A BIG DANG LIST OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT SÄDE
Updated whenever I'm bored.
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is she heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
Tall (5'8.5"), athletic, built for speed and stealth more than strength.
2. How old is she?
33, born January 11 1979
3. Describe her posture. Does she carry herself well or does she slouch?
She's trained herself to stand like an aristocrat. Appearances are important to her.
4. How is her health? Is she fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
She's in the peak of health when considering how often she trains in various disciplines and with various weapons. However, she often turns to drinking as a method of stress relief and her liver is becoming increasingly strained. It probably doesn't help that her mother died of liver cancer, so there may be a genetic basis.
5. How does she move? Is she clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
She moves very gracefully, and can shift from relaxed to alert very quickly. When fighting, she's fluid, preferring to move out of the way than take a direct hit.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does she perceive herself in the mirror?
She's very attractive, in a cold, hard way. It's not the kind of beauty that makes you want to get to know her; she's quite like a statue that way. Or, y'know, a diamond. Which is just how she wants it.
7. Describe her complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
Pale and clear. There are no visible scars.
8. Describe her hair: color, texture, style.
Straight, shoulder-length ash blonde hair that’s silk-fine. She occasionally curls it, usually marking the start of a period of dryness from alcohol.
9. What color are her eyes?
A distinct dark blue.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
11. What are her chief tension centers?
Most often, tension concentrates itself in her temples and in the centre of her forehead between her eyebrows.
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?
Quite dressy for officework. She favours pants or short skirts that are easy to move in. Nothing tight unless the fabric enables movement. Her colours are generally strong but not bright, and she usually has a pastel-strong-strong combination of colours. Everything she wears emphasises her rank, though it's the way she carries herself that settles her unattainability.
13. Do her clothes fit well? Does she seem comfortable in them?
She has her clothes tailored to fit, and she's had years of getting comfortable in them.
14. Does she dress the same on the job as she does in her free time? If not, what are the differences?
Säde does not understand this. Her job IS her free time.
Well, obviously she wears a nightgown to bed but that still manages to emphasise her importance.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Silk and lace. What else did you expect?
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Low for a woman, very smooth and polished.
2. How does she normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does she talk easily, or does she hesitate?
Evenly, a bit faster than the average talking speed. She talks easily, especially in fast-paced situations that require her attention across many areas, but when it comes to emotional situations, she tends to falter. This is especially apparent when her brothers are mentioned or her quality as Ace is called into question.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
She has deliberately cultivated the accent of a BBC newscaster in English. In her native Finnish, her accent is distinctly of the poorer sort, guttural and clipped. This is due to her childhood in a slum. With practice, she has managed to curb her accent into something more posh.
4. What language/s does she speak, and with how much fluency?
She speaks Finnish perfectly as a native, and has worked hard to attain a similar level of fluency in English. However, there are still a very few set of words or idioms that can trip her up.
5. Does she switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
When she's highly, highly stressed (and especially if anyone who might take offense or shouldn't hear it is absent), she rants and swears in Finnish. Furthermore, it is in the accent she grew up with and not the one she has polished up.
6. Is she a good impromptu speaker, or does she have to think about her words?
She speaks excellently without having to think too long.
7. Is she eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
Säde can be quite eloquent, though her speech isn't always very long. The more passionate she is about something, the longer she'll speak. Of course, where emotions are concerned, things tend to break down a tad.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is she book-smart or street-smart?
2. Does she think on her feet, or does she need time to deliberate?
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is she more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
4. What kind of education has the character had?
5. What are her areas of expertise? What, if anything, is she interested in learning more about?
6. Is she an introvert or an extrovert?
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is she even-tempered or does she have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
8. How does she respond to new people or situations? Is she suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
9. Is she more likely to act, or to react?
10. Which is her default: fight or flight?
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does she appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does she deal with them?
13. What moments in this character's life have defined her as a person?
14. What does she fear?
15. What are her hopes or aspirations?
16. What is something she doesn't want anyone to find out about her?
Relationships (Trigger warning for incest in this section)
1. Describe this character's relationship with her parents.
Extremely strained. Ex-treme-ly. They were more preoccupied with their own enjoyments than really dealing with supporting a family and Säde was therefore raised more by her brothers than her parents. Her father died when she was 22 and she didn't attend the funeral. Her mother is currently dying of liver cancer, and while Säde is splitting the hospital bills with her brother, she has not visited since the first time she found out her mother was dying. She does the basic filial duty of supporting her mother and nothing more.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
Two brothers, both older. When young, she was largely fed and protected by them more than her parents. Both of them left home when she was thirteen. She was very close to both of them in her childhood; however, this closeness crystallised into incestuous love on Säde's part for both of them.
Juuso (six years older) is deceased, dying in a challenge from Eight to Ten. Säde followed him to the Deck and never confessed her feelings towards him, but always kept a close relationship with him even while trying to deny her feelings. It was his death that changed her mind about hiding.
Mika (three years older) went to university when Säde was thirteen. As with Juuso, she had been very close to him, writing him letters during her time with Juuso in the Deck. When Juuso died and she brought his body home, she admitted her feelings to Mika. Mika, already unbalanced by his grief, briefly reciprocated her feelings before pushing her away. His combined agreeing and refusal is the reason why she returned to the Deck. They have reconciled somewhat, but they will never be as close as before. It is uncertain whether Säde still harbours any non-familial feelings for him.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom she is close? Are there ones she can't stand?
None; she has no extended family apart from smirkofspades, who is unaware that they are distant cousins.
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom she considers part of her family? What are her relationships with them?
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
6. Does she have other close friends?
7. Does she make friends easily, or does she have trouble getting along with people?
8. Which does she consider more important: family or friends?
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has she been married more than once?
She is a widow who's currently single. She still wears her wedding ring, not for purposes of residual love, but largely out of habit and to deter people from trying to pick her up.
10. Is she currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
She's in a sexual relationship with againstmyfate; however, she is not currently interested in romance.
11. Who was her first crush? Who is her latest?
Her brothers. Currently, she does not have any crushes, although there is the odd flirtation with threecardmonte, wherever the heck that's heading.
12. What does she look for in a romantic partner?
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does she relate to them? If no, does she want any?
She does not have any biological children. She has a step-son from her brief marriage, and a ward, allthesamemask, a runaway orphan whom she found on the streets.
14. Does she have any rivals or enemies?
acethatmatters. Yes. Where did it start? Probably around the time she became Ace, unless there's a reason the Ace of Spades might have found fault with a Ten of Diamonds before then.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does she fall on the Kinsey scale?
Roughly 1-2.
16. How does she feel about sex? How important is it to her?
17. What are her turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does she fit type?
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in her life?
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?
4. How does she regard beliefs that differ from hers? Is she tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
5. What prejudices does she hold? Are they irrational or does she have a good reason for them?
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is she rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
2. What is her social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected her?
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?
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does she spend her money on?
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?
6. What are her interests or hobbies? How does she spend her free time?
7. What are her eating habits? Does she skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is her favorite:
1. Color?
2. Smell?
3. Time of day?
4. Season?
5. Book?
6. Music?
7. Place?
8. Substance?
9. Plant?
10. Animal?
END
{{ Get the HTML here so you can do it yourself. }}
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is she heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
Tall (5'8.5"), athletic, built for speed and stealth more than strength.
2. How old is she?
33, born January 11 1979
3. Describe her posture. Does she carry herself well or does she slouch?
She's trained herself to stand like an aristocrat. Appearances are important to her.
4. How is her health? Is she fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
She's in the peak of health when considering how often she trains in various disciplines and with various weapons. However, she often turns to drinking as a method of stress relief and her liver is becoming increasingly strained. It probably doesn't help that her mother died of liver cancer, so there may be a genetic basis.
5. How does she move? Is she clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
She moves very gracefully, and can shift from relaxed to alert very quickly. When fighting, she's fluid, preferring to move out of the way than take a direct hit.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does she perceive herself in the mirror?
She's very attractive, in a cold, hard way. It's not the kind of beauty that makes you want to get to know her; she's quite like a statue that way. Or, y'know, a diamond. Which is just how she wants it.
7. Describe her complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
Pale and clear. There are no visible scars.
8. Describe her hair: color, texture, style.
Straight, shoulder-length ash blonde hair that’s silk-fine. She occasionally curls it, usually marking the start of a period of dryness from alcohol.
9. What color are her eyes?
A distinct dark blue.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
11. What are her chief tension centers?
Most often, tension concentrates itself in her temples and in the centre of her forehead between her eyebrows.
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?
Quite dressy for officework. She favours pants or short skirts that are easy to move in. Nothing tight unless the fabric enables movement. Her colours are generally strong but not bright, and she usually has a pastel-strong-strong combination of colours. Everything she wears emphasises her rank, though it's the way she carries herself that settles her unattainability.
13. Do her clothes fit well? Does she seem comfortable in them?
She has her clothes tailored to fit, and she's had years of getting comfortable in them.
14. Does she dress the same on the job as she does in her free time? If not, what are the differences?
Säde does not understand this. Her job IS her free time.
Well, obviously she wears a nightgown to bed but that still manages to emphasise her importance.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Silk and lace. What else did you expect?
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
Low for a woman, very smooth and polished.
2. How does she normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does she talk easily, or does she hesitate?
Evenly, a bit faster than the average talking speed. She talks easily, especially in fast-paced situations that require her attention across many areas, but when it comes to emotional situations, she tends to falter. This is especially apparent when her brothers are mentioned or her quality as Ace is called into question.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
She has deliberately cultivated the accent of a BBC newscaster in English. In her native Finnish, her accent is distinctly of the poorer sort, guttural and clipped. This is due to her childhood in a slum. With practice, she has managed to curb her accent into something more posh.
4. What language/s does she speak, and with how much fluency?
She speaks Finnish perfectly as a native, and has worked hard to attain a similar level of fluency in English. However, there are still a very few set of words or idioms that can trip her up.
5. Does she switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
When she's highly, highly stressed (and especially if anyone who might take offense or shouldn't hear it is absent), she rants and swears in Finnish. Furthermore, it is in the accent she grew up with and not the one she has polished up.
6. Is she a good impromptu speaker, or does she have to think about her words?
She speaks excellently without having to think too long.
7. Is she eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
Säde can be quite eloquent, though her speech isn't always very long. The more passionate she is about something, the longer she'll speak. Of course, where emotions are concerned, things tend to break down a tad.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is she book-smart or street-smart?
2. Does she think on her feet, or does she need time to deliberate?
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is she more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
4. What kind of education has the character had?
5. What are her areas of expertise? What, if anything, is she interested in learning more about?
6. Is she an introvert or an extrovert?
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is she even-tempered or does she have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
8. How does she respond to new people or situations? Is she suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
9. Is she more likely to act, or to react?
10. Which is her default: fight or flight?
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does she appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does she deal with them?
13. What moments in this character's life have defined her as a person?
14. What does she fear?
15. What are her hopes or aspirations?
16. What is something she doesn't want anyone to find out about her?
Relationships (Trigger warning for incest in this section)
1. Describe this character's relationship with her parents.
Extremely strained. Ex-treme-ly. They were more preoccupied with their own enjoyments than really dealing with supporting a family and Säde was therefore raised more by her brothers than her parents. Her father died when she was 22 and she didn't attend the funeral. Her mother is currently dying of liver cancer, and while Säde is splitting the hospital bills with her brother, she has not visited since the first time she found out her mother was dying. She does the basic filial duty of supporting her mother and nothing more.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
Two brothers, both older. When young, she was largely fed and protected by them more than her parents. Both of them left home when she was thirteen. She was very close to both of them in her childhood; however, this closeness crystallised into incestuous love on Säde's part for both of them.
Juuso (six years older) is deceased, dying in a challenge from Eight to Ten. Säde followed him to the Deck and never confessed her feelings towards him, but always kept a close relationship with him even while trying to deny her feelings. It was his death that changed her mind about hiding.
Mika (three years older) went to university when Säde was thirteen. As with Juuso, she had been very close to him, writing him letters during her time with Juuso in the Deck. When Juuso died and she brought his body home, she admitted her feelings to Mika. Mika, already unbalanced by his grief, briefly reciprocated her feelings before pushing her away. His combined agreeing and refusal is the reason why she returned to the Deck. They have reconciled somewhat, but they will never be as close as before. It is uncertain whether Säde still harbours any non-familial feelings for him.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom she is close? Are there ones she can't stand?
None; she has no extended family apart from smirkofspades, who is unaware that they are distant cousins.
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom she considers part of her family? What are her relationships with them?
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
6. Does she have other close friends?
7. Does she make friends easily, or does she have trouble getting along with people?
8. Which does she consider more important: family or friends?
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has she been married more than once?
She is a widow who's currently single. She still wears her wedding ring, not for purposes of residual love, but largely out of habit and to deter people from trying to pick her up.
10. Is she currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
She's in a sexual relationship with againstmyfate; however, she is not currently interested in romance.
11. Who was her first crush? Who is her latest?
Her brothers. Currently, she does not have any crushes, although there is the odd flirtation with threecardmonte, wherever the heck that's heading.
12. What does she look for in a romantic partner?
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does she relate to them? If no, does she want any?
She does not have any biological children. She has a step-son from her brief marriage, and a ward, allthesamemask, a runaway orphan whom she found on the streets.
14. Does she have any rivals or enemies?
acethatmatters. Yes. Where did it start? Probably around the time she became Ace, unless there's a reason the Ace of Spades might have found fault with a Ten of Diamonds before then.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does she fall on the Kinsey scale?
Roughly 1-2.
16. How does she feel about sex? How important is it to her?
17. What are her turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does she fit type?
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in her life?
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?
4. How does she regard beliefs that differ from hers? Is she tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
5. What prejudices does she hold? Are they irrational or does she have a good reason for them?
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is she rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
2. What is her social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected her?
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?
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does she spend her money on?
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?
6. What are her interests or hobbies? How does she spend her free time?
7. What are her eating habits? Does she skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is her favorite:
1. Color?
2. Smell?
3. Time of day?
4. Season?
5. Book?
6. Music?
7. Place?
8. Substance?
9. Plant?
10. Animal?
END
{{ Get the HTML here so you can do it yourself. }}