Application: Quetzalli "Alli" Smith
Character Name: Quetzalli "Alli" Smith
Character Type: Psychic
Abilities: Clairvoyance. Her ability to see into the past is fairy strong, consistent, and she has a fairly high level of control over it although she will occasionally have visions sneak up on her if she's tired or distracted. Looking into events of the present is more difficult but manageable with a little work. She usually has to have a pretty good idea what, who or where she's looking. Seeing into the future... is difficult. Very difficult. And painful. Difficult and painful, but not impossible.
She uses art as her focus, ideally paints when she's at home of or a sketchbook and pencils if she's out and about, but she'll use whatever's at hand. Nowadays she doesn't always need the sketchbook to look into the past, but for anything in the present, and especially the future, she'll need her trusty tools.
Age: 30
Kinsey Rating: 2
Physical Appearance: Caucasian with long dark hair, blue eyes, about average height. She tends to dress to match the perception of a New Age shop owner, but she's equally comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt. She also has an assortment of ratty painting clothes. Formal and business wear make her itch, though.
PB: Amy Lee
Personality:
Alli is pretty adaptable. Her parents gave her a weird name they heard on their honeymoon, so she learned to accept the fact that a) everyone else thinks it weird, too and b) she'd have to go through life with a nickname that can be spelled, like a dozen different ways and, at least recently, is associated with a weight-loss pill. Her eyes went wonky, she got glasses. She hated the glasses, she got contacts. Challenge? Solution. With only the minimum of ruffled feathers and a sardonic eye-roll to ever indicate that she was ever bothered to begin with.
Enter her shop and she'll greet you with a smile, and if you've been in more than once, she probably remembers your name. Come in regularly and she'll know your cat's name, your favorite order, and she just might have pulled something you might like off the shelf the other day just in case you came by. Ask her for a favor and if it's not too much trouble, it's yours. If she doesn't have it, she bets she can find it for you, and if she can't, well, you didn't need it anyway.
It's an act, mostly. A sham meant to cover a host of insecurities over everything from the fact that she's 30, recently divorced and childless (much to her mother's chagrin), to wondering if she's going to make the shop's rent next week, let alone pay off her student loans, to wondering if that guy yesterday was a reporter trolling for real psychics. But images are important and she's crafted hers well. Those walls are thick, but they can be scaled.
There's also a bit of resentment against all the normals of the world in Alli. If a lookie-loo comes in for a thrill, or to get something to spice up their Halloween party, Alli's not afraid to take 'em for everything they've got and she won't loose an ounce of sleep over it. She'll also whip up a fake tarot reading as part of her shop persona, using just enough of her gift to make it easier to swallow.
Since her divorce, she can (and has) flirted a bit, but anything more serious than that and she'll get nervous and withdraw. Is she ready to date? Maybe, she doesn't know, she might try, she might not. She's slowly putting herself out there, and has had a casual encounter or two, but frankly most of the time it scares the hell out of her. She'd almost rather go home with her cat.
History/Background:
The gift skips generations in Alli's family and her Gran had kept it such a secret from everyone, that her parents didn't even know it existed until Alli began telling them the strangest stories... all of which seemed to be absolutely true. Frankly, they thought (hoped) their little girl was just going a bit odd so for a few years she was dragged to shrinks, dosed with medications, and was generally told to hush up and act normal. Not that it helped, she was perpetually the odd kid out at school and as such she began to embrace an air of "this doesn't bother me, I'll just do my own thing over here". By the time her Gran realized what was happening the act was more or less a permanent part of Alli's persona.
But once Gran was in she was IN and nothing her parents could say would dissuade her. She moved into the family home in Colorado and didn't move out until Alli went to college. While she was at the house, she taught Alli how to use her powers, and maybe more importantly when not to use them. She taught Alli how to use art to focus her gift, that way if she had to use in in public, sketching in a book was more socially acceptable then, say, gazing into a crystal ball. Gran told Alli to never compromise, and to follow her heart and all the wonderful things that Grans should say to their impressionable grandkids. Alli tried to model herself as much as she could after her crazy Gran from San Fran, and generally eschewed most other friendships at school, choosing instead to embrace whatever fashion, fad or whim that crossed her path.
Alli studied History and Art, eventually graduating at the age of 22 with a major in the former and a minor in the latter. She was about to go on an Art-History tour of Europe when a package arrived in the mail. Inside were the keys to Gran's shop, the keys to the apartment above, a locket with her Gran's picture in it and sketch of a man with the words "not Prince Charming" written on the back. Gran didn't answer the phone and after a few frantic calls to neighbors, her worst fears were confirmed - her Gran had died in an accident that very day, leaving everything to Alli.
Gran always could see the future better than the past.
Ever since then, Alli's lived in the apartment above the shop, trying to keep it afloat, and trying to figure out what the hell Gran meant by "not prince charming". Six years ago she met a nice guy, stopped smoking and got married. Then he cheated on her and she took him back. Then he did it again. The divorce was final six months ago. He sure as hell wasn't prince charming, but then he wasn't the guy in the sketch either.
She's also smoking again, which makes her cat sneeze.
As for the shop, it's called Lighted Paths. When Gran ran it it was primarily a New Age-type books store with the more commercial-end of esoteric supplies, tarot decks, Ouija boards, crystals, etc., and the real stuff was kept in the back room for the REAL customers. With the increased public exposure, Alli's been able to still sell what Gran sold, but she can be more "open" about the rest of it, and will openly deal in herbs, ingredients, books and the more nuts and bolts portions of Magic. The stuff's still mostly innocent, but still workable. The real serious stuff and anything dangerous is still kept in the back room and no one gets anything from in there unless she's done a dive into their pasts to make sure there's no serious violence going on there.
And about those readings, Alli is not publicly psychic, at least not entirely, but there's a small sign in her window that says "fortunes read". Upon request (and prompt payment) Alli will dazzle you with enough details about your past that you will swallow whatever lies she tells you about your future hook, line, and sinker. For the most part the neighbors just think she's a little batty like her Gran was, and a good, clean, but ultimately fake and therefore harmless psychic.
She has, in the past, worked for certain members of the police, but only under conditions of strict confidentiality. Playing the charming psychic for her customers is one thing, letting all of SF know she's the real thing is something else.
Character Type: Psychic
Abilities: Clairvoyance. Her ability to see into the past is fairy strong, consistent, and she has a fairly high level of control over it although she will occasionally have visions sneak up on her if she's tired or distracted. Looking into events of the present is more difficult but manageable with a little work. She usually has to have a pretty good idea what, who or where she's looking. Seeing into the future... is difficult. Very difficult. And painful. Difficult and painful, but not impossible.
She uses art as her focus, ideally paints when she's at home of or a sketchbook and pencils if she's out and about, but she'll use whatever's at hand. Nowadays she doesn't always need the sketchbook to look into the past, but for anything in the present, and especially the future, she'll need her trusty tools.
Age: 30
Kinsey Rating: 2
Physical Appearance: Caucasian with long dark hair, blue eyes, about average height. She tends to dress to match the perception of a New Age shop owner, but she's equally comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt. She also has an assortment of ratty painting clothes. Formal and business wear make her itch, though.
PB: Amy Lee
Personality:
Alli is pretty adaptable. Her parents gave her a weird name they heard on their honeymoon, so she learned to accept the fact that a) everyone else thinks it weird, too and b) she'd have to go through life with a nickname that can be spelled, like a dozen different ways and, at least recently, is associated with a weight-loss pill. Her eyes went wonky, she got glasses. She hated the glasses, she got contacts. Challenge? Solution. With only the minimum of ruffled feathers and a sardonic eye-roll to ever indicate that she was ever bothered to begin with.
Enter her shop and she'll greet you with a smile, and if you've been in more than once, she probably remembers your name. Come in regularly and she'll know your cat's name, your favorite order, and she just might have pulled something you might like off the shelf the other day just in case you came by. Ask her for a favor and if it's not too much trouble, it's yours. If she doesn't have it, she bets she can find it for you, and if she can't, well, you didn't need it anyway.
It's an act, mostly. A sham meant to cover a host of insecurities over everything from the fact that she's 30, recently divorced and childless (much to her mother's chagrin), to wondering if she's going to make the shop's rent next week, let alone pay off her student loans, to wondering if that guy yesterday was a reporter trolling for real psychics. But images are important and she's crafted hers well. Those walls are thick, but they can be scaled.
There's also a bit of resentment against all the normals of the world in Alli. If a lookie-loo comes in for a thrill, or to get something to spice up their Halloween party, Alli's not afraid to take 'em for everything they've got and she won't loose an ounce of sleep over it. She'll also whip up a fake tarot reading as part of her shop persona, using just enough of her gift to make it easier to swallow.
Since her divorce, she can (and has) flirted a bit, but anything more serious than that and she'll get nervous and withdraw. Is she ready to date? Maybe, she doesn't know, she might try, she might not. She's slowly putting herself out there, and has had a casual encounter or two, but frankly most of the time it scares the hell out of her. She'd almost rather go home with her cat.
History/Background:
The gift skips generations in Alli's family and her Gran had kept it such a secret from everyone, that her parents didn't even know it existed until Alli began telling them the strangest stories... all of which seemed to be absolutely true. Frankly, they thought (hoped) their little girl was just going a bit odd so for a few years she was dragged to shrinks, dosed with medications, and was generally told to hush up and act normal. Not that it helped, she was perpetually the odd kid out at school and as such she began to embrace an air of "this doesn't bother me, I'll just do my own thing over here". By the time her Gran realized what was happening the act was more or less a permanent part of Alli's persona.
But once Gran was in she was IN and nothing her parents could say would dissuade her. She moved into the family home in Colorado and didn't move out until Alli went to college. While she was at the house, she taught Alli how to use her powers, and maybe more importantly when not to use them. She taught Alli how to use art to focus her gift, that way if she had to use in in public, sketching in a book was more socially acceptable then, say, gazing into a crystal ball. Gran told Alli to never compromise, and to follow her heart and all the wonderful things that Grans should say to their impressionable grandkids. Alli tried to model herself as much as she could after her crazy Gran from San Fran, and generally eschewed most other friendships at school, choosing instead to embrace whatever fashion, fad or whim that crossed her path.
Alli studied History and Art, eventually graduating at the age of 22 with a major in the former and a minor in the latter. She was about to go on an Art-History tour of Europe when a package arrived in the mail. Inside were the keys to Gran's shop, the keys to the apartment above, a locket with her Gran's picture in it and sketch of a man with the words "not Prince Charming" written on the back. Gran didn't answer the phone and after a few frantic calls to neighbors, her worst fears were confirmed - her Gran had died in an accident that very day, leaving everything to Alli.
Gran always could see the future better than the past.
Ever since then, Alli's lived in the apartment above the shop, trying to keep it afloat, and trying to figure out what the hell Gran meant by "not prince charming". Six years ago she met a nice guy, stopped smoking and got married. Then he cheated on her and she took him back. Then he did it again. The divorce was final six months ago. He sure as hell wasn't prince charming, but then he wasn't the guy in the sketch either.
She's also smoking again, which makes her cat sneeze.
As for the shop, it's called Lighted Paths. When Gran ran it it was primarily a New Age-type books store with the more commercial-end of esoteric supplies, tarot decks, Ouija boards, crystals, etc., and the real stuff was kept in the back room for the REAL customers. With the increased public exposure, Alli's been able to still sell what Gran sold, but she can be more "open" about the rest of it, and will openly deal in herbs, ingredients, books and the more nuts and bolts portions of Magic. The stuff's still mostly innocent, but still workable. The real serious stuff and anything dangerous is still kept in the back room and no one gets anything from in there unless she's done a dive into their pasts to make sure there's no serious violence going on there.
And about those readings, Alli is not publicly psychic, at least not entirely, but there's a small sign in her window that says "fortunes read". Upon request (and prompt payment) Alli will dazzle you with enough details about your past that you will swallow whatever lies she tells you about your future hook, line, and sinker. For the most part the neighbors just think she's a little batty like her Gran was, and a good, clean, but ultimately fake and therefore harmless psychic.
She has, in the past, worked for certain members of the police, but only under conditions of strict confidentiality. Playing the charming psychic for her customers is one thing, letting all of SF know she's the real thing is something else.