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Player Information:
Name: Wassail
Journal: tweedledeetea
Method of Contact: mintymadness[at]gmail[dot]com
Previous characters: Mint; cucurbitophobic
Character Information:
Full Name: Toby Hawkins
Series: OC
Canon point: n/a
Age: 21
Species: Human
Appearance/PB: PB: Caroline Dhavernas
Note: She's naturally a brunette. Aaand she's got a bunch of tattoos on her. I should...probably lay them out one day...
Appearance upon arrival: She'll be wearing "around-the-house" clothes, so sweats, a tank, a hoodie and slippahs. Woo, bumming it up!
History:
Previous RP memories: Nay. Technically, this is an altered version of a character from here, but her history alterations are such that most of the events in that game are irrelevant.
Bringing someone along?: No.
Character History: Oh boy. Okay, the general premise of the game she's originally from is that, about ten years ago, the sky tore open and crazy stuff began to happen. People began to gain unusual abilities. Say, one who was hit by a vehicle would miraculously survive and later find that they could withstand heavy impacts, or someone hit by lightning would suddenly be able to manipulate electrical currents. They didn't all appear at once, but with these altered humans going uncontrolled, accidents were frequent. Urban legends ran rampant, and many of them had strong grains of truth. Governments took action and created a secret group to handle the situation-- Ad Meliora. Naturally, other organizations cropped up as well, eager to take the advantage. The public, however, remained largely unaware of their altered compatriots, as they were rare and quickly hushed up.
Let's rewind a bit and introduce Toby. Toby was born to Darryl Hawkins, a 30-year-old veterinarian, and Ashlea Pascal, a private piano instructor whose age Toby does not know because she never inquired when asking about her mother years later. Darryl worked long hours and after the initial infatuation gave way to a gap in attention, Ashlea packed her bags and left. Darryl was dismayed, but not defeated, and did his best to raise a toddler on his own. He couldn't; Hershey, a brown lab-mix from the pound and family pet, and Toby had to help. In that sense, she grew up a little faster than her average peer. Neither of her neighbors had any children around her age and if her father asked one of them to watch her for a bit, well, she mostly kept to herself. After a while, it became obvious that Toby was more than likely okay on her own. Was she lonely? Sure. But she found comfort in Hershey. This would serve as the beginning of her tendency to feel more at ease with animals than people.
When Toby was five, Darryl was offered a job in the small town of Victory, picturesque in its vicinity to a mountain and lots and lots of trees. Their local veterinarian planned to retire soon and they would be forced to shut down the clinic if they could not find a replacement for him. After a few months of deliberation, Darryl moved the family from the city to the small town. His wages suffered slightly, but his hours were a little more flexible. He raised Toby in a slightly gruff manner, where feelings and emotions were never really explored or brought up, but a parental love existed all the same. As the clinic was attached to their new home, Toby quickly grew to recognize some of the townspeople. Despite this opportunity to become more sociable, she was content with farting around in the backyard and playing knights and dragons with their dog.
Not much of Toby's life was extraordinary. She went through puberty (that was an embarrassing affair for both father and daughter. One of the technicians was kind enough to walk her through it, but still...) She attended school, and in a small town near the mountains, it was pretty hard not to know everyone by name. Even Toby, who wasn't very chatty, got around to placing faces to names eventually. She became the friend-slash-acquaintance that would talk to you in class, maybe a little bit after, but beyond school, she didn't have much of a social life. A growing part of Toby yearned to change that, to be the popular girl or at least be someone who could be easily liked, but she could never muster up the courage to try. Instead, she immersed herself in all manners of fantasy novels, fairy tales and games; she took up gardening; over time, she accumulated her own miniature k-9 force. There was never any pressure for her to get a part-time job, which she was grateful for, though her lack of "real life" experience would hurt her in the long run.
When Toby started high school, she also started helping with her father's work. Mostly, she acted as the errands girl for the technicians, doing the "easy" work, and as she had been around the practice for practically her entire life, Toby was quick on the uptake. By the time graduation came around, she knew exactly what she wanted to do with her life--follow in her father's footsteps and become a veterinarian.
Weeeell, first she had to get her pre-reqs out of the way. Oh boy, college! How fun! How exciting! How incredibly terrifying! Due to the distance, Toby had to dorm. Nothing in her life had prepared her for being completely on her own. At least, when she was a child, she had an animal companion. Without her garden or her pets to fall back on, the girl felt, possibly for the first time, extremely isolated. Small town education did not prep her for university, either. It was only through sheer determination not to let her father's money go down the drain that Toby did okay in her first semester. Subsequent semesters showed signs of improvement, but she didn't make a single friend in any of her classes. It wasn't until her second year that a few surprising things happened. She met April, a room mate she actually liked and who was friendly and kind enough to nudge Toby out of her cave. Initially, Toby went along with her more out of curiosity and an inability to say "no," but somewhere along the way, she grew to enjoy their outings. Then, one day, April asked if she'd like to join some friends in getting their very first tattoo. At first, Toby balked, but then a little voice in the back of her mind said, "Go for it!" Toby was still a teenager, after all, and all her years of being "good" were pushed aside in favor of doing something "reckless." It was a spur of the moment, but it was exciting.
Because she impulsively agreed to it, Toby didn't know what to get, and fell back on her sign of the Chinese zodiac, a snake. It wasn't as painful as she had expected, and like potato chips, once she got one, she just had to get another... and another...
However, what changed her perception of "normal" was neither of these events. Rather, it was on a regular, overcast day in one of her labs, where, in her haste to back away from someone coming through with chemicals, she ran into the area where glassware was left to dry and shattered a good number of them. She came out relatively unscathed, only a few shallow cuts on her arm and her ankle, and felt like the biggest fool in the world. No one expected her to wind up in the ER only a few hours later.
She was in a coma for a few days, and after waking, had to remain in bed for a few more due to an unresponsive foot--specifically, the one below her first tattoo. The doctor could not explain why. Perhaps one of the beakers hadn't been cleaned properly and one of the chemicals had got into her blood stream? It seemed like the only possible answer. When it seemed like she was more or less recovered, Toby was discharged and she returned to school. Her father hadn't been keen on that, but it was Toby's call, and she didn't want to fall back a semester if she could help it.
This required her to suck up her reluctance to socialize with her classmates in order to catch up. To her amazement, it wasn't nearly as difficult as she had envisioned. In fact, it was almost too easy. Strangely enough, she also began to develop crazy migraines that would go away with any safe dose of aspirin. It got so bad that she'd find herself weak and shaking, not unlike a crack addict going through withdrawal. Once again, Toby had to visit the doctor, but this time, she found herself referred to a "specialist." This doctor prescribed her something she'd never seen any ad for, and instructed her to check in after a week of usage.
Lo and behold, the drugs did work. Her episodes virtually disappeared. Sure, there were some side-effects, but the doctor assured her they could alter the dosage. Because, you see, Toby was one of those strange new humans who could do strange new things. The drugs were stabilizers that would only react with those whose genes had been altered. The timing of it coincided with a bunch of new ones popping up around the globe. It was here that a college student, who thought tattoos were the craziest thing ever, was introduced to the hushed up world of what Ad Meliora was there to regulate. They were eager to recruit her. Naturally, she was wary. There was also that hairy situation of telling her father... (Or not?)
At the very least, AM wanted to work with her to pinpoint what her "power" was, exactly. Reluctantly (because she did want to know, too), Toby went along with them. Through many trials and errors, they found that hers was centered around her tattoos. It was then that she put two and two together and realized that the reason why she had suddenly gotten along so well with her classmates was because of her snake tattoo. Snakes were supposed to be attractive to others, right? Charming?
The realization did not sit well with her. She had, in essence, not been herself. Being able to flow well with others had been a dream Toby thought she'd never be able to achieve, and now that she had the means to do it, it just felt...fake. She fell into a rut. Her attendance and performance in class dropped- eventually, she quit the semester and returned home. That proved to be helpful, but the pressure she felt from AM to join them and from herself on whether or not to tell her father continued to worry her. When she heard the melody of the music box, she was more than happy for the temporary escape.
She had no idea it'd be literal!
Personality:
Toby is...a little detached. Not obviously- once she's with a person or place she's comfortable with/in, she skirts the line between extrovert and introvert, but ultimately, she is the introvert. She'd go to outings with April and her friends and have a pretty good time, but she won't be the one dancing with her pants off or waking up and wondering where her keys are. When it comes to emotions and touchy-feely, Toby is woefully under-equipped. It might be due to her upbringing, where she and Darryl never really dipped their toes into emotional territory, influencing an unconscious reluctance to let her feelings go completely loose, without restraint or filter to leave herself equally completely vulnerable. She does not see it as a crippling feature, though; it does not bother her. Toby is more than capable of getting along with others, most easily with those who share similar opinions or mindsets if only she would take those first few steps forward. She feels more at ease in being open online, in writing, or in general anything where distance is involved because it takes off the pressure of being surrounded by people. Her little "disconnect" lends to keeping a level head in extreme situations and allows her to reign any emotions she may have in, in order to think- hopefully- in a rational manner, but if problems pile up on her, she can easily short-circuit and it'll take a while for her to get her frazzled mind back together.
Growing up with no female figure in her life hasn't stripped Toby of her femininity, but it has left her feeling a little out of place with it. There is a quiet, yet persistent nagging in the back of her mind that wants to be more "girly." She doesn't think she'll be feminine "enough" until she's comfortable in skirts, heels and cosmetics, despite her general disinterest with them. Toby feels like a "tomboy" if she isn't wearing a skirt or a dress, but the truth is, she does own more fitted shirts than not, the jeans she wears tend to be flattering, and she does have jackets other than hoodies. Toby is unmistakably female - she just doesn't see it that way. She has tried to achieve girlyness by doing things like wearing eye shadow for a week or incorporating a piece of jewelry into her daily wardrobe, but the problem with that is she always drops it after a week or two because she has no interest in the actual product to keep her in the routine. She'll get lazy, forget about it, then want to do it again a few months later. It is a vicious cycle.
If you were to ask Toby if she would rather spend the rest of her life with a significant other or a pet, she'd probably go for the pet. It isn't that she doesn't want an SO, but that she finds immense happiness in spending time with animals. Maybe an SO would bring a different degree of happiness, but she's content with the one she already knows. Battles in which she perceives herself never winning are almost never given the chance; in areas, particularly dealing with people, Toby is quick to give up without much of a fight. She'd rather avoid confrontations with others if possible because confrontations mean a sort of angry intimacy with another person that she doesn't know how to handle. By contrast, she will stubbornly do everything in her power to make other situations turn out okay (she WILL get that old radio to work if it's the last thing she does, she WILL train this dog to wait on command, etc) before coming to terms with the fact that, okay, she can't do everything. Ironically, Toby is somewhat of a closet-Romantic, daydreaming about ideal situations, but not really pining for others. She might think some guy is cute, but she'd never dream of acting on it because logically she knows (thinks) it wouldn't work. (So basically when it comes to her attitude re: her relations with people, she's a pessimist.)
Also, Toby has a weakness for - bum bum bum - you guessed it, cute things. Of course, she loves animals, but she also likes tiny things. Like those miniature erasers that are in the shapes of pastries? She loves that kind of stuff. Strangely enough, she is not fond of sweets. Spicy is where it's at!
Keywords: self-subdued, wistful, casual, escapist, responsible, placid, hesitant, patient, forgettable.
Extra:
Character Abilities: Artistry Animation -> Tattoo-based. Permanent or temporary tattoos are fair game; tattoos imbue her with abilities or natures of the tattoo. (ex. a peacock will make her charismatic, an ant will let her lift 10x her weight, a Charizard will let her use Flamethrower etc.) She needs to consciously want these to work for them to go in effect. Also, each tattoo will only give her one ability and she won't know what it is until she consciously thinks of it. For example, using Charizard (I know there's no fourth walling [or is there??] but for the sake of an example): Charizard can learn a variety of moves. Toby would have to think of every single move it could possibly know and see which one applies to the tattoo. And even then, it might not be a move. It might just make her hot-headed.
tl;dr it's a crapshoot. Here's a table of what she's got and where it's located: here.
Also, her snake tattoo moves. Initially, it could only travel a few inches from her ankle, but it's gradually made its way up to her knee. Assuming it's not...magicked away or something, over time it'll be able to travel across her body freely. Aaaand she makes it a point not to use it because she's still not okay with what it does.
Also also, she's pretty good with animals. ... And she can drive??
Possessions: A small wallet, her iPod, a plastic bag with take-out, the clothes on her back... She has some stabilizers in a small, tin can, as well.
Anything else: Since she'd technically break the fourth wall some of the characters here (specifically Pokemon and HP), should I make her world have an altered version of them? Like, instead of Pocket Monsters...they're Rocket Monsters?! idk I could just avoid the characters, too.
Samples:
Action/Communication thread/post sample:
[Man, driving to the diner for take-out in her sleepwear sounded like a pretty rad idea in theory. After all, it meant she didn't have to change into one set of clothes and then change back again, and she was on friendly terms with the owner and pretty much knew anyone who might even be there, so there was no shame there. Yet the short walk from her parked vehicle to the entrance that jingled when she pushed the door open, and the second short distance of walking from the driveway to her front door was apparently too long for her feet because Toby had temporarily lost the feeling in her toes.
Well, what was done was done. Her digits would forgive her in time. Shoving her keys into her pocket, she made to enter the kitchen when her ears picked up on a faint melody none of her dogs could hear- because if they could, then they'd be as silent and attentive as she currently was. Instead, they continued to fight amongst themselves for the right to shove their nose in the plastic bad and see what was in it while Toby approached what seemed to be a music box on the kitchen table.
Gradually, the sound of rustling plastic, multiple breaths and nails clicking against the tile floor all hummed into a mute, sort of nothingness as the melody over saturated her senses. Ah, if only she could escape through a closet like those children, to a place where her worries took backseat, if only for a little while... When she came to, it was with a pop in her eardrums.
Suddenly, Splendor.]
...
...
[She closed her eyes, inhaled and exhaled deeply, then opened them.
The Golden Entranceway!]
... They said it was one per person. I can't teleport... [She knew this to be a fact, and yet she scanned her visible skin just to make sure she hadn't drawn some sort of teleporation pad or something equally science-fiction-esque. Nope, nothing. Stepping outside only elevated her confusion, but if answers were to be had, she supposed she would have to find someone.
... Welp. At least it wasn't freezing.]
Log/Prose sample:
Already a member o/