huge meme. → that's the way it is. that's the way it will always be.

[satrinah]

Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is she heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
Lyla is nearly 5'10", and slender, though there's some compact muscle there. She has a tiny frame and looks very small in terms of her build -- colty and long, with that sharp, fragile-looking thinness that is entirely natural and proportional but nevertheless gives the impression of being physically delicate. Even though this is not even slightly true, and she doesn't move like she's very fragile at all, so the two are at odds.

2. How old is she?
18.

3. Describe her posture. Does she carry herself well or does she slouch?
It's not terrible -- she can be good about it -- but for the most part she doesn't...care, especially when she's sitting down. When she's in a fight or hostile situation she can adopt a more fake-languid serpentine sort of stance, and her posture is arguably better then but more aggressive because underneath that she's waiting for an excuse to punch things. Unlike a lot of girls her height and age, she doesn't slouch to hide how tall she is.

4. How is her health? Is she fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
Her health is decent but not as good as it should be, because she smokes and drinks to a degree that is, frankly, excessive, and has done since she was really really young. :| These don't wear and tear at her the way they would if she were human, though, so she's kinda cheating.

5. How does she move? Is she clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
She is graceful for the most part, but sometimes halting -- like she's not wholly experienced yet in what her body can do.

6. How attractive is this character physically? How does she perceive herself in the mirror?
She's a beautiful girl, and Lilith chose her partly for this reason; she knows she's attractive because she gets that affirmation frequently, but she wouldn't really describe herself that way, either. She's mostly pretty neutral about it, and tries to think of looks as nothing important.

7. Describe her complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
Light, but she tans really easily and fairly darkly. She's pretty clear-complected.

8. Describe her hair: color, texture, style.
Her hair is brown, with some reddish color to it. It's pretty long, and wavy.

9. What color are her eyes?
Very deep blue (also, her eyes are huge).

10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
She has a crescent moon-shaped birthmark on the back of her neck. It is Important.

11. What are her chief tension centers?
Back of her neck.

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?
Lyla actually has a pretty distinct, strong sense of style -- she's kinda goth, though she also will wear flannel and no make-up and ponytails when she's just hanging out. She's not especially vain, mostly because she knows she looks okay either way. There's also a really provocative edge to most of her clothing, often; she wears thigh-high socks and stockings, plaid or ripped miniskirts, off-shoulder tops, corsets, etc. She also likes deconstructed band t-shirts and the like. She almost never wears high heels, preferring flat boots for the sake of running on short notice. There are a few stock accessories she always wears -- her tongue is pierced, as previously noted, and the barbell has a tiny heart at the end. Her favorite belly ring is in the shape of a coiled serpent. Because I am a gigantic nerd and enjoy playing with paper dolls, she has a polyvore collection just yonder.

13. Do her clothes fit well? Does she seem comfortable in them?
Somewhat (it depends on when she got them, and a lot of them are second-hand); sometimes they're not supposed to fit well, as she is mistress of the artfully tousled things-falling-off-the-shoulder look. She's relatively comfortable in them. They're her uniform.

14. Does she dress the same on the job as she does in her free time? If not, what are the differences?
WELL... in game, with Hellsing, she'll spruce a tiny bit if she is representing them, presumably when wearing the Hellsing badge -- she'll do things like wearing her black peacoat vs her beat-up leather jacket, probably not so much showing any cleavage. The fishnets tend to remain, though.

15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Boycuts.

Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
She has a bit of a smoker's voice already -- both sort of growly and distinctly girly, with a roughness to it, as though she's not used to speaking much. She's eighteen and passes for slightly older, but by voice alone, you'd think she was in her late twenties or early thirties. A sample! And it's even her PB as a grown 18-year-old instead of in s1 of Skins where she was like, 15, lol, I refuse to use that stuff even if she looks much older.

2. How does she normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does she talk easily, or does she hesitate?
Evenly, and usually pretty easily, but with a lot of mid-sentence asides, like her thoughts aren't completely organized.

3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
She has a generic 'country' Tennessee accent, tempered by time spent in urban Nashville.

4. What language/s does she speak, and with how much fluency?
English. ...aaand when she has visions she can speak in Aramaic, Hebrew, the dead languages of the vampires, Coptic, basically anything that's ancient and full of religiosity. At some point, she may learn to tap into these on a daily basis, not that they're very common languages.

5. Does she switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
See above! Also, she tries to quash her accent sometimes, but it comes out anyway.

6. Is she a good impromptu speaker, or does she have to think about her words?
She's pretty impromptu, generally. Also, sassy.

7. Is she eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
She can be reasonably eloquent for her age/education, but it's very apparent that she could use improvement. "And whatever," "or whatever," "or something": all frequently seen in her language. It's not even uncertainty, she just typically figures people can extrapolate what she means.

Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is she book-smart or street-smart?
Lyla is much smarter than she thinks she is -- because she's lacking in real education, it tends to manifest more as cunning or street-smarts, but she has potential. She learns very quickly, partly because she's very observant, and has a good memory -- but she's also a kinesthetic learner.

2. Does she think on her feet, or does she need time to deliberate?
The former; she's a survivalist, it's sort of necessary.

3. Describe the character's thought process. Is she more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Very intuitive -- she reads other people and her surroundings and and reacts accordingly.

4. What kind of education has the character had?
Officially, fifth grade. She's gathered some more via reading since then, but it's not comprehensive.

5. What are her areas of expertise? What, if anything, is she interested in learning more about?
Lore/vampires, some occult, street life and survival, social politics, which don't change as much as you'd think throughout the classes. She has a very good understanding of how drug dealing works, even if she's never participated -- she's been present during enough deals to know.

6. Is she an introvert or an extrovert?
Extrovert.

7. Describe the character's temperament. Is she even-tempered or does she have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
She likes to think she's cynically upbeat most of the time, but she is prone to the occasional teenaged moodswing. Lyla tends to conceal any shaky anxiety as best she can, and she tries to maintain her temper, but...it's there, and when she snaps, she snaps hard. She often dismisses any sadness she feels as "being whiny," but pushing it away just means it comes back later, worse.

8. How does she respond to new people or situations? Is she suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
She's interested but also a bit wary -- circling whatever it is to try to understand it before she zeroes in. She will, however, talk to almost anybody.

9. Is she more likely to act, or to react?
Most of the time, react. When she acts, it's actually pretty well-thought out, or so she'd like to think.

10. Which is her default: fight or flight?
50/50; she'll fight unless she feels too emotionally compromised to really be up for it. She gets fightier as she gets older, too, and she's not bad at it.

11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does she appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
She's funny in a trolly, giggly kind of way -- she can be surprisingly light-hearted for who and what she is and all that she's been through. She's not really a big fan of pranks, but she likes sarcasm and can laugh at the bizarre turns of her daily life. Most of her humor is verbal.

12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does she deal with them?
She definitely has symptoms of PTSD from her canonical abuse as a kid and especially from killing a dude when she was still in grade school. I would say they are not debilitatingly severe, but it does inform her present-day behavior, especially with regards to sexuality.

13. What moments in this character's life have defined her as a person?
Killing her mother's boyfriend (and her abuser).
Meeting Lilith.
Learning about being a dhampir.
Discovering Bete Noire.

14. What does she fear?
"Herself" is so goddamn cliched, but: yeah, there are parts of herself that scare her, especially the things that are the Beast or influenced by Lilith. It's not just that she has the potential to be destructive or violent -- she has that potential in large-scale, world-altering ways.

She's also scared of losing her autonomy, and men in authority to her (often, anyway).

15. What are her hopes or aspirations?
She would like to be able to help people! What her methods are remains to be seen -- I mean, Lilith used to try to help people, too, and look how that went for her! so uh, we'll see, I guess -- but she did get involved with Hellsing's activities out of a sense of altruism.

16. What is something she doesn't want anyone to find out about her?
FFFF like...I think in the right circumstances and with enough time and patience most things she'd open up about, at least to the right kind of person, but wanting to be like Lilith is a big shameful secret of hers she thinks no one could understand. She wouldn't cop to that one willingly.

Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with her parents.
Dad: nonexistent. He never knew about her. Also, he's white Hispanic because I...found out her PB is, uh.
Bio mom: drug addict, hooray! Worked a series of menial jobs; took up with the guy who canonically abused Lyla when she was in grade school. Lyla hasn't seen her since she ran away and has no idea what became of her. She did live with the Turks in Tennessee for a while, so Lyla got a bit of the lifestyle, but her mom (who is of Romanian Roma stock) left the group when she got heavy into drugs, which was not culturally accepted there.
Lilith-mom: GENOCIDAL LUNATIC GODDESS.

'Nuff said.

2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
Nope.

3. Are there other blood relatives to whom she is close? Are there ones she can't stand?
Nope.

4. Are there other, unrelated people whom she considers part of her family? What are her relationships with them?
Arguably Lilith's disciples are semi-familial. Lyla is ambivalent toward most of them -- she actually hated Lucian until diablerizing him, but was fonder of the Malkavian girl. Narcisse was also sort of like a manipulative aunt type for her -- the one involved in teaching her ogham, a long-dead and dangerous magical art for Kindred. Narcisse was also allegedly Adam's wife between Lilith and Eve, so...her motives aren't pure.

In Bete Noire, she's sort of been adopted by Dean (and...Sam by extension, hello favorite drunk-dialing victims) who is not old enough to be her dad but has taken up a somewhat paternal role all the same, and is part of Hellsing. It is really a pretty sweet deal, ngl.

5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
None canonically. We'll see in BN! Most of her friends there are quite a lot older than her (look, Balthier is video game 22, we know he's really like 30 outside of Final Fantasy), and while she's capable of relating pretty well to people who are much older, it's still not quite the same.

6. Does she have other close friends?
She has a lot of friends who are not necessarily close but have common interests and goals. In BN she's attached to Hellsing and will form closer friendships there with time, I'm sure. She's their resident troll, she will work her way into their hearts by force of will. >:(!! ...or something, idk.

7. Does she make friends easily, or does she have trouble getting along with people?
She makes friends very easily, actually!

8. Which does she consider more important: family or friends?
Uhhh. On her own, friends, but it's hard not to place Lilith above the rest because Lilith sort of demands it.

9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has she been married more than once?
Single. She's only eighteen!

10. Is she currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
No.

11. Who was her first crush? Who is her latest?
Probably some celebrity when she was in grade school -- harmless, inoffensive boy-on-tv types, maybe someone in a pop-punk band. The couple times she's developed affections for boys around her they've consistently been slightly older (not by any more than 5 or so years) and not afraid of her without making a big deal out of how tough they are for not being afraid of her. She never pursued them or even contemplated it.

12. What does she look for in a romantic partner?
Well...she doesn't, because boyfriends have previously been functional and not emotional for her, and she's provided for in Bete Noire, so it hasn't been necessary or relevant -- she was much more likely to be someone's "girl" for a while if they had an apartment she could sleep in, a car, some money, etc. She was homeless for eight years and developed a somewhat mercenary sense of survivalism, and in the scheme of the social strata on the streets, a pretty, fairly healthy girl like Lyla is a good trophy. It was symbiotic; the boy would get a good prize to show off, she'd get taken care of. It's not super feminist, uh, at all, and she knows it's not, so she's done away with it for the time being.

In theory -- because...you never know, this might happen someday -- she'd look for someone who'd be patient with her sexuality, since it's both very strong and very scary to her. She could not deal with anyone who condescended to her because of her financial origins or someone who seemed too terribly pure/good, because someone like that would probably not be able to understand where she's coming from emotionally. She is okay with and would even prefer being "the nice one". Maybe she can use her social adeptness for good, even!

13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does she relate to them? If no, does she want any?
No kids. Ever.

14. Does she have any rivals or enemies?
Well, at home a lot of vampires would kill her on principle -- her very existence breaks the masquerade. DHAMPIRES, ONOES.

15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does she fall on the Kinsey scale?
I'd say a 2. An attraction to women isn't impossible -- they may even feel 'safer' than men, even if she knows better -- but otherwise she's into dudes.

16. How does she feel about sex? How important is it to her?
It is actually relatively important, even if she doesn't initiate sex itself very often or at all in BN -- she does have a pretty strong, potent sexuality, and even though it frightens her because of how she's been abused that way in the past, it informs how she dresses, how she moves, how she acts, etc. She is keenly aware of it whenever someone is attracted to her or when there's a sexual undercurrent in the room, even if it's got nothing to do with her, and usually can tell from a few moments' observation of even seemingly innocent interaction whether two people are sleeping together. It's the little things and looks exchanged -- she knows exactly what those are.

Lyla knows that viewing sex as commerce is not healthy, she's pretty self-aware about it, and she's very back and forth on whether she thinks she's "damaged goods" or "broken" that way; she's not, of course, but she doesn't really talk to anyone about this stuff, so she's mostly going by instinct. She knows that using sex to get things is not good for her and furthermore is just dishonest and not the person she wants to be. She does, however, struggle with associating sexuality with power dynamics (a big part of why she'd not be comfortable dating anyone not in her age range, 23 or so maximum) and dominance, so she'd have to really trust her partner for her to truly enjoy it for the first time -- not impossible, but not a priority, either, because trusting people in general is the task at hand for her emotionally.

She is fond of flirting and kissing, though, and is pretty fun when it comes to both, provided there's no pressure.

17. What are her turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
She hasn't really explored her personal likes/dislikes enough to know them thoroughly -- generally, sex has been performative and more for the other person's benefit. I would say she prefers things a little bit rough, though she doesn't have to be, it's just kind of a byproduct of her enthusiasm. She is probably not especially dominant, but can be a little bit, mostly playfully. The idea that you can really connect to someone through sex emotionally is something she's not 100% sold on as real, and if she encountered as much, she'd love it, but she's never going to be the make-love-under-a-waterfall kind of girl, at least not 90% of the time.

Uh, if she's got the Lilith-persona going on, she is of course a total fucking maneater. Not necessarily a dominant (though she can aggressively be one), but a provoker and manipulator, someone who seduces and is in control emotionally even if not physically. That's not really Lyla, for the most part, though, and it's very apparent if it ever pops up in her behavior that Something is up.

Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does she fit type?
I thiiink she is a Scorpio, which I mostly chose because it correlated nicely with her arrival date -- she's more gregarious and easy-going than most Scorpios, but she does have that ~sensitive intensity thing going on, and the dark temper, too. Her Chinese zodiac sign is a monkey, who are allegedly great leaders, being under the first trine, but at their worst are "destructive manipulators and hedonists." Quick-witted, problem-solver, etc., all apply, as do recklessness and suspiciousness under flaws. She's a bit more empathetic than the average, I guess?

2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in her life?
Lyla believes, because she's living proof of some kind of religious design, but she doesn't worship.

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?
Her personal code is mostly intuitive, shaped by some personal experiences -- sexual abusers are guaranteed to be a hot button issue and she does tend to have a "kill 'em all, let God sort 'em out" attitude toward groups of people en masse that she thinks are deserving of a very bloody form of justice. She knows it's not very exact and can be problematic, but she can't help herself -- it's both a social conditioning and a species thing.

4. How does she regard beliefs that differ from hers? Is she tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
She is actually pretty tolerant, barring beliefs she finds objectively awful -- you know, like, Nazis. No one likes Nazis.

5. What prejudices does she hold? Are they irrational or does she have a good reason for them?
'Official' male authority figures (uh, especially law officials, it's a kneejerk kind of thing -- but she does have plenty of good reason in that case, given her homelessness). She's willing to give people a chance to fuck up, it's just that she'll pounce on even the smallest fuck up that occurs, and that's basically inevitable. If Lyla wants to be mad at you, she'll find a reason.

Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is she rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
Lyla is poor, born poor, raised poor -- but good at stealing. She has a bit more stability financially at Hellsing.

2. What is her social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected her?
Within vampire society, she is v. v. important -- her mom is also basically Queen of Witches, a moon type deity, and the originator of all witchcraft and magic in her world. Mundanely...uh, she's a homeless Romani teenager who dresses in fishnets and miniskirts and punches holes through doors.

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?
When she's in Nashville, she's homeless -- the modern, more commonly seen form of homeless where it's sometimes sleeping in the street, sometimes crashing at other people's homes. In Bete Noire, she lives at Hellsing, which is ruled by very tall badass women, so she fits in.

4. Besides the basic necessities, what does she spend her money on?
...liquor and cigarettes? Okay, no, I lie: besides the necessities, she likes costume jewelry that suits her personal aesthetic, recently weaponry type things (mostly blades, but she's probably going to get a lot of gun training), and decor for her awesome purple room.

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?
At home: er, vampire Jesus? In Bete Noire, she works at Hellsing doing dispatch (for now!), and appears to often be a freelance hero during metaplot type things, because she'll probably throw herself headfirst into every single one. One of these is more profitable than the others.

6. What are her interests or hobbies? How does she spend her free time?
Lyla does like to party quite a bit. She's social, and probably spends some time trying to badger other people who are workaholics (HEM HEM) into taking the occasional movie or chillax night with her. She is also probably getting trained in how to hone her terrifying strength and speed and the like, though, and eventually in how to use Awesome Vampahr Tricks. Ogham will be something she'll have to refine on her own, but she'll practice. ...by gardening. YOU LAUGH, but Ogham is very similar to Verbena magic, what with both being Lilith-related.

7. What are her eating habits? Does she skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
She doesn't really care, lol. She's learned to be grateful for what she can get foodwise. She does drink alcohol and caffeine, and smokes, as noted, and habitually uses drugs -- nothing really hard or especially addictive, only club drugs like ketamine and ecstasy, or pot. The drug use will probably phase out eventually -- it's symptomatic of not really having much of a purpose and needing to escape. The former is being remedied in BN, and the latter...welp, we'll see. She can actually cook, because she had to at her bio-mom's house if she wanted to eat, and because it's an excellent way of insinuating herself into other people's houses if she wants a free meal. As it turns out, it's something she genuinely enjoys.

Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is her favorite:

1. Color? Black. Surprise.
2. Smell? Clove cigarettes, leather, raspberries and cream.
3. Time of day? Midnight. ...SENSING A THEME?
4. Season? Spring.
5. Book? I have no idea, sorry. I'll go back and edit if I think of something.
6. Music? A PLAYLIST, PERHAPS? Also, I Love You In Your Tragic Beauty, which is...frequently thematic with a lot of my characters, but it does genuinely suit Lyla. Also, it's an awesome song, especially the second half. I love this band, okay.
7. Place? Either a densely populated urban area or the middle of a desert, near an oasis.
8. Substance? blud blud blud
9. Plant? Night-blooming cereus.
10. Animal? Owls, snakes, wildcats.

END
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