giant survey of doom
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is she heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
She's fairly tall, about 5'6" or 5'7", thin. She's got no boobs or hips to really speak of, despite the way she's drawn sometimes. I tend to go with Bernard Chang's way of drawing her for her body type more than anything else. She's fairly muscular in that she looks like she works out to keep in shape, but other than that, she's just pretty much flat and slim.
2. How old is she?
Technically, she's somewhere in her mid- to late forties. She's ten to twelve years older than Superman, so she's that many years older than he is. Due to suspended animation, however, she's physically and mentally still in her late-teens. I typically put her at eighteen or nineteen even DC had her celebrate her eighteenth birthday and then turned around a few months later and are now saying she's seventeen. If you throw in the time she's spent with the Legion (both versions of them) she's probably closer to nineteen/and-a-half than she is eighteen.
3. Describe her posture. Does she carry herself well or does she slouch?
She stands and sits straight and has really good posture. When she's annoyed, she'll slouch a little and cross her arms over her chest. She also stands with her hands on her hips a lot.
4. How is her health? Is she fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
FANTASTIC. Thank you Kryptonian invulnerability.
5. How does she move? Is she clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
She's incredibly fluid in her movements. That's part of the reason why she has trouble with the secret identity thing. She's gotten so used to moving through the sky and navigating her way around fights that trying to move like a normal person is really, really difficult.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does she perceive herself in the mirror?
Pretty attractive! She's canonically had a guy throw himself off a skyscraper so she'd catch him and he could ask for her number. She doesn't really think about it, though. In fact, she prefers to not mess with her appearance and only does things with her hair to make it different for her secret identity. She doesn't wear any make-up ever, either. She doesn't see the point, really.
7. Describe her complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
It depends on who's coloring her! She's fairly tanned most of the time with a clear complexion. No scars, no teenage acne... just clear skin.
8. Describe her hair: color, texture, style.
She's got golden blonde hair, fairly thick, cut in a bob that ends at her chin.
9. What color are her eyes?
Blue. IIRC, Kryptonians all canonically have eyes that are bluer than any human eyes, too. Or I could be remembering things wrong. But they're a really bright blue.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
She has a tattoo on her back, right under her neck. It's Kryptonian for "hope."
11. What are her chief tension centers?
Neck and shoulders. Since she slouches in her shoulders when she's annoyed or emotional, that's where everything clenches when she's tense.
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?
Again, this depends on who's drawing her. It's pretty classy casual most of the time, though she's got some argyle and stuff in there that she pulls out when she wants to go overboard with the secret identity stuff. When she's around the house, she lounges in shorts or pajama pants and tanks/tees.
13. Do her clothes fit well? Does she seem comfortable in them?
They fit her well unless she purposely bought them to be too big. And she's comfortable in pretty much anything. If she knows a person well, she'd be fairly comfortable being naked around them, in all honesty. (She was around Peej, at least.)
14. Does she dress the same on the job as she does in her free time? If not, what are the differences?
... Yeah, no.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Bikini. With embarrassing prints. Like penguins or kittens or something. Secretly, she has Superbras and panties.
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
She's a soprano! Her voice is fairly mature, with a little bit of girlishness still left in it. When she gets angry, her voice deepens just a little. She can also do that thing Clark's done on occasion where she can mimic anyone's voice almost perfectly.
2. How does she normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does she talk easily, or does she hesitate?
Medium paced and evenly. It's fairly easy for her to talk, but sometimes she still gets tripped up on certain idioms or colloquialisms.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
She's got a pretty standard American accent. She says "I mean," and "I dunno," and "You know?" a lot. When she talks about Krypton, sometimes her voice takes on a slight accent, but other than that, there's not anything special about her voice.
4. What language/s does she speak, and with how much fluency?
She's fluent in Kryptonian, Interlac, English and... most of the other languages on Earth. I remember reading somewhere that it was every language on Earth, but that's stretching it a bit, so I typically say she doesn't speak pidgin languages, it fluent in a number of widely used languages and can bullshit her way through the rest. Headcanon says she speaks Klingon, too.
5. Does she switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
If she needs to, she will. She cusses in Kryptonian more than she does in English.
6. Is she a good impromptu speaker, or does she have to think about her words?
She's fairly good at speaking, but when it comes to serious issues and emotions, she has to hesitate and think over what she says because she is very, very, very cautious about talking about her emotions and issues.
7. Is she eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
She can be really eloquent when she wants to be, but she just talks like a normal teenager. When she's talking with certain people, she'll let the big words and smart person speak come out, but she tries not to talk like anything but a normal teenager.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is she book-smart or street-smart?
Really, really intelligent. She's more book-smart than street-smart, though. She knows enough street-smarts to be able to survive and thrive in the cape business, but when it comes to normal, everyday life and interactions, she's learned what it is to be human from books and Batman. And the latter of those is actually a canonical statement. She tells Steph that Bruce taught her what it was to be human. 8|
2. Does she think on her feet, or does she need time to deliberate?
Thinks on her feet so long as it doesn't have to do with anything serious and emotional. Then she overthinks.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is she more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Her personality makes her more intuitive, but due to Kryptonian society and her mother's personality, she's learned to think logically and be practical. She's intuitive when she's thinking on her feet, but when she sits down to actually think about something, she tries to use her head, even though she's not exactly wired to think more logically about things and trying to do so frustrates the hell out of her sometimes.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
The internet and the Trinity. No, I'm not kidding. She had twelve or so years of Kryptonian education, whatever that looks like, but when she came to Earth, the Trinity taught her and she used books/movies/the world wide web to learn everything she could about Earth. Boomer helped some and Lana helps some, but it's mostly just trial and error and trying desperately to be some semblance of normal.
5. What are her areas of expertise? What, if anything, is she interested in learning more about?
Technology, specifically engineering and robotics. She was a total techie when she was a kid. And she's a damn good fighter, with her fists and with pole-arms. As for what she's interested in learning about... everything. There's next to nothing she doesn't want to learn about.
6. Is she an introvert or an extrovert?
Extrovert that's been left behind enough times that she acts like an introvert and doesn't know how to put herself out there.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is she even-tempered or does she have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
She's got a hot temper sometimes. If you know how to push the right buttons, she's easy to set off. Kara's also perpetually cheerful, or tries to be. Even when she wants to just scream and cry, she puts on a smile so people don't worry about her. She's pretty much the Queen of Denial. She's also really incredibly driven. Once she gets an idea in her head, there's very little that can dissuade her from it.
8. How does she respond to new people or situations? Is she suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
Typically pretty enthusiastic! She loves learning and loves new things, so any opportunity to experience them is a good thing in her book.
9. Is she more likely to act, or to react?
Act. She's not afraid of taking initiative and going after something.
10. Which is her default: fight or flight?
Fight. Definitely fight. She has yet to run away from a fight.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does she appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
Terrible? It's her goal to be able to make a your mom joke at some point in her life. She's also got a large appreciation for really bad puns.
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does she deal with them?
None that are diagnosable disorders, but she's got a HUGE guilt complex. She also goes around and fights crime in a crop top and miniskirt.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined her as a person?
- Thara saving her life on Krypton
- Krypton's destruction
- Brainiac finding Argo
- Coming to Earth and the thing with Darkseid
- The Crisis and the aftermath of that
- Car Grant publishing all that drivel about her
- Her father's death and her mother blaming her for it
- New Krypton and it's destruction
- Learning how to stop blaming herself thanks to Bizzaro Girl
- Joining the Justice League and teaming up with Dick
14. What does she fear?
Failure. Disappointing her mentors. Losing anyone else that's close to her. Really, that's probably the biggest one.
15. What are her hopes or aspirations?
She just wants to be a good hero worthy of the S-shield. That's really it. She doesn't have any career aspirations, she just wants her mentors to be proud of her.
16. What is something she doesn't want anyone to find out about her?
That she almost killed Sam Lane. She's pretty sure Clark knows, but she would die if Bruce found out. She's also not sure if she would have stopped if Lois hadn't been there and that fact scares the shit out of her and eats at her inside all the time.
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with her parents.
She's a total Daddy's girl. Her father was her confidant and the one who encouraged her. Her mother, on the other hand, was a total bitch. She's the reason Kara has such a huge inferiority complex. At one point, Kara actually says she's thought at times that her life would have been better if Reactron had killed her mother instead of her father.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
She doesn't have any by blood.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom she is close? Are there ones she can't stand?
Clark is her only living blood relative and the person she's closest to. She looks up to him something fierce and depending on the day he's more like a father or a brother than a cousin. Conner could also be a blood relative, but they don't really interact much. She likes him and they banter whenever they meet up, but they just don't talk at all. Still, he's family and that means Kara would do almost anything for him.
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom she considers part of her family? What are her relationships with them?
LOTS OF PEOPLE. Thara is her sister in everything but blood and name. Chris is her... something. He's Clark's son and Thara's beloved-type-thing so he's kind of like a brother? Lana is her aunt and the person she's probably closest to most of the time. Diana is like an aunt to her. Bruce is like an uncle/sometimes a father figure. He's the one she goes to for advice more than anyone else.
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
Stephanie Brown, aka Batgirl. They met when Kara saved her and Catwoman from drowning in a shipping crate.
6. Does she have other close friends?
Dick is really her only other close friend in canon. She looks up to him a lot and they get along really well. He's one of the people she would do pretty much anything for, even the things he would never actually ask her to do.
7. Does she make friends easily, or does she have trouble getting along with people?
She makes friends fairly easily in that she's friendly and can get along with people, but she has a hard time connecting on a deeper level with people who aren't capes. This is mostly because she has no idea what it's like to be a civilian and can't really relate to them at all.
8. Which does she consider more important: family or friends?
The two are so intrinsically linked in her mind, you can't really separate the two. Her actual family was pretty shitty at times and she's lost it so many times over that her friends have become her family. If she can connect with someone on a deeper level than just acquaintances, they've reached the family level in her mind, even if it's in a weirdly undefined way.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has she been married more than once?
Single in canon, in relationships in the City and in the castle.
10. Is she currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
... She would need to be married for this to apply.
11. Who was her first crush? Who is her latest?
Apparently she had a crush on someone on Krypton that she almost kissed, but the first crush we really see her have was on Dick. Current crushes are on her boyfrands and on Brainiac 5.
12. What does she look for in a romantic partner?
Someone who either gets her or is chill enough to not be weirded out by her differences. She doesn't want to have to try to be normal in front of a significant other.
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does she relate to them? If no, does she want any?
She doesn't have any, but definitely wants kids. She's pretty good with them and likes being around them. She doesn't think she'll ever have kids because she'd have to adopt and she's not sure she could handle having a civilian kid with the life she leads. So if she ever did have kids, she would probably pull a Bruce and train them all into little vigilantes.
14. Does she have any rivals or enemies?
She's a superhero, of course she does. The most notable one is probably Lucy Lane.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does she fall on the Kinsey scale?
She's a two. If it ever came up, she would date a girl (after lots of confusion and research) but it hasn't, so she wouldn't really think about it?
16. How does she feel about sex? How important is it to her?
It scares the ever living daylights out of her. Mostly because she has no idea how to have it without there being red sun lamps involved. DO NOT WANT DEATH BY SNOO SNOO.
17. What are her turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
Domino masks Someone with a nice body. She's spent too much time around guys who are in pique physical condition. :\
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does she fit type?
I don't know what it is off the top of my head, but I do remember neither of them fit! I will fill this out better later.
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in her life?
She's religious in that she believes in gods and the Kryptonian teachings, but they're not a really big part of her life except in that it gives her hope for an afterlife. For the longest time, she was a staunch atheist, too much of a scientific person to want to believe in the supernatural. Then her sister became the avatar of a god. 8|b
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?
Thou Shalt Not Kill. She's almost compromised it in the aftermath of New Krypton. She would probably kill someone if they ever did something horrific to her loved ones, but she would guilt herself over it so fucking hard afterwords.
4. How does she regard beliefs that differ from hers? Is she tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
She's curious and tolerant, mostly. Unless it's a bad guy in which case she says that their morality or lack of it isn't something she can stand for and then punches them in the face.
5. What prejudices does she hold? Are they irrational or does she have a good reason for them?
She doesn't really have any? For a while after New Krypton she was so disgusted with Earth and her people, but eventually realized that it was just Project 7734 and not, you know, six billion people that killed her planet. Now she's just kind of (unsure) about the US government and military.
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is she rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
Comfortable. In canon, Bruce gave her some money (read as: a million dollars) in exchange for Kryptonian tech and she invested a bunch of it, so she's fairly well off. In the City, she scrapes by on what the tags can give her.
2. What is her social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected her?
She doesn't have much of one? She's still settling into this whole secret id thing and so doesn't really have much of a life outside of Supergirl.
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?
Apartment. A fairly small one, both in canon and in the City.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does she spend her money on?
MOVIES. She's a movie freak. Also on books, since she loveslovesloves books a lot. She doesn't do much recreational stuff, so that's really about it.
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?
She superheroes. It doesn't pay the bills, but it's what she loves and what she's good at, so she doesn't really ever think about doing anything else.
6. What are her interests or hobbies? How does she spend her free time?
She tinkers a lot and draws and paints. Other than that, she surfs the web, reads like crazy and watches movies like a fiend. She hasn't really discovered much to do outside of that, yet.
7. What are her eating habits? Does she skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
If she's around people, she'll eat, but other than that she usually only eats once every few days. Alcohol doesn't do anything to her and she'll try everything at least once.
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is her favorite:
1. Color? Blue.
2. Smell? Gingerbread.
3. Time of day? The hour or two right before dawn.
4. Season? Autumn.
5. Book? Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.
6. Music? Indie pop.
7. Place? Space.
8. Substance? ... Jello?
9. Plant? Cacti.
10. Animal? Cats.
END
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