Not yet. Stay tuned.

2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in her life?
I'd consider her very spiritual but not at all religious, except so far as her reverence for the Serpents' agenda borders on it. It is deeply important to her, but also something very private and not something she would consciously think of in those terms.

3. Does this character have a personal code of morals or ethics? If so, how did that begin? What would it take to compromise it?
She does indeed; as a Serpent of the Tree, she's been brought up with a very clear and strong sense of morality and of overall right and wrong. There are shades of grey and her philosophy makes room for those, but ultimately her personal code is pretty uncompromising. No one person is all right or all wrong and she won't judge anyone that way, but there are ideas and acts based on those ideas that are abhorrent and cannot be tolerated.

4. How does she regard beliefs that differ from hers? Is she tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
It largely depends on what they are- she's pretty indifferent to what Immortals outside of the Serpents (and besides her father) think about much of anything, for example. (She has a tendency to think of them - particularly the ones who are actively involved in the Game - as lazy and self-indulgent.) What mortals believe about this, that and the other is more interesting to her, so long as their beliefs aren't harmful to anyone else; she stops being interested and starts being irked when a belief becomes problematic in that way.

5. What prejudices does she hold? Are they irrational or does she have a good reason for them?
...well, there's that 'other Immortals are lazy and self-indulgent' thing, to start with.

Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is she rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
Accumulated wealth, age and social origin mean Benny is more or less the walking definition of "old money".

2. What is her social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected her?
Benny's cultured, wealthy and in a highly educated profession, all of which score her social points; on the flipside, she appears to be a very young, pretty woman, and accordingly she's not always taken very seriously. Additionally, her romance novel sideline is not exactly considered a very respectable pursuit. For the most part, though, she's used to the "don't worry your pretty little head about anything" attitude that she runs into and appreciates that having a 'Dr' in front of her name does frequently give her a leg up now that she didn't previously have. Proving, again and again, that she deserves to be respected is a little tiresome.

3. Where does she live? House, apartment, trailer? Is her home her castle or just a place to crash? What condition is it in? Does she share it with others?
She currently lives alone in a Paris flat - while it's a beautiful place and she's really very happy with it, her home is either her house on the Rhine or the French chateau where she grew up.

4. Besides the basic necessities, what does she spend her money on?
Books, jewellery, weapons, clothing, tickets to theatre and other performances.

5. What does she do for a living? Is she good at it? Does she enjoy it, or would she rather be doing something else?
She's currently practising as a GP at a non-profit clinic, and after that she intends to take a teaching job at a secondary school that her mother has ties to (their campus was an estate of hers).

6. What are her interests or hobbies? How does she spend her free time?
Restoring antique crossbows, writing her novels, going for runs, going to the theatre, the opera, etc. Walking everywhere, trying new cafés, reading extensively, teaching herself new recipes.

7. What are her eating habits? Does she skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
Trying new things! Benny loves to eat, loves to drink, and doesn't believe in playing favourites; there is so much out there and not only does she want to eat it all, she'd quite like to know how to make all of it herself in her own kitchen. She's no master chef, but she's got a lot of will and a lot of spare time. She eats out to broaden her experiences and she's constantly finding recipes online or from friends- people she knows often benefit from her experimental cooking.

Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character:

1. Color? Grey.
2. Smell? Rain.
3. Time of day? Early morning.
4. Season? Winter.
5. Book?
6. Music?
7. Place?
8. Substance?
9. Plant?
10. Animal?

END
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