ooc: character survey
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is she heavyset, thin, short, rangy? Kara's not the tallest of women but not the shortest; she's average at about 5'6". Her build is probably best described as solid - she has curves but it's clear that she keeps in shape and she's got some pretty decent muscle as one would expect from someone who was an avid Pyramid player and is a Viper pilot.
2. How old is she?
No given age but owing to her career and having taught at flight school, at least 30.
3. Describe her posture. Does she carry herself well or does she slouch?
Kara carries herself well when she's in a good mood or when she's trying to really hold herself up and she's military so she knows how to stand to attention and when she's stressed, she tends to do that. Catch her in a really bad/depressed mood or when she's drunk though and she'll be slouching.
4. How is her health? Is she fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
Very in shape - she's a Viper pilot so she has to be. She does have a bum left knee that put her out of contention for pro Pyramid. She also broke that same knee a few years back.
5. How does she move? Is she clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
There's often some sort of tension in Kara about something in her life and she could very well be described as striding or pacing, especially if she's stressing over something.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does she perceive herself in the mirror?
As long as she's not seeing her crispy corpse or her childhood self? She knows that she's a good looking woman.
7. Describe her complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
Fair complexion, maybe slightly on the paler side, smooth clear skin.
8. Describe her hair: color, texture, style.
Currently long, smooth, shiny, blonde and straight, almost always worn down unless she's working.
9. What color are her eyes?
Hazel.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
Two scars on her abdomen - one from a gunshot wound, the other from when she had an ovary removed.
Tattoo on left shoulder which is a block like pyramid thing.
Tattoo on left bicep which is a wing with some of the coordinates of Caprica - this tattoo matches up with one her husband Sam Anders has.
Tattoo on right forearm that reads 'bona fiscalia' or 'public property' in legal Latin.
11. What are her chief tension centers?
Neck and shoulders from holding herself ramrod straight in military stance.
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?
Kara has a lot of greens and khakis in her wardrobe along with plenty of grey clothes because those colours made up a lot of her military uniform. She now has lots of jeans and tank tops and t-shirts, a leather jacket or two and biker boots. It's more practical clothing than anything else because she's an active person and she doesn't really do formal events. There might be one or two dresses lurking away in there but she's far more comfortable in trousers and shirts.
13. Do her clothes fit well? Does she seem comfortable in them?
If she wasn't comfortable in it, she wouldn't wear it, simple as that. Kara wears her clothes like a second skin and they never get in the way of what she's doing.
14. Does she dress the same on the job as she does in her free time? If not, what are the differences?
More or less the exact same.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Briefs.
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Perhaps a bit deeper than one might expect for a woman. It can be a little flat at times too.
2. How does she normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does she talk easily, or does she hesitate?
Depending on the situation but usually it's very even, maybe a bit loud and obnoxious when she's having fun and fooling around. She can be very clipped and brusque when she's giving orders though. She only really hesitates on uncomfortable subjects or when she's upset.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
She says um quite a bit when she's flustered
4. What language/s does she speak, and with how much fluency?
Colonial which is Earth English.
5. Does she switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
No.
6. Is she a good impromptu speaker, or does she have to think about her words?
Pretty good impromptu speaking because she has to be for her work but there are pauses where you can tell that she's thinking things through.
7. Is she eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
I'd say she's pretty eloquent. She knows how to express herself but it really depends on who she happens to be talking to and what the subject is about.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is she book-smart or street-smart?
It's a fairly even mix. She seems to act a bit dumber than she is through her whole ace pilot, top gun Starbuck routine but she had to have had a high standard of education in sciences to become a pilot and to be able to teach at flight school as well. She's also great at outside the box thinking, knows how to do a lot of engineering work including figuring out how to fly and repair a downed Cylon Raider. She's very street-smart too and that's the more dominant personality trait for her.
2. Does she think on her feet, or does she need time to deliberate?
Thinks on her feet. Kara is able to make split second decisions when she has to and it ties into her piloting. She does think things through though but she's comfortable to shoot from the hip.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is she more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Honestly, with Kara it depends. There's a great deal of gut feeling with Kara but there are clear signs of her military training although Kara is the one people call for outside the box thinking.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
I'm guessing a fairly good one given her career - she almost graduated top in her class in the military with her propensity for getting into fights holding her back.
5. What are her areas of expertise? What, if anything, is she interested in learning more about?
Piloting, shooting things, repairing her Viper/downed Raiders. Painting too but those are more abstract. Some interest in music and poetry too. Right now she's enjoying learning about Earth.
6. Is she an introvert or an extrovert?
Ffff extrovert.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is she even-tempered or does she have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
Mood swings like you wouldn't believe. Kara can go from chilling out and laughing to ripping heads off in a heartbeat. Starbuck, the pilot, is bold, brash, cocky and confident but Kara is definitely a person with some very serious issues lurking under the surface and she can hide behind her persona instead.
8. How does she respond to new people or situations? Is she suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
Now that all the Cylons have been revealed, she's far less suspicious of the new arrivals in Somarium and she's really pretty intrigued to meet them and learn more about where they come from and she honestly doesn't care if she pisses them off or not.
9. Is she more likely to act, or to react?
Act. Kara is a doer.
10. Which is her default: fight or flight?
Fight. Always fighting.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does she appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
All of the above. Seriously.
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does she deal with them?
Probably post-traumatic stress disorder. How does she deal? Denial and alcohol and lashing out.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined her as a person?
Oh god...here we go:
Her father leaving, graduating from the Academy, her mother telling her she was dying, Zak Adama and his death, her posting on Galactica and finding a father figure in Bill Adama, the Fall of the Colonies, admitting her part in Zak's death to Lee and Bill, meeting Leoben Conoy, meeting Sam Anders on Caprica, her time in the farm on Caprica, the Arrow of Apollo and Kobol, returning to Caprica to get Sam, being held hostage on New Caprica by Leoben and the Kacey situation, visiting the Oracle, her death where she was able to talk to her mother, her time on the Demetrius, finding the nuked Earth and her dead body, the whole destiny and harbinger of death thing.
14. What does she fear?
Not being good enough, her Destiny, turning into her mother, being a Cylon.
15. What are her hopes or aspirations?
Finding Earth.
16. What is something she doesn't want anyone to find out about her?
Her rampant mother issues and the amount of trauma she's gone through because she was a victim but she doesn't want people to see her that way.
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with her parents.
Terrible. Her dad left the family home when she was young and her mother was violently abusive towards her, physically punishing Kara for the slightest thing along with projecting her own inadequacies onto her daughter; Socrata did this to help prepare Kara for her destiny as she knew she was meant for something special.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
None.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom she is close? Are there ones she can't stand?
None.
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom she considers part of her family? What are her relationships with them?
Bill Adama is like a father to Kara and he always fights in her corner no matter what and despite some of the rough patches between them, it's very clear that he greatly loves Kara. Karl Agathon is Kara's closest friend on Galactica and the only one she seems to really get on with constantly. Lee Adama and Kara had an affair and despite their fights, she truly does care for him, mourning him when it's believed that he died and wishing to be by his bedside when he was injured. Sharon Agathon and Kara also seem to be friendly too and on New Caprica, Kara was shown to be close to the Tighs.
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
Probably Karl Agathon and they either met on Galactica or during training.
6. Does she have other close friends?
Kara's more defined by her lack of close friends.
7. Does she make friends easily, or does she have trouble getting along with people?
Kara gets into fights easily and is pretty lousy at maintaining friendships due to her behaviour. In Somarium she's better because the environment is different.
8. Which does she consider more important: family or friends?
Galactica is family to Kara so none of that is really applicable although when Sam was shot during the mutiny, she stayed with him so I guess family by marriage wins.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has she been married more than once?
Married to Sam but it's been on the rocks a lot although it's shown that she does love him, she just has major issues and life never really helped their relationship. She was also previously engaged to Zak Adama.
10. Is she currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
She and Lee recently had an affair but it ended due to her unwillingness to leave Sam and his unwillingness to cheat on his wife.
11. Who was her first crush? Who is her latest?
Kara does not do crushes.
12. What does she look for in a romantic partner?
Someone who won't push her and can accept the fact that she is a frak up.
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does she relate to them? If no, does she want any?
Kara is terrified of motherhood due to the abuse she suffered from Socrata and a Cylon doctor comments on this to her. When Leoben brought Kacey to Kara on New Caprica, she initially took nothing to do with the child and it took Kacey being injured to make Kara care about her and when they returned to Galactica, she was extremely upset to have to return Kacey to her mother; when Kacey's mother brought her to visit, Kara lashed out but later visited Kacey and was very visibly upset. Still, Kara's lifestyle and past trauma do not suit being a parent and she's probably somewhat antsy around kids. Also she's dead. No idea how that's going to affect having babies.
14. Does she have any rivals or enemies?
Cylons. Well, most Cylons. She has too many issues with the Leoben models. She used to hate Saul Tigh but they've bonded since and her other rival Kat died. Kara still hated her though.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does she fall on the Kinsey scale?
Mmmm, personally, I think between a 1 and a 2. I think Kara is adventurous enough to have tried things with other women more than once and she's probably had a threesome or six in her time.
16. How does she feel about sex? How important is it to her?
Very important. Kara loves sex and she uses it to help her feel as she frequently had sex with Sam on the Demetrius despite all the other issues.
17. What are her turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
She likes being in charge and enjoys dictating the proceedings and even if she's technically on the bottom, she's still topping. Kara doesn't like being tied up but she's happy to do it to others and if there's a little pain involved then that's fine too. Oh and she scratches. Sorry guys. But not really.
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does she fit type?
Not applicable.
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in her life?
Kara is deeply, deeply religious although it's often hidden but she prays to the Lords of Kobol, chiefly Aphrodite and Artemis.
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?
As the series progresses, Kara's morality has been challenged and many things are just shades of grey to her now. There are things she's been asked to do that she's uncomfortable with but her loyalty is mainly to Adama and she trusts him to know the right plan.
4. How does she regard beliefs that differ from hers? Is she tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
Intolerant. She couldn't give a frak about the one true God shit the Cylons spew.
5. What prejudices does she hold? Are they irrational or does she have a good reason for them?
She hates Cylons. They frakked her over. It's a very good reason.
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is she rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
Comfortable but she skips out on her bar tabs.
2. What is her social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected her?
Recently made Captain and CAG of Galactica but no, still the same old Kara.
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?
Apartment in the Industrial District of Somarium that looks like her apartment on Caprica which was kind of just somewhere to crash when she was on shore leave.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does she spend her money on?
Booze, art supplies, parts for her bike.
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?
In BSG she is the ace pilot in the fleet so she's the best at it, loves it and can't really conceive of a life where she's not doing that. Here she's a mechanic of sorts and she enjoys it.
6. What are her interests or hobbies? How does she spend her free time?
Painting, gambling, boozing. Fixing up things. Listening to sad old casettes of her dad playing piano.
7. What are her eating habits? Does she skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
Booze. Forever. Eh, I think that Kara just eats when she's hungry - she got used to food shortages and shit in the Fleet and she drinks half her calories anyway.
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is her favorite:
1. Color? Green
2. Smell? Cigar smoke
3. Time of day? Night
4. Season? Autumn
5. Book?
6. Music? Classical piano
7. Place? Earth
8. Substance? Alcohol
9. Plant? Cactus
10. Animal? Dog
END
{{ Get the HTML here so you can do it yourself. }}