i'm invincible and so are you
[series]: Charles de Lint's Newford series, but pulled particularly from Someplace to be Flying
[character]: Zia
[character history / background]:
Zia is one of the First People, those who have been around since the world began. Stories even say that she and her forever friend, Maida (who is often mistaken for her sister because the two girls are identical), helped Raven pull the world out of the Medicine Lands. Little is known about her history; she's lived so long that no one can really keep their facts straight, and she copes with immortality by living in Zen time, living entirely in each moment. She doesn't think about the future and forgets the past. It never goes away, of course, but she chooses not to think about it because if she thinks too hard, she might try to change the world and end up causing more grief and misery.
She has an ongoing friendly rivalry with the magpies, always trying to do things to make them jealous. Her only real enemies, though, are the cuckoos, a clan of animal people who despise the corbae (the crow people to whom Zia belongs). The cuckoos have a strain of meanness in them that cannot be gentled. Zia does not like killing, but she will kill them with neither hesitation nor remorse. Hank and Lily first meet her at the beginning of the book, when Zia and Maida come to their rescue and kill the cuckoo attacking them.
[character abilities]: As a corbae, she is able to switch between her human body and the body of a crow, and to communicate with animals. She is able to heal wounds -- even gunshot wounds -- with just a little bit of her spit, and to help bring out the light within people's hearts. She can see the little folds in time and space that allow her and others to "teleport" around. And when need be, she can do very nasty things with her switchblade.
[character personality]:
Most people find interacting with Zia a dizzying experience. She has the attention span of a puppy with ADHD, frequently getting distracted by tangents in her own words. She talks about the impossible -- shapeshifters, animal people, magic -- as though it is commonplace, and finds it hilarious when you have no idea what she's talking about. When you ask her a question, you rarely get a straight answer. In many ways, she's like a young child -- full of exuberant energy, apparent innocence, a love for sugar and playing, wearing her heart on her sleeve -- but her eyes are ancient, almost timeless. She finds human customs baffling, amusing, or frequently both.
Unlike many of the animal people, who lead double lives, Zia doesn't bother passing for human. Like a force of nature, she simply does as she pleases, and is genuinely confused when you try to explain why that's wrong. The prime examples of this are her tendency for petty theft and her complete disregard for privacy. "You humans are the ones who invented property," she says when you tell her not to steal, and if you try to explain privacy to her, you'll just get a blank look.
Yet in matters of the heart, she can be very perceptive. She knew that Jack would fall in love with Nettie, that it would end in grief. She can see into people's hearts, sense whether there's meanness there.
As childlike as Zia often seems, she can also turn dangerous at the edge of a knife. She carries a switchblade in her sleeve and will not hesitate to use it to defend someone she loves, or someone she likes, or someone who simply seems like they don't deserve the beating they're getting. Compassion is a fundamental part of her character. She'll get into mischief, but it doesn't hurt anyone who didn't already have it coming. She doesn't like killing, because she believes that every death diminishes us, but if she has to, she will.
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Zia is an odd, odd character, and this is my first time playing her, so any critique would be appreciated.
Comments are screened!
[character]: Zia
[character history / background]:
Zia is one of the First People, those who have been around since the world began. Stories even say that she and her forever friend, Maida (who is often mistaken for her sister because the two girls are identical), helped Raven pull the world out of the Medicine Lands. Little is known about her history; she's lived so long that no one can really keep their facts straight, and she copes with immortality by living in Zen time, living entirely in each moment. She doesn't think about the future and forgets the past. It never goes away, of course, but she chooses not to think about it because if she thinks too hard, she might try to change the world and end up causing more grief and misery.
She has an ongoing friendly rivalry with the magpies, always trying to do things to make them jealous. Her only real enemies, though, are the cuckoos, a clan of animal people who despise the corbae (the crow people to whom Zia belongs). The cuckoos have a strain of meanness in them that cannot be gentled. Zia does not like killing, but she will kill them with neither hesitation nor remorse. Hank and Lily first meet her at the beginning of the book, when Zia and Maida come to their rescue and kill the cuckoo attacking them.
[character abilities]: As a corbae, she is able to switch between her human body and the body of a crow, and to communicate with animals. She is able to heal wounds -- even gunshot wounds -- with just a little bit of her spit, and to help bring out the light within people's hearts. She can see the little folds in time and space that allow her and others to "teleport" around. And when need be, she can do very nasty things with her switchblade.
[character personality]:
Most people find interacting with Zia a dizzying experience. She has the attention span of a puppy with ADHD, frequently getting distracted by tangents in her own words. She talks about the impossible -- shapeshifters, animal people, magic -- as though it is commonplace, and finds it hilarious when you have no idea what she's talking about. When you ask her a question, you rarely get a straight answer. In many ways, she's like a young child -- full of exuberant energy, apparent innocence, a love for sugar and playing, wearing her heart on her sleeve -- but her eyes are ancient, almost timeless. She finds human customs baffling, amusing, or frequently both.
Unlike many of the animal people, who lead double lives, Zia doesn't bother passing for human. Like a force of nature, she simply does as she pleases, and is genuinely confused when you try to explain why that's wrong. The prime examples of this are her tendency for petty theft and her complete disregard for privacy. "You humans are the ones who invented property," she says when you tell her not to steal, and if you try to explain privacy to her, you'll just get a blank look.
Yet in matters of the heart, she can be very perceptive. She knew that Jack would fall in love with Nettie, that it would end in grief. She can see into people's hearts, sense whether there's meanness there.
As childlike as Zia often seems, she can also turn dangerous at the edge of a knife. She carries a switchblade in her sleeve and will not hesitate to use it to defend someone she loves, or someone she likes, or someone who simply seems like they don't deserve the beating they're getting. Compassion is a fundamental part of her character. She'll get into mischief, but it doesn't hurt anyone who didn't already have it coming. She doesn't like killing, because she believes that every death diminishes us, but if she has to, she will.
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Zia is an odd, odd character, and this is my first time playing her, so any critique would be appreciated.
Comments are screened!