OOC: character info dump, memes, permissions, etc
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is she heavyset, thin, short, rangy? She's 5'7", and about 130lbs. She's relatively fit, and petite.
2. How old is she? 24.
3. Describe her posture. Does she carry herself well or does she slouch? Confident is the best way to describe how she carries herself.
4. How is her health? Is she fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities? She's plenty healthy enough to pass her Starfleet physical. No notable diseases or disabilities. She's not much of a fighter, and physically she's not very imposing, but her overall health is stellar.
5. How does she move? Is she clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid? She has a lot of natural grace, augmented by some dance training. In formal situations, she will move stiffly, her back ramrod-straight. But in more casual settings she moves a lot more fluidly.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does she perceive herself in the mirror? Uhura is very aware that she's pretty attractive by most human standards. It's a gift and a curse (I'll chat more about it below), because it annoys her, but she also sees it as a tool and sometimes uses it as such.
7. Describe her complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred? Girl's skin is flawless. I'm jealous.
8. Describe her hair: color, texture, style. Dark, straight, silky.
9. What color are her eyes? Brown, brown, brown.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features? Not really.
11. What are her chief tension centers? Her jaw and along her shoulders.
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? Pretty colorful. We almost never see her out of uniform in the movie, and at Luceti she'll basically always be in uniform as well, but she does favor warm colors (reds, yellows, that kind of thing) and she likes skirts and boots.
13. Do her clothes fit well? Does she seem comfortable in them? Very comfortable. Uhura generally projects an air of "I'm comfortable in what I'm wearing, my own skin..."
14. Does she dress the same on the job as she does in her free time? If not, what are the differences? Eh, similarly. I mean, her Starfleet uniform is a uniform, obvs. And that's what most people will see her in (though what she wears in winter involves pants rather than a miniskirt. BRR!)
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando? Well, we actually know what kind of underwear Uhura goes for - simple and white. Not granny, but not all that exciting either.
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse? ...Well-modulated? She takes great care in how she speaks.
2. How does she normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does she talk easily, or does she hesitate? Uhura is a talker by nature. It's by far the most intuitive way for her to communicate. As such, she speaks easily and eloquently. When she's agitated or upset, her speech speeds up to a fast clip.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics? She quite emphatically has no discernible accent. She has trained herself out of any accent she may have had. Her Standard ("Standard" is what English is called in the 23rd century, as it is the official language of Earth and the Federation) is flawless.
4. What language/s does she speak, and with how much fluency? A bunch. She is proficient in 83% of Federation-recognized languages and dialects (which means she has a working knowledge of them, not necessarily that she's fluent). She's fluent in quite a few - most major Earth languages (Swahili and Standard were spoken interchangeably in her house as a child, as well as some French, her father being a diplomat) and she's fluent in a few of the other main Federation languages, including Andorian and (of course) Vulcan.
5. Does she switch languages or dialects in certain situations? Yes. As I said above, she grew up in a multilingual household and so it's second nature to her to switch back and forth between languages. She'll speak Standard to anyone she meets in Luceti, but if upset, surprised or agitated she may exclaim in some other language - Swahili being the most common, but she has a few choice swear words in just about every language she speaks.
6. Is she a good impromptu speaker, or does she have to think about her words? Both. She's really good at adapting her speech patterns quickly to meet changing situations, and she's also exceptionally good at rehearsed speaking.
7. Is she eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change? Very eloquent, almost always. There aren't many situations in which her ability to speak clearly and concisely would break down. It'd have to be a really, really crazy situation, and only one or two people would ever witness such a thing.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is she book-smart or street-smart? Uhura is crazy-smart. She has the equivalent of a post-graduate degree in xenolinguistics and she also has a lot of street-smarts - she's clever and quick-witted and good at talking herself into and out of a lot of different situations.
2. Does she think on her feet, or does she need time to deliberate? Thinking on her feet always works best.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is she more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical? She leans more towards logical, but she's also self-aware enough to know that sometimes she needs to just go with her gut. She's very idealistic, without being naive. She really believes in everything the Federation, and Starfleet, stands for.
4. What kind of education has the character had? She has the equivalent of a post-graduate degree.
5. What are her areas of expertise? What, if anything, is she interested in learning more about? ...language. Words. Music. Literature. But she has a solid general knowledge of most basic subjects - she can follow pretty advanced discussions of math, physics, history, that sort of thing. If necessary, she has the training to helm the Enterprise if no one else is available.
6. Is she an introvert or an extrovert? It's a common misconception that extroverts are outgoing and introverts are shy. That's not always necessarily the case. The difference between an extrovert and an introvert is simply that the extrovert gains energy by socializing and being around people, whereas the introvert expends energy in socializing. Uhura is actually an introvert - she has no problem with socializing, and in fact likes it, but she requires a certain amount of "alone time" to keep her energy levels up.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is she even-tempered or does she have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven? Even-tempered, but passionate. Patient, but driven. A complete perfectionist.
8. How does she respond to new people or situations? Is she suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic? She's... cautious. And diplomatic by nature.
9. Is she more likely to act, or to react? I think she leans more towards reacting - she prefers to assess a situation before formulating any kind of plan.
10. Which is her default: fight or flight? Definitely flight. Girl can talk her way out of any number of crazy situations, but if it came right down to it, she's a runner, not a fighter. Without her boys (Kirk and/or Spock) to back her up, she'd be in trouble if someone decided to hurt her. Running away is not always a bad thing.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does she appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks? Sarcastic and wry. Clever. Bathroom humor is a no, and she finds gallows humor kind of tasteless. But she gives her friends (okay mostly Kirk) a LOT of crap.
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does she deal with them? Nope. She'd pass any psych eval with flying colors.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined her as a person? Lots of things. Deciding to join Starfleet (she decided at about age five). Her grandmother's death when she was eight. Meeting Kirk. Meeting Spock.
14. What does she fear? That she will fail to live up to the expectations she has set for herself, mostly. She's a massive perfectionist and her own toughest critic. And she may fear a painful death in some godforsaken corner of space.
15. What are her hopes or aspirations? Uhura doesn't have hopes, she has goals. She plans to stay in Starfleet for the foreseeable future, with a long-term goal of getting into either Intelligence work or the diplomatic corps.
16. What is something she doesn't want anyone to find out about her? She doesn't really have anything that's particularly secret, but she is a rather private person. It's sort of a control thing - she wants to control the amount of information people have about her. Like the fact that she still hasn't told Kirk her first name (she knows he heard Spock say it, but it's still not his business, in her opinion).
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with her parents. Good, overall. She was a bit of a monster as a child, and they were somewhat hesitant about her whole Starfleet plan (space is dangerous, etc) but they have a solid, healthy relationship.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like? No siblings. She's a spoiled brat only child.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom she is close? Are there ones she can't stand? She was very close to her grandmother (her father's mother) as a child, but she died when Uhura was eight, and other than her parents, she's not really particularly close to any of her other relatives.
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom she considers part of her family? What are her relationships with them? Yes. Her crew. Nuff said.
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet? Spock. They met at the Academy. Nuff said.
6. Does she have other close friends? A couple. Uhura is the kind of person who has a large circle of social acquaintances but only has a couple of really close friends. Right now, at Luceti, Spock is it, followed by probably Buffy and Kirk. At the Academy she was pretty close with Gaila, and one or two others that were classmates. Most were killed in the Battle of Vulcan.
7. Does she make friends easily, or does she have trouble getting along with people? She has no problem socializing, but she doesn't open up easily.
8. Which does she consider more important: family or friends? Those she really considers friends are basically the same as family to Uhura.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has she been married more than once? Uhura has never been married, but does not consider herself single.
10. Is she currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse? Uh, yes.
11. Who was her first crush? Who is her latest? Some kid in grade school, no doubt. And she wouldn't describe the way she feels about Spock as a "crush" by any stretch of the imagination.
12. What does she look for in a romantic partner? Pointy ears and - wait Trust. Common interests. Intellectual compatibility. Respect.
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does she relate to them? If no, does she want any? No kids, and right now not planning for any. But she wouldn't totally rule out the possibility for the future.
14. Does she have any rivals or enemies? None that really stand out, but she does have a competitive streak when it comes to her field of study, and she's really, really stubborn, so if she doesn't like you right away, it'll probably take quite a bit of work to change her mind.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does she fall on the Kinsey scale? For all intents and purposes, she's straight, I suppose, but by the 23rd century sexuality is considered much more fluid than even the Kinsey scale - after all, aliens don't always subscribe to any kind of gender binary, either. What would you even call someone who's dating a non-human?
16. How does she feel about sex? How important is it to her? She doesn't ascribe a lot of importance to it, but she also doesn't treat it as a recreational activity. Uhura has done the casual sex thing, and didn't really like it much. Sex for her is best when there's a firm foundation of trust, respect and a deep emotional bond. Ideally it's a physical demonstration of an emotional connection, for mutual enjoyment.
17. What are her turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits? Pointy ears, sculpted eyebrows, and bowl-cuts? Trust. Respect. Intelligence. Thoughtfulness. All turn-ons. Turn-offs include... basically being a macho meathead kind of guy.
As for weird bedroom habits, that's none of your business. :P
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does she fit type? TBA - still working on birth date.
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in her life? Uhura subscribes to a purely scientific view of the universe. I don't know that I would call her an atheist, necessarily, since that implies a sort of active renunciation of any possibility of a higher power, and that's not really the case here. It's more that the whole religion thing has no relevance to her life, so she doesn't bother thinking about it. Everything she's ever encountered can be explained scientifically. She's sure the same can be said for things that she's run into in Luceti, like magic.
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? Yes, a very strong one. It was instilled in her by her parents, I would imagine. She has a firm sense of right and wrong, and believes wholeheartedly in the ideals of the Federation, and of Starfleet. She's aware that the Federation will often fall short of those ideals, but it's important (in her mind) to keep striving for them no matter what. Frankly I'm not sure anything could change that or lead her to compromise her own moral code.
4. How does she regard beliefs that differ from hers? Is she tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent? She's very tolerant. You kind of have to be, to be in Starfleet. And she's always been curious about other cultures and how they see the universe. That's part of the reason why she joined Starfleet.
5. What prejudices does she hold? Are they irrational or does she have a good reason for them? She tends to be condescending to anyone who gives off an air of incompetence - she really has no patience for someone who acts like a doofus. She has a good sense of humor, but she doesn't find the dumb act funny, charming, or endearing in any way.
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is she rich, poor, comfortable, in debt? Ehhh, finances have little relevance in the 23rd century. Currency has been replaced with a barter system ("credits") and poverty pretty much doesn't exist on Earth anymore. "Free market capitalism" is basically gone, replaced by a meritocracy. That having been said, Uhura has never wanted for any material possessions.
2. What is her social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected her? Pretty high. Being a Starfleet officer has a fair amount of clout, no matter what. And even within Starfleet she's pretty high up - she's only a Lieutenant, but she's on a bridge crew at 24, and not just any bridge crew - she's on Enterprise, the flagship.
But she's used to having a relatively high social standing - her mother is a popular musician and her father is a pretty high-ranking diplomat, so she's been brushing elbows with important people basically all her life.
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? Her quarters on the Enterprise are pretty nice - she's bridge crew, after all, so she's got her own little suite of rooms. She decorated them to reflect her personality and so that she will feel comfortable there for the next five years.
At Luceti, her room is much more spartan. She's definitely hoping she won't be there for five years.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does she spend her money on? Again, not really relevant, but stuff that she likes acquiring include earrings, boots and art.
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? ... Starfleet. Communications officer. She loves her job, she's very, very good at it, and she's been working towards this career for practically her whole life.
6. What are her interests or hobbies? How does she spend her free time? A little of everything. Her career is also her hobby, so she does geeky things like study languages for fun, but she also likes to do things like go out clubbing and such.
7. What are her eating habits? Does she skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods? She's more or less a vegetarian - she's just never liked meat all that much, with only a couple of exceptions for cultural "comfort food". So she doesn't seek meat out. Otherwise, her eating habits are pretty normal for a 20-something human woman of the 23rd century.
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is her favorite:
1. Color? Red.
2. Smell? Cardamom.
3. Time of day? Dusk.
4. Season? Summer.
5. Book? The poetry of Emily Dickinson.
6. Music? ...pretty much anything with a good enough beat to dance to, and/or a good melody to sing.
7. Place? Her station on the bridge of the Enterprise. It is entirely her domain.
8. Substance? ????????
9. Plant? Unsure. Something exotic, a desert flower of some kind.
10. Animal? A zebra.
END
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(Snagged from lucetijay)
Threadhopping with this character?: Sure, though communication is key - let me know to work out posting order, etc.
Backtagging with this character?: If it's more than a week old, it's best to contact me to discuss whether to continue the thread or handwave it.
Hugging this character?: Well, she won't punch you in the face, generally speaking, unless she feels like she's being harrassed intentionally, but it might not always be the best idea.
Giving this character a kiss?: ...No.
(Something more intimate?): ...No.
(Relationships?): She's in one already, though it's not common knowledge. If your character wants to try for it, they sure can (she's used to getting hit on fairly frequently), but she won't be interested, and she'll shoot you down bluntly, if need be.
Punching this character (provided they can fight back): If it gets to that point, sure.
(Injury?): Yes, but let's talk about it - send me an IM or something.
(Death?): Not for the foreseeable future.
Is there anything you do not want mentioned near this character?: Not particularly that I can think of. She's already been fourth-walled for TOS, at least, and she knows that there's an alternate timeline (dur). Anything else, just ask me.
Is there anything you need us to know about interacting with this character? She has a good poker face? That's about all I can think of right now. She's good at talking without actually giving much away. Someone has to be *incredibly* good at reading people (or telepathic) to get a read on her.
Anything else, please mention here: Nothing that I can think of at this time.
Random tidbits/head canon/etc.
♥ Her "default" speech pattern is pretty average; she's clearly an intelligent woman but her syntax isn't overly elevated. However, she has an incredibly good ear for mimicry and she can change her speech patterns at the drop of a hat - if she's trying to make friends with someone, she may "drop down" or "move up" to their level, and she can also elevate her syntax and word choice to epic levels for purposes of intimidation if necessary. It all depends on the situation.
♥ She does not wear her emotions on her sleeve, generally speaking. She uses sarcasm liberally, both to make jokes and as a defense mechanism to deflect attention away from more personal things. Along these same lines, she is difficult to troll - not much will outwardly upset/discomfit her. Part of that is because it really does take a lot to surprise her or throw her off her game, and when something does manage to do it, she's good at concealing it. You can try to probe into more personal aspects of her life but she is unlikely to be forthcoming unless she feels like she can trust you.
♥ The only people who know about her relationship with Spock in Luceti are their housemates. This may change in the future, and it's possible someone with telepathic abilities may be able to figure it out, but they do not go around parading their relationship. In public, the vast majority of people who see them interacting will probably get the impression that they are friendly acquaintances (in Spock's culture, even something like holding hands is considered intimate enough to be reserved for alone time). On a similar note, most conversations she has with Spock are in languages other than Standard, both to conceal any semi-personal subject matter from potential eavesdroppers, and because they are both giant geeks who like to help each other improve - so conversations in Vulcan and Swahili are very common for them. (It will be indicated that they are speaking another language when this happens in threads.)
♥ It is not, technically, a violation of Starfleet regs for commissioned officers to have personal or romantic relationships with each other. Such a rule would be nearly impossible to enforce, for one thing, considering the amount of time most officers spend confined together on starships. So basically, Starfleet Command leaves it up to the discretion of individual captains whether such relationships are kosher or to report "unprofessional behavior", which is essentially code for "emotional issues are getting in the way of the performance of duty" - something that no one could ever accuse Spock and Uhura of doing with a straight face.
♥ It is, however, a direct violation of the ethical code for instructors at the Academy to fraternize with cadets. Spock and Uhura were and are very aware of this, and while they may have violated the spirit of the law, in becoming emotionally involved, they never violated the law in fact. Nothing they actually did while Uhura was a cadet would be punishable under the current code of conduct.
Any questions or concerns, feel free to leave a comment, email, PM or IM me, as always.