OOC / Character Building Meme

[barbedpatience]

Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is she heavyset, thin, short, rangy? Tall, well-built; more on the toned and curvaceous side than thin and proper. She gets a lot more muscle when she gets into sports during highschool.

2. How old is she? Acts like grown-up when in a crisis and people are depending on her; acts like a bratty teenager when dealing with her own family; and acts about five years old when her temper snaps. Which is fairly often. In actuality, she's 17.

3. Describe her posture. Does she carry herself well or does she slouch? She got taught how to act like a 'proper lady' since a very young age, so good posture has become a bad habit for her. She'd have to consciously think about it in order to slouch. She also tends to eat, drink, and do any variety of activities with the grace of the high-born who have had training crammed in their heads since they were old enough to hold a spoon. Her family is also huge on appearances, so the punishment for slipping in her etiquette is huge.

4. How is her health? Is she fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities? Fit, but not overly toned. She has a basic exercise regimen to keep in shape. It isn't proper for a lady to be flabby :|

5. How does she move? Is she clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid? She has a grace that was hard-won through years of etiquette lessons, but she tends to be a bit heavy in her movements. Not clumsy, but not as light and easy on her feet as she should be. When she's really angry, she has a sort of violent grace that is very scary and hard to avoid.

6. How attractive is this character physically? How does she perceive herself in the mirror? She's inherited some her mother's trophy-wife features, but not to the extent of her golden older sister. She looks more like her father-- Her hair is a bit thicker and more wild, and her facial features, like her cheekbones, slightly more manly. She is also built a bit sturdier and taller than her sister. She knows she is fairly attractive, but when she looks in the mirror all she sees is the disappointment in her family's eyes. It's very hard to live up to their expectations when her older sister is the epitome of the delicate, fair-skinned, dark-haired elegance that noble families seem to strive for.

Eventually, Rose reacts to this by rebelling completely-- not caring for her hair properly, going out for sports that get her dirty and ragged-- giving up on the pretenses and telling herself that there's no point to trying to be something she's not. But in the end, in the dark quiet of her own room when she is alone before the mirror, she cannot get over the fact that although her looks are sufficient, they are nothing to be proud of in her family's eyes.

7. Describe her complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred? Tan. Not as 'fair' as is proper for a lady of her stature. Particularly in her later teen years she gets a lot more sun and color.

8. Describe her hair: color, texture, style. Red hair, thick and wavy. She wears it down or pulled back in a convenient, casual low ponytail.

9. What color are her eyes? Green.

10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features? She's uh... well-endowed. Until that happened though, she was too tall and too stocky growing up, and from a distance easily mistaken as a young man with long hair.

11. What are her chief tension centers? The area around her shoulders tend to get really tensed up when she's upset. If one shoulder dips back, it probably means she's getting ready to throw something.

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? Casual, functional clothing. Her mother actually picked out most of her closet for her growing up (lots of proper young lady's clothing). Nowadays she tends towards the more comfortable clothing, pants and blouses, with warm or muted colors. She dresses depending on what she plans to do for the day, and is organized and logical enough to plan her wardrobe out in advance. But she doesn't have a lot of variety. There are certain things she wears to certain places and those pretty much stay the same. Her underwear and socks are almost all identical.

13. Do her clothes fit well? Does she seem comfortable in them? Yes. Her family pays to have outfits tailored to her when she's needed at public events. Other than that, she refuses to buy something if it doesn't fit (read: is completely comfortable). If she can't wear it easily, why waste the money?

14. Does she dress the same on the job as she does in her free time? If not, what are the differences? Well she's still a student at Hogwarts, so she has to wear the school uniform. But the uniform fits really well, and always looks tidy and well-put together. When she's able to dress more casual, she'll still make sure her clothes match, but there's less of an effort there-- she doesn't wake up extra early to put on makeup or anything. She will plan ahead, set a certain amount of time aside to get ready, and then she's on her way.

15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando? Plain underwear. Bikini-cut. :|

Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse? She's got a deeper voice for a girl, but still feminine.

2. How does she normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does she talk easily, or does she hesitate? She thinks before she speaks and also speaks very certainly, easy to understand. Most of the time her tone is even and logical. The volume goes up when she gets mad, and she can scream if she's really riled, and then her words will start to come out too rapidly and rush together.

3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics? She's got the aristocratic accent, and her vocabulary is pretty extended-- She's always liked reading, and her parents encouraged her and her siblings to use big words at a young age. Sometimes she can come off as stuck-up without meaning to.

4. What language/s does she speak, and with how much fluency? English and French. French is actually her first language, but she's been speaking English for so long she's got a perfect accent.

5. Does she switch languages or dialects in certain situations? Not usually. She'll speak in French to piss Xander off if he's getting annoying, and doesn't mind speaking in French to others who know it, but mostly she sticks to one language or the other. She can curse in both.

6. Is she a good impromptu speaker, or does she have to think about her words? She likes to think before she speaks. She's got a very careful way of saying things when speaking to a crowd of people. Addressing a big crowd of strangers scares her a little bit, but she can do it if she's given enough preparation. With a group of friends, it comes much more easy.

7. Is she eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change? Eloquent, but she's got a careful, slow grace with speaking. Her mouth rarely gets ahead of her.

Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is she book-smart or street-smart? Books-smart, she's got it. She likes to study and tends to see the more logical side of things. She's slowly learning to be more clever-- think outside the logic-box-- and is beginning to find it rather fun to bend the rules a bit and come out clean.

2. Does she think on her feet, or does she need time to deliberate? She likes to plan, buuuut she's read about a lot of situations and can figure out a decent plan on the spot from a wide-range of studied knowledge. If it's something she's never faced or heard of before, then she needs some time to think.

3. Describe the character's thought process. Is she more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical? Logical. Lawj-ick-ahl. If something doesn't fit with how she perceives the world to be, she tends to ignore it. She's very practical about how she tackles a problem and if something isn't working, she drops it and moves onto the next option. If all else fails, she will avoid the issue and pretend it doesn't exist at all, deciding it's not worth her effort.

4. What kind of education has the character had? Well, all the standard schooling, plus she took extra classes based on what her family required and then later what she was personally interested in. She has a knack for schooling and actually likes to study, and books have always been a comfort for her. They are a constant that never changes and never judges her.

5. What are her areas of expertise? What, if anything, is she interested in learning more about? She's pretty business-savvy and she doesn't quite realize it yet, but she likes the rules and regulations and politics of the business world. Her favorite classes are the ones relating to current events and politics. She likes being in charge and directing things; she hates being told what to do or being forced to submit.

6. Is she an introvert or an extrovert? Introvert. With her close friends, she's pretty open, but she doesn't have many of those. Her 'public' face is hard to get a good reading on; she's gotten damn good at hiding what she really feels.

7. Describe the character's temperament. Is she even-tempered or does she have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven? She's got a temper, but she claims that it's not that easily triggered. When it is, boy howdy, better get out of her way. Lately she's gotten better at controlling it and has learned to laugh instead of be offended at certain situations. She's still growing up, basically. Most of the time, she takes the world in stride, with a no-nonsense demeanor. She will usually react flat-faced to almost everything. Although she is finally learning to smile more.

8. How does she respond to new people or situations? Is she suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic? Sadly, she's suspicious. She's learned to be suspicious of almost everything her family does or suggests in relation to her-- there's always an ulterior motive-- and this has colored her interactions with the rest of the world. If it's new or unusual, she doesn't trust it.

9. Is she more likely to act, or to react? React. Right now she's at a sort've... stand-still in her life. She knows what she wants to do, and she knows that her family will never let her. So she needs to make a decision and hasn't just yet. Until she does, she can't really do anything but react to the things life throws her.

10. Which is her default: fight or flight? Flight. Especially in matters relating to her family; it's been avoid, avoid, avoid. Thing is, she knows fighting her family is a losing battle, so she avoids the confrontation whenever possible. She'll fight in situations only when she is completely sure she can win. Otherwise, she'll just try to ignore it.

11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does she appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks? She's... slowly developing a sense of humor. She didn't really have one before, being far too serious about things. She hates bathroom humor, and dislikes sexual innuendo. She can appreciate a prank if it's artfully done; Keri intrigues her greatly because of her skill in such matters. Her own humor is extremely dry and in some situations can come off as cruel, but she's still learning.

12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does she deal with them? Not really. Everyone has family problems, and most teenagers take their lives too seriously.

13. What moments in this character's life have defined her as a person? There haven't been too many just yet; she's still a teenager and still has ample opportunity to ruin her life. A few things have happened, though:

When she was eight years old, she went into a dark forest with a young boy and stayed out far too late. A monster came to eat them, and the stupid boy tried to be a hero and get her to run while he took on the troll. For the first time in her life, she realized that she didn't want to run, and that if she left the boy alone he would probably be dumb enough to get himself killed. She took over and lead the troll across an icy lake, where he fell in and gave the two kids enough time to run away. It was the first time she had ever actually been in danger for her life, and the first time she had put someone else before her own needs. The first time she'd ever seen anyone else as being worth fighting for.

When she was ten years old, she was told that she would be attending Beaubaxtons the next year. It was her mother's alma mater, and her parents were confident the school would teach her everything she needed to know for adulthood. The girls that graduated from that school were coveted as wives for the most powerful men. Her life would be guaranteed.

Nothing had ever terrified so much in her life, and after much begging, pleading, screaming, promising, and manipulating, she was finally allowed to attend Hogwarts instead. Her parents intended to make her transfer eventually, but this is one thing Rose has stubbornly insisted on her entire life.

14. What does she fear? Dinner parties and social engagements where she is made to be nothing but the decoration on a man's arm. Her main use to her family is to be married off to some rich man, and she feels like being forced into such a thing would suffocate her forever. She doesn't want to lose her voice or her purpose, and it's gotten to be that the very concept of love or marriage terrifies her; as if having a partner would kill the very core of who she was forever. She mostly avoids boys entirely; Xander is an exception because he won't leave her alone, and she knows that she is definitely under no threat of falling in love with him.

15. What are her hopes or aspirations? She just wants to be her own person. She wants her family to love her for who she is, and she wants to show the world that she can be successful on her own.

16. What is something she doesn't want anyone to find out about her? That her family isn't as perfect as the tabloids make it out to be, and that she's terrified of being disowned should she ever stand up and tell them the truth.

Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with her parents. Haha-- it's a bit strained, to say the least. Her parents want certain things for her that she does not want for herself. They won't listen when she tries to explain what it is she wants to do with her own life. But regardless of how difficult it's gotten, she still craves their love and approval, even if she's beginning to realize she may never get it.

2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like? She has two siblings. One older, one younger. Her older sister, Alexa, is, in her parents' eyes, perfect. She is three years older than Rose and is beautiful, fair, dainty, and always even-tempered. She is extremely polite and charming and social, and these things seem to come as naturally to her as breathing. Her parents have been trying to set up Alexa's engagement to Xander's older brother Ethan for quite some time, and they've finally succeeded. Rose isn't sure how she feels about this, but Alexa seems delighted.

Her youngest sibling is a younger sister, five years younger than she is. She is probably the only one in the family Rose can stand to talk to for extended periods of time. She loves her younger sister and is hoping she doesn't turn out like Alexa.

3. Are there other blood relatives to whom she is close? Are there ones she can't stand? She's close to her Aunt, her mother's older sister, who's a bit more like Rose. She's widowed and a little wild, and has actually taken over her late husband's business. It's booming. Rose's mother doesn't talk to her much.

4. Are there other, unrelated people whom she considers part of her family? What are her relationships with them? She can't imagine her life without Xander in it.

5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet? Rose is not sure how this happened, but if she had to name someone for the BFF position, it would be AJ. Or Xander, as she likes to call him. Or Alexander, as she calls him when she is pissed. They met when he challenged her to a game of frog-collecting because their parents were busy and he was bored, and he's never really left her alone since. Except when he got transferred to an American school in the middle of their fifth year at Hogwarts. They still kept in contact through owls and other magical means, but she hasn't actually seen him in almost two years.

She gets almost angry when she thinks of him, now, although she's not sure why. It took a very long while to get used to the fact that he wasn't going to just barge into the library and drag her off whenever she lost track of time, which was pretty often. She actually fell asleep in the library for the first time ever, a few weeks after he'd been transferred. She woke up crying, although she blamed an unremembered nightmare.

6. Does she have other close friends? She's gotten very close with Keri, especially after Xander left. It's strange, because they had never really been that close before; but abruptly Keri seemed to take on the idea that they should be better friends and sort've just wedged her way into Rose's life. Rose didn't mind; in fact she's rather grateful for the company, although she's never articulated it that bluntly. Keri fascinates her and is a very interesting person to know.

7. Does she make friends easily, or does she have trouble getting along with people? She has trouble getting along with people. Oh, she can be polite and kind but doesn't quite get to the charming stage. And she doesn't leave a huge impact on people, mostly because she tends to be withdrawn in social situations. It's hard to break through her walls. Unless you're Xander and constantly carry a sledgehammer.

8. Which does she consider more important: family or friends? Friends. She doesn't know this yet, though.

9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has she been married more than once? Single. She's terrified of getting married.

10. Is she currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse? Newp.

11. Who was her first crush? Who is her latest? She will crush on people she has absolutely no chance of ever getting with; celebrities, sports stars and the like. The lesser the chance of ever actually meeting them, the better. She also tends to crush on the fictional characters in her books.

12. What does she look for in a romantic partner? She doesn't.

13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does she relate to them? If no, does she want any? No, and no, probably not for a good long while.

14. Does she have any rivals or enemies? Her sister is her rival, even though Alexa doesn't know it. No enemies, really.

15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does she fall on the Kinsey scale? She's straight, likes guys; is just a little afraid of them. She's probably a two in the Kinsey scale.

16. How does she feel about sex? How important is it to her? She's never had it, so she wouldn't know.

17. What are her turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits? Intelligence, cleverness, sophisticated humor. Light, messy hair and blue eyes. She doesn't have any weird bedroom habits, except that she likes to keep things clean and tidy.

Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does she fit type? No >.>

2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in her life?

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?

4. How does she regard beliefs that differ from hers? Is she tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?

5. What prejudices does she hold? Are they irrational or does she have a good reason for them?

Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is she rich, poor, comfortable, in debt? Rich, sort've, because of her family. She's actually not as rich as people think she is, but she is by no means poor.

2. What is her social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected her? She's a pureblood, high-born and preened from childhood. Her family is one of the older names from France although they have a lot of influence in England, too. What's becoming not-so-secret anymore is that her family is running out of money. They still have a lot of prestige and some ties to the royal family, but they aren't that business-savvy and her parent's last chance is to marry their girls off to some richer prospects.

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 lives in a castle! Well, actually it's a school, and she shares a room with a few other girls, but really, it's an honest-to-god castle. Her parent's home-- the house she goes back to over the summer and for the Christmas holidays-- is also a beautiful mansion, but she's never able to relax there. Hogwarts has become more like home to her.

4. Besides the basic necessities, what does she spend her money on? She saaaaves. She's learning about investing, too, and is strangely fiscally responsible for what allowance she has at age 17. Her entire income is just allowance from her parents, and she's not sure how long that's gonna last so she tries to use it wisely. However she has been known to spend more than she should on things for her friends. AJ has gotten a few things he would never buy for himself from her, and she likes to surprise Keri with little things out of the blue.

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 still in school. Gets awesome grades, though.

6. What are her interests or hobbies? How does she spend her free time? Reading. Studying. Playing Quidditch. She likes sports, but doesn't usually go out and just hang with people. She likes to do things that have a purpose to them; studying helps her improve her mind, practicing for Quidditch helps her get better for the team and improve her body, etc. If left to her own devices she would keep pretty isolated.

7. What are her eating habits? Does she skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods? She eats pretty damn healthy. She loves vegetables and fruit, and doesn't eat a lot of junk. She doesn't even eat that much candy-- although she does have an Achilles heel for dark chocolate, in no small part due to the fact that AJ used to give her chocolate frogs all the time.

Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is her favorite:

1. Color? Burgandy.
2. Smell? Water. Clean, clear. Too easily brought to a boil.
3. Time of day? Afternoon
4. Season? Summer
5. Book? The Great Gatsby
6. Music? Hip Hop
7. Place? Under a bridge.
8. Substance? Sandstone.
9. Plant? Venus fly trap.
10. Animal? Badger.

END
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