work in progress
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is she heavyset, thin, short, rangy? The short end of medium height, perhaps 5'3" or 4", and thin.
2. How old is she? 19
3. Describe her posture. Does she carry herself well or does she slouch? She doesn't slouch (slump down) as much as she cringes (folds inward) when she's nervous, making her look bonier and thinner.
4. How is her health? Is she fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities? Her health is good. She doesn't have a regular exercise program with that intent, but she's used to heavy physical labor, and has a very active dog that she needs to keep happy, so she's fit in an accidental way.
5. How does she move? Is she clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid? She tends to be tense and jittery unless there's music on, then she loosens up.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does she perceive herself in the mirror? She is perhaps average, if a little pinched in appearance, but she sees herself as plain. She's better looking when she let's the dour, sarcastic expression go.
7. Describe her complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred? Fair, and clear, though she has scars, they're from injury, not acne.
8. Describe her hair: color, texture, style. dark brown, thick, slightly wavy, she usually wears it down and center parted. She'll tie it back when working.
9. What color are her eyes? brown
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features? Her nose is a bit long, but not as long as she thinks it is.
11. What are her chief tension centers? Her shoulders, hence the cringing when she's nervous.
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? She tends to dress like a guy. Jeans, tee, and flannel shirts or sweatshirts over if it's chilly. She'll dress better for a concert, or when she wants to surprise her significant other. Still jeans and tees, but more fitted to her body, more overtly feminine.
13. Do her clothes fit well? Does she seem comfortable in them? Her clothes tend to be baggy, and she seems unaware that she has them on at all.
14. Does she dress the same on the job as she does in her free time? If not, what are the differences? There isn't any difference.
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? Her speaking voice, is quiet, and lower then average pitch for a female. Her singing voice is capable of a great range of pitch, effect and expression.
2. How does she normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does she talk easily, or does she hesitate? When she's passionate, she's fluent,her voice clear and carrying. When she's anxious, she's hesitant, her voice strangled.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics? Her accent sounds like something that would happen nine months after a brogue, a lilt, and a burr were at a wild party together. The overall effect is 'sort of Irish'. Her language patterns reflect the whimsical tradition of her people.
4. What language/s does she speak, and with how much fluency? She speaks Nurail and Basic (English) fluently.
5. Does she switch languages or dialects in certain situations? Yes, when she speaks to herself, it's in Nurail.
6. Is she a good impromptu speaker, or does she have to think about her words? She's not a good political speaker, as she's bound to offend someone, but she's a very effective speaker, able to throw out witty, pithy, memorable expressions that make her meaning VERY clear, at the drop of a hat.
7. Is she eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change? She can be very eloquent when she's passionate. When she's anxious, she tends not to speak at all.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is she book-smart or street-smart? She's very intelligent, but it's neither street nor book, or perhaps both, she is, in fact, a repository of the oral wisdom and history of her people.
2. Does she think on her feet, or does she need time to deliberate? Definitely a foot thinker.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is she more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical? Intuitive and practical.
4. What kind of education has the character had? Little. She quit regularly attending school approximately halfway through 7th grade.
5. What are her areas of expertise? What, if anything, is she interested in learning more about? Music, street psychology, street sociology, and more music.
6. Is she an introvert or an extrovert? She's an extrovert when her own consciousness is subsumed by the soul and tradition of her people. She's an introvert when inhabiting herself.
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 oddly prideful, and her anger will rise to an insult. She's generally sarcastic and pessimistic.
8. How does she respond to new people or situations? Is she suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic? Slightly suspicious, but her abilities allow her to 'read' people's intent and spirit, so she relaxes quickly around the well-intentioned.
9. Is she more likely to act, or to react? React.
10. Which is her default: fight or flight? Fight.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does she appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks? Sarcastic, witty, and dark.
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does she deal with them? No, but being inhabited by the collective soul of your people can certainly make a person seem schizophrenic, and dissociative.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined her as a person? Being the younger, less outgoing sister of a handsome, outgoing, and not very kind brother, who bullied her in subtle ways, her power coming upon her, her parents taking her brother's side and casting her out when she was thirteen, finally being accepted as a Weaver, and getting a thumper, meeting Goldie, meeting Chuck, finding out she'd accidentally hurt Faramir and Raph.
14. What does she fear? Andrej Kosciusko, the Bench Fleet in general, Chuck not loving her anymore.
15. What are her hopes or aspirations? To be a better person, and use her power to help her people.
16. What is something she doesn't want anyone to find out about her? She's used to not being alone in her head. She has no secrets.
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with her parents. None. Buh-bye. They tried to be decent parents until her brother made them choose, but they never really understood her.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like? The aforementioned Mr. Perfect brother, no relationship.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom she is close? Are there ones she can't stand? She doesn't know if any of her blood relatives still survive. She really doesn't care.
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom she considers part of her family? What are her relationships with them? Goldie -- her first mentor, girl crush, and savior; Chuck -- her love and light. Faramir, Raph, Ruby, HB, Tiffany, Val, Sam friends who she looks up to.
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet? Besides Chuck? Was Goldie, who helped her when she was scared, hungry, and lost. But Goldie left. Now it's probably Ruby. She was hurting and needed help and let Kerai do so. She and Kerai both know what it's like to fight a powerful dark side.
6. Does she have other close friends? Ceridwen, Leoben, Oz...
7. Does she make friends easily, or does she have trouble getting along with people? She makes friends very quickly with certain people, the ones who don't fit. She's very suspicious of, and slow to warm up to, the golden, beautiful and popular.
8. Which does she consider more important: family or friends? Her chosen family. If her blood family showed up wanting something, they'd have a very, very hard sell, especially if it meant shorting her chosen family to help her blood family.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has she been married more than once? Single, never married, but deeply in love with Chuck.
10. Is she currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse? Chuck.
11. Who was her first crush? Who is her latest? Chuck.
12. What does she look for in a romantic partner? Goodness.
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does she relate to them? If no, does she want any? She is terrified of having children. It's a great societal taboo for someone with her power to raise children. The power could easily be used to completely overwrite the child's own identity.
14. Does she have any rivals or enemies? The Bench Fleet. The Archangel Gabriel, though that's in a state of cease fire now.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does she fall on the Kinsey scale? She's about a two on the Kinsey scale. Though she's more turned on by men, her sexuality is more driven by the love she feels than the gender of the other party. If Goldie had wanted her romantically, she would have accepted.
16. How does she feel about sex? How important is it to her? As a bonding, sharing activity, it's very important to her. Before she met Goldie and Chuck, sex was a mere physical hunger that she fed by using her power to seduce whoever she wanted. She can't imagine doing that anymore.
17. What are her turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits? She likes Chuck, and she likes whiskey, and she likes to combine the two sometimes.
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does she fit type? If I were to assign her to a zodiac sign, she's pretty much an archetypal Scorpio.
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in her life? Spiritual, she can't help it, what with the whole, collective spirit living inside her and all. It's just a matter of fact to her; she doesn't really think much about it.
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 has one she strives for, but knows she falls short. Do unto others as you would have them yadda yadda...but if they hurt her loved ones, those others are toast. Her abilities allow her to know just where a persons emotional weak spots are, and push at them to the point of suicide. She's deeply frightened by this, but she forgets her fear when she's angry.
4. How does she regard beliefs that differ from hers? Is she tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent? Tolerant, sometimes curious, usually indifferent.
5. What prejudices does she hold? Are they irrational or does she have a good reason for them? She has a racial prejudice of Pyana, a deep distaste, which is irrational, but mutual, and with centuries of tradition behind it. She's afraid of anything to do with Kosciusko, which there is reason for, but she knows it to be irrational in the present.
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is she rich, poor, comfortable, in debt? Comfortable, but working class comfortable.
2. What is her social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected her? As a Weaver, she's semi-outcast, semi-sacred. it's uncomfortable, but in the village, it's less so. She's more accepted as just a chick with a power.
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? At home she lives in the quarters attached to the wind turbine, she shares with her Thumper, and other workers. They're Spartan, but clean. In the village she shares a hotel room with Chuck. They've done little to personalize it. It's comfortable, but tends to be messy, due to Chuck's habits.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does she spend her money on? Music and whiskey, someone else's cooking. Neither she nor Chuck can cook very well, and tend to order in.
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 the village she's sort of a guerilla therapist. She's getting better at it. And she loves it. At home she works on wind turbines, and entertains in the evenings. She likes it well enough but she'd like to expand into the therapy at home.
6. What are her interests or hobbies? How does she spend her free time? At the risk of being repetitive -- music, and Chuck, and her dog.
7. What are her eating habits? Does she skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods? She'll skip meals if she's wrapped up in the music, but otherwise will eat almost anything, though she likes to order in, and she drinks like a fish.
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is her favorite:
1. Color? black
2. Smell? whiskey, and wood smoke
3. Time of day? evening
4. Season? fall
5. Book? The History of Rock and Roll
6. Music? All of it, every country, era, and genre
7. Place? The Ribbon.
8. Substance? Irish whiskey
9. Plant? peat moss
10. Animal? Border Collie, specifically, Jude.
END
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