backdated survey, la la la.
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is she heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
Pela is very tall, a shade under six feet, and on the slim side - she's not really skinny, and definitely, uh, feminine looking, but she has that long-legged colty appearance that you'll find in, say, lingerie models who don't starve themselves.
2. How old is she?
Changeling/Kith ages are confusing; chronologically, she's probably around 19 or 20, emotionally and physically she's more in her mid-20s.
3. Describe her posture. Does she carry herself well or does she slouch?
Her posture is very good, in an accidental kind of way.
4. How is her health? Is she fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
Pela's health is very good, with the caveat that she must spend at least an hour a day submerged in water.
5. How does she move? Is she clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
Superhumanly graceful, in fact. It's...White Wolf canon, haha, that Mer are very sensual, and you can definitely watch her hips move when she walks.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does she perceive herself in the mirror?
Superhumanly beautiful, again. Sidhe are described as being sort of this reserved, porcelain beauty, but the Mer are the kind you want to put your hands on, so to speak. (This is...again, book description, and not really relating to Pela personally.) She sees herself as being like any other Mer - lovely, but they're all like that, so it only means anything around people who aren't used to it.
7. Describe her complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
Pela has smooth, pale brown skin. When she's got her tail and is in the water, it has an iridescent sheen.
8. Describe her hair: color, texture, style.
Pela's hair is epic. It's blue-green, long, thick, soft, and somewhat curly- wild-looking, basically. It's also quite a sight in the water.
9. What color are her eyes?
Gold-brown, somewhat yellow-tinted in the right light.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
Well...when she's in the water, she has a fish tail, owing to being a mermaid. Her tail is in shades of bright blue, green, and red, with some black accents.
11. What are her chief tension centers?
When she's swimming, her shoulders, probably. When she's standing, her hands.
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?
Pela does not wear clothes, if she can get away with it, but if she must she likes breezy, expensive, beautiful things; white and bright colors, silk, metallic accents, and elegant, understated jewelry, or slightly formal, dressy things that are very form-fitting but... probably still expensive, with bolder pieces of jewelry, if any.
13. Do her clothes fit well? Does she seem comfortable in them?
Yes, and... generally, now that she's getting used to them. Still, she would just rather be naked.
14. Does she dress the same on the job as she does in her free time? If not, what are the differences?
No "job", precisely, but in the water, she doesn't wear anything.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Boy-cuts. She actually doesn't mind parading around in just underwear, which she finds more comfortable than bras or trousers, so if she must make some small concession to modesty that's what she'll wear.
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
It's kind of a lower contralto, with a silvery, musical note- it's pretty, but can have the occasional inhuman note when she's swimming. When she isn't, again, it's much easier for her to impersonate a more 'normal,' if fairly genetically blessed, woman.
2. How does she normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does she talk easily, or does she hesitate?
It depends on how she feels, because she's so emotive and expressive- it's much faster when she's angry, though.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
The closest thing I can come up with to her accent would maybe be a Jamaican patois, but even then that's not quite right- she doesn't sound like anyone else on Earth. She doesn't use a lot of human colloquialisms yet, but she's learning them gradually.
4. What language/s does she speak, and with how much fluency?
WW canon is that mermaids pick up languages simply by hearing them spoken for a couple of days. Pela learned English after interacting with humans three times, on the third for a much longer duration. She also knows some Spanish and will learn whatever else is spoken around her with frequency. She cannot read or write much yet, because that is marginally slower going, but she's trying.
5. Does she switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
Sometimes she calls James Bond names in Mer.
6. Is she a good impromptu speaker, or does she have to think about her words?
She's reasonably good, yes.
7. Is she eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
Articulate, now that she's mastered the language. She can play it up or play it down depending on the circumstances.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is she book-smart or street-smart?
Um...Pela is extremely intelligent; she was one of the best sorceresses in her city, but because her world is completely alien to ours I'm not sure you can necessarily call her either. She's book-smart in her world, and street-smart there too, but she is still learning, say, human street-smarts and human customs. She does, however, have a pretty high EQ.
2. Does she think on her feet, or does she need time to deliberate?
The former, absolutely.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is she more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Kind of a combination. She's very passionate, though, and her headstrong nature can override what she knows is practical sometimes.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
Mer...education. She's learning about how to function among humans and land-walkers.
5. What are her areas of expertise? What, if anything, is she interested in learning more about?
A fuckload of storm and weather magic, close-combat melee, Glamour, commanding sea creatures, uh... she wants to learn more about Pentex and the Technocracy and Project: Deepwater. You know, so she can kill them.
6. Is she an introvert or an extrovert?
I would say more extroverted, but she's not always cranked up to 11 or anything.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is she even-tempered or does she have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
She has some mood swings, but they're generally triggered by something; I would not describe her as cheerful or melancholy but she's usually up; she is one of the most driven people you will ever meet.
8. How does she respond to new people or situations? Is she suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
Curious, somewhat haughty, a mix of skeptical and genuinely interested.
9. Is she more likely to act, or to react?
Act.
10. Which is her default: fight or flight?
Uh, fight. Fight allll the way. Pela does not approve of running.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does she appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
Teasing, sly, sometimes subtle; pranks and immature humor are not her thing remotely, and if you aren't as funny as you think you are she's either going to ignore you or completely lose her patience and gut you like a fish, unfortunately. She doesn't tend to make fun of enemies unless it's a tactic- humor is something she reserves for people she's talking to nicely, and therefore if they try to use it disrespectfully with her she demonstrates to them why their behavior isn't acceptable. ...Pela is kind of intense, FYI!
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does she deal with them?
Nope.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined her as a person?
Her parents' Drowning, probably. This happens a lot, so while it was traumatic, it's not... unheard of, and she did kind of know it was a possibility at some point. Earning her accolades as a sorceress, absolutely. And being outcast from her kith for saving a human.
14. What does she fear?
Never going home again. Losing her entire race. Project: Deepwater winning.
She isn't afraid of death, but fortunately we have kicked the martyring impulse for now. >_o
15. What are her hopes or aspirations?
She wants to save the Mer! She wants to stop Deepwater, she wants to be assured they aren't going to be genocided by people who have no interest in understanding them.
16. What is something she doesn't want anyone to find out about her?
Why she was outcast, I guess. That she's considered using the Dreaming.
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with her parents.
Um... it wasn't hugely close, but she loved them and wanted a relationship like theirs one day. They were very much equals, very much people who understood each other and stuck with one another despite not always getting along.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
Uh, tons. Like 30-40. She doesn't know most of them very well but is fond of all of them all the same; Pela tends to regard most Mer in her House as family.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom she is close? Are there ones she can't stand?
None she's very close to, she has many aunts and uncles.
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom she considers part of her family? What are her relationships with them?
Nope.
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
Um... back home she had a tight-knit circle of friends, some in Melusine, but I don't think she had a precise "best" friend.
6. Does she have other close friends?
See above!
7. Does she make friends easily, or does she have trouble getting along with people?
HAhaha well. She had friends at home, notably in the Nexus the people who spend the most time around her are people who are also interested in fucking her or are so confident they don't mind/can ignore her attitude problem; she likes these people best, as a rule. Her attitude can be off-putting, because on a good day she's a little stuck-up, and on a bad day Pela is a stone-cold bitch. (She would tell you that all the best women sometimes are.)
8. Which does she consider more important: family or friends?
Family.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has she been married more than once?
Single; never married.
10. Is she currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
Not "romantic"; lovers, that's another story. Pela and James are sleeping together, rather a lot, rather enthusiastically, but James will actively do things to keep them from getting emotionally close because he's noticed that sometimes they ...start to! And considering all the people he's lost, it's reasonable that he'd want to keep this somewhat clinical in terms of emotional things so that he can walk away at the end of this. Pela, likewise, doesn't want to get attached to someone whom she's not even certain likes her much as a person all the time, though she does think he has some respect for her (which is what she needs).
Whether they actually manage the clean break they're hoping for...kind of remains to be seen. :3 Either way it's not, by any stretch of the imagination, anything remotely resembling dating.
Also, she had sex with Gates, but I think that was just a one-time thing? (WHO KNOWS.)
11. Who was her first crush? Who is her latest?
I don't think she has crushes.
12. What does she look for in a romantic partner?
Strength; a code of honor, however skewed; intelligence; broad-mindedness; someone who is not weak and will stand up to her and will fight their own battles. She wants someone she can trust, an equal, and since she comes from a matriarchal society she patently refuses to be arm candy, an accessory, or with someone who will try to intimidate her, which will not work. That's a partner, mind you, when it comes to lovers she's substantially less choosy about personality traits. She has said in RP that she prefers men who are warriors.
It's worth noting that although Mer practice polyamory, of a sort, they're wholly capable of not doing that, since they have married in other Kith and used to take humans to live with them -- it strikes them as weird, but if pressed Pela could stick with one partner or simply confine her outside-relationship encounters to specific individuals/only women/only men/only on Tuesdays or whatever. She would just kind of go "fffff fine" and probably some of the other mermaids would be like LOL WHAT.
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does she relate to them? If no, does she want any?
Nope!
14. Does she have any rivals or enemies?
She has a rival at home who hates her; they've been up for similar sorcery positions before.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does she fall on the Kinsey scale?
While I'd put her at straight-up bisexual, she feels the Mer obligation to settle down with a man, if and when she does. (Bear in mind that Mer still fuck other people while married, they just don't have kids with them. Sex is play to them.)
16. How does she feel about sex? How important is it to her?
Pela, like all her kind, treats sex as play, and Mer love to play. It's fun for her, a good way to get to know people, and she has a great sense of adventurousness about it. She's not remotely shy about it, either, and sees no reason to either play hard to get or pursue someone especially hard if they're reluctant. She does, however, recognize a) her sex drive is a lot higher than the average human's, and it's unfair to use her Mer charisma to seduce humans, so she usually doesn't do anything supernatural to them, just flirts if she wants their attention and b) there is a cultural thing among humans, especially men, where if you fuck a woman you have, in a sense, conquered her or have something on her.
She just thinks that's hilarious, though.
17. What are her turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
She is reasonably rough, either way; she likes to be pushed back at, pinned, have her hair pulled, and exhibitionism, at least to a degree. Her legs and thighs are ...new, and she's not wholly acquainted with all the erogenous zones, say, on the inside of her thighs, so that's startling and entertaining to play around with, probably. Like all Mer, she won't kiss on the mouth, because that is considered something you only do with your husband/wife, but there are a lot of ways around that. Otherwise she's, uh, pretty adventurous. She told James they should pick up another girl to entertain themselves with! He said no. :( ... mostly because already having one woman in his apartment was enough, ngl, it may be another story at the hotel.
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does she fit type?
LEO. Leo, Leo, Leo. Let's see here, the key phrase is "I will," the good traits are "passionate, kingly, powerful", the negatives are "arrogant, bossy, snobbish". Probably a Dragon for Chinese zodiac - "fiery, imperious, generous".
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in her life?
She worships Vatea, and it is reasonably important to her, but also extremely private and consequently she sees no reason to talk about it publicly. All of WoD canon features the moon, to some extent, and all Garou, all Changelings - pooka, sluagh, sidhe, selkie, mermaids, what have you - vampires, witches, what have you, are subject to her gaze; the WW moon pretty much is Lilith, reflecting these sides of nature that are both bad and dark and very frightening and the ones that are more peaceful and loving and wise. It's worth noting that this dangerous moon goddess/Lilith thing appears in almost every book, and Lyla, being Lilith's daughter, basically IS the moon, as is Lilith, so while I'm not sure WW did that on purpose because this began way before they had coherent mythology created, it ties in nicely with their Gehenna stuff.
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; it's somewhat cultural, but also innate. Pelagia will kill people, if she thinks it's necessary, but she doesn't like needless suffering, and she saved humans once at the risk of herself and later her entire motley. I'm not sure anything could get her to comprise the core elements of her code of ethics, but some of the more negotiable and less obvious things are, again, dependent on circumstances.
4. How does she regard beliefs that differ from hers? Is she tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
Initially she was rather intolerant, and she can still be somewhat snobbish about it, but she's learning to ask questions and let things slide even if she thinks it's dumb.
5. What prejudices does she hold? Are they irrational or does she have a good reason for them?
Holy god uh. Pela is prejudiced a little bit against almost everyone who isn't Mer. :( SHE IS LEARNING; individual humans/landwalkers may impress her, but she regards them as exceptional and better than the rest of their race. In fairness, humans/land-walkers and Mer have an ugly history wherein landwalkers were basically awful to mermaids, whom they saw as...sex toys, and God knows the unseelie court has tried to fuck up the Mermaids before, but also the Mer are just kind of fucking arrogant.
Because I've been discussing this with people a lot lately, I actually think it's comparable to Japanese nationalism- there is this sense of like... being so closed off for so long you get all "of COURSE we're the best," and when outsiders come in, you get very defensive and weird. Pela is actually open-minded for a Mer, and I don't think that she'll always be quite this zealous about it, but she is, to a degree, experiencing some culture shock.
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is she rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
Haha WELL she doesn't have any money of her own, but she has a bunch of jewelry she kifed from the ocean floor that she could hock for a hell of a lot. That's always easy for her to do.
2. What is her social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected her?
She is a royal and technically a princess (note: there are like, well over 35 of these in Syrinx alone, it doesn't mean a hell of a lot to them anymore), but in the sense of the Nexus and in the sense of the land-world, she is not anyone important except for being a mermaid. That is at least notable.
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?
Presently she's staying in a hotel in Cancun with James Bond. Most women would kill to be in her position.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does she spend her money on?
N...othing, people get her stuff for her, actually. (This is why she is trying to be nicer.)
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: she is a sorceress, yes, and she loves it.
In the nexus: she is technically a political ambassador trying to save her people, she is trying very hard not to suck at it, and obviously she would prefer that it weren't necessary, but as it is, while she doesn't enjoy the task itself, she's trying to embrace the perks.
6. What are her interests or hobbies? How does she spend her free time?
Learning! Everything! She likes most kinds of music, though hard rock and rap and country are totally mystifying to her as of yet, teaching herself to dance (she has accomplished this by watching TV while James is out back when she was staying at his apartment), learning languages, learning to read/write, trolling, being a saucy nuisance and a sexy omen.
7. What are her eating habits? Does she skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
Pela loves food, but artificial things or things made with preservatives are not her bag. She doesn't drink alcohol in part because I'm not sure the world actually needs a woman who can summon storms and electrocute people to get drunk.
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is her favorite:
1. Color? Gold!
2. Smell? Saltwater.
3. Time of day? Either sunrise or sunset.
4. Season? Late spring.
5. Book? N/A, yet.
6. Music? Thus far she likes classical best.
7. Place? Home. :( Her city is beautiful and sparkly and shaped like a starfish.
8. Substance? ...pearls. /terrible inside joke, sry
9. Plant? IDK, maybe water lilies?
10. Animal? Sea snakes.
END
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