OOC - Background, abilities, personality
CHARACTER INFO
CHARACTER NAME: Echo
EDENSPHERE NAME: Cissus
SERIES: Greek myth
FORMER RP(s): Forgotten Gods on InsaneJournal
PERSONALITY: When it comes to Echo, what you see is what you
get. When she's feeling at her best she's bright, bubbly, and fun to
be around; constantly in motion dancing and smiling with the best of
them. When she's frustrated by how difficult her ability to interact
can be, it's easy to consider her cursed in some fashion, or as
mortals might see it possessing some kind of social disorder. Thanks
to Hera's interference, the vivacious nymph went from always wanting
to get the last word in to only being able to respond to others using
their words.
Regardless of her affliction, Echo does her best to remain upbeat.
While she's no longer as verbose as she once was, she has found other
ways to communicate and enjoys making sure others understand her
opinions. Possessing a gentle smile and wide, expressive eyes, she is
constantly on the go. A true lover of the outside, Echo keeps herself
in shape by spending time in the mountains. While they're not similar
to the mountains from her home they're are close as she'll get. She's
incredibly friendly and enjoys meeting new people, although her
'speech impediment' can put people off.
The methods of communication that Echo uses are more intensive that
speaking in that it's harder to convey tone in text so she uses body
language to fill in the gaps. Many consider her coy or flirtatious due
to her constant touching and reliance on eye contact to get everything
across to those she is 'speaking' with. In truth, the nymph is
actually well-adjusted and enjoys social interactions, although she is
slightly shy when first meeting others.
Consequently, her inability to speak except when repeating the last
words of whoever has spoken to her has caused quite a bit of strife
for Echo. Many times she has found herself coerced into a situation
she had no desire to be in due to a lack of foresight leaving her
without pen and paper or some other communication device. It is
through those instances that she has learned to fend for herself when
needed.
BACKGROUND: Echo, a young and beautiful nymph who possessed a
great love of her own voice, along with singing and dancing, lived in
the mountains as a follower of Artemis in the mountains near Mount
Olympus. At one time she attracted the attentions of Pan, God of
shepherds, flocks, hunting, and rustic music, but she spurned his
affections when she fell desperately in love with Narcissus, a mortal
hunter, which angered him greatly.
Zeus, who greatly enjoyed frolicking with the nymphs, would frequently
visit her sisters and herself at their home to enjoy their attentions.
Often, this would go on without any problems, until the day Hera
caught wind of Zeus' behavior and went to investigate. On that day,
Echo took it upon herself to distract Hera by telling her an amusing
but elaborate story. At first, Hera was entertained, but when she
realized the extent of Echo's duplicity she cursed the nymph by taking
away her voice except when it came to the repetition of others words.
This left Echo only able to speak when spoken to, and her answers
would be whatever the other spoke last.
Devastated, Echo left the mountainside in tears, eventually coming
upon a gorgeous young man named Narcissus. Utterly enamored of him,
she followed him as he was out hunting stags. She wanted nothing more
than to get his attention and speak to him, but was unable to speak
first. When he finally heard her footsteps and called out to her, she
repeated his words as she showed herself. Rushing to embrace him, he
rejected her, telling her to leave him alone. Heartbroken, she spent
the rest of her life in the lonely glens where he cruelly turned her
down, crying. Some say she cried so hard that she eventually became
invisible, only her voice remaining as she waited for Narcissus to
return, but others believe that she cried until she turned to stone.
What truly happened is not something that Echo feels comfortable
revealing, unless to explain her confusion and elation over one day
discovering herself alive again. The lingering curse dimmed her
happiness, as did her ever-present feelings for Narcissus, but as she
made her way out of Greece to places that she had never heard of one
thing became clear - the world was a difficult place for those who
cannot speak for themselves. Traveling through Europe, eventually Echo
was found by a young man who mistook her curse for a medical
affliction. He was a doctor; heading over to a strange new land called
America, and was moved by her plight.
The decision to go to America with him was both one of the scariest
and hardest decisions Echo had ever made, but he promised to take care
of her. He taught her many things, such as how to write and use her
fingers to communicate, and in return she would dance, cook, clean,
and make his house more homelike. While she could never truly know if
she did love him, Echo was awestruck when he eventually grew older and
passed on. She couldn't understand why such a thing didn't happen to
her as well, however she now had some of the skills necessary to
survive in the new world she had become a part of.
Working hard, she eventually was able to become a teacher to others
who had similar verbal conditions, a job which she was quite suited
for. Many different doctors had names for her 'condition' and words
such as 'Autistic' or 'Aspergers Syndrome' seemed to be associated
with her often even though she knew the truth of the matter. She made
a habit of staying in places just long enough before people would get
suspicious of her eternally young face and figure, moving on to parts
unknown whenever things got too involved.
Eventually, something stirred her long-suffering feelings that she’d
eventually encounter Narcissus, prompting Echo to move to Manhattan
where she got a job as a dance teacher at the New York School for the
Deaf. While she didn’t immediately find the source of her continued
anguish, she did make quite a few friends among her fellow Greeks and
other immortals. She soon attracted the attention of Eros, god of
Love, who knew that Narcissus was also in the city and wanted to show
Echo that she could do far better than the self-centered youth as far
as love matches went.
Eros hatched a plan to get both Echo and Narcissus on his dating show,
intending to prove to the nymph that she was deserving of being loved
by someone who could love her back, but all that ended up happening
was Narcissus rejected her yet again, sending Echo into a depressive
tailspin.
Going about her life as per usual, albeit with less vitality than
before, all that changed when one day Narcissus decided to contact
Echo to strike up a relationship of sorts. To Echo, it was everything
she ever wanted, but to Narcissus it was nothing more than a matter of
convenience. He had come to realize that the nymph was the only one
who loved him nearly as much as he loved himself, and he knew that he
needed someone around who would never leave him so that he didn’t lose
touch with reality once again.
Currently, Echo and Narcissus have embarked on what could be
considered a true relationship in which he’s made it clear that she is
his and his alone, while she’s doing everything she can to keep him
happy so he doesn’t reject her yet again. Other men, including the god
Pan, have been paying attention to Echo and she’s not immune to their
charms, but while she’s become strong enough to not break down into
tears whenever Narcissus upsets her she still believes that one day
the time will come when he will love her back.
ABILITIES: Hypnotic Dance - As a nymph, Echo has the ability to
cause attraction in others with her dancing. Once she gets going men
in the area are drawn to her, and women in the area feel a compulsion
to start dancing as well.
Musicality - Due to her relationship with Pan in various myths, Echo
is good at playing panpipes and other woodwind-type instruments.