Character Survey of Doom

[dreams_of_sanfran]

Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is she heavyset, thin, short, rangy? Carrie is 5'1", and while she is slender, she is not "fit" by any means. She's just lucky to have a high metabolism.

2. How old is she? As of right now, she’s 19 going on 20.

3. Describe her posture. Does she carry herself well or does she slouch? She’s alright with posture; she’s not walking around like a dancer, but she's not hunched over like Quasimodo with a stomach cramp either. She tries to stand and sit a little straighter while at work if her bosses are watching, but some days she's so tired and bogged down she can't help but slouch a bit.

4. How is her health? Is she fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities? Her health is pretty average, a cold or the flu once or twice a year. Again, she's not incredibly fit; most of her exercise comes from walking to and from work as well as being on her feet during her waitressing shifts. She has no diseases or complications other than mild hay fever during peak allergy season, and she has no physical disabilities.

5. How does she move? Is she clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid? She would love to think she’s graceful, but... if anything, when she tries to be, she ends up stumbling over herself. Some days, the poor girl would lose her head if it wasn’t attached. She's not always clumsy, but Murphy's Law seems to love her on her bad days.

6. How attractive is this character physically? How does she perceive herself in the mirror? It depends on individual preference. Though she doesn't use much makeup outside of Chapstick (it's just another expense she doesn't need), she doesn't care for the way she appears naturally. So from her viewpoint, no, she's not. Chipmunk cheeks and an odd combination of facial features will do that, though. One thing’s for sure: she doesn’t have the greatest self-esteem when it comes to her looks and her body. She feels like she has the body and face of a thirteen year old, which is incredibly unattractive in her mind. So even if someone were to find her good-looking, she probably wouldn't believe them.

7. Describe her complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred? Carrie’s fair-skinned, but that’s mostly due to not liking too many outdoor activities and spending most of her time indoors, working. She does have small scars on both her wrists. She tried cutting once out of a depression caused by inadequate living conditions (and one particular set of foster parents); she was sent to therapy and shipped off to a new pair of foster parents after her social worker found out. She hasn't cut or felt the urge to since.

8. Describe her hair: color, texture, style. She has dark wavy hair that has a tendency to get horribly poofy and unruly if there's too much humidity in the air or if slept on wrong; it’s medium length (not too much styling to it), with bangs/fringe. It can be quite the beast to tame some mornings, so she usually just pulls it back.

9. What color are her eyes? Her eyes are a deep blue.

10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features? Nope~.

11. What are her chief tension centers? Snappy and ungrateful customers, deadlines, overbearing workloads, fear of being discovered as a "Devil's Pawn", but most of all, money. It's hard living on own and dealing with two stressful jobs, especially when her goal is to save up to move halfway across the country... while she's struggling to fit in for her own safety.

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? It's very varied... and by varied, I mean she's gotten the habit of thrifting down to an art. Most of her clothes are second-hand, but she doesn't mind. She tends to lean towards items that are bohemian and vintage more than any other style; and even then, they're more modest numbers. If she can't wear them to work, there's not much use for them.


13. Do her clothes fit well? Does she seem comfortable in them? That depends; since she buys second-hand clothes, some items tend to be a little big for her, but she takes what she can get. That means she has to use safety pins at times to keep them from falling off her shoulders or slipping elsewhere. During those times, she takes a great deal of caution not to move too quickly or jerk too suddenly.

14. Does she dress the same on the job as she does in her free time? If not, what are the differences? Not at all. She dresses as well as she can for her job as a small company's secretarial assistant, and then changes into her uniform for her waitressing gig. When she's off work and at home (she doesn't go out much, if at all), she tends to just lounge in her pajamas. Like Hell she's going to get "gussied up" if she doesn't have to.

15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando? Panties. You've probably never heard of them.



Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse? It’s medium-high and a bit airy, but average in every other respect.

2. How does she normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does she talk easily, or does she hesitate? She tends to talk a little slow. She likes to choose her words, always cautious of giving away too much information. It's not uncommon for her to hesitate, especially when she's trying to figure out how to phrase something.

3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics? I don't think she has any definitive accent other than a Mid-American dialect; it'd probably be pretty hard to figure out where in America she's from just by listening to her "accent," though.

She does tend to stutter from time to time when she's nervous or scared, which she's been trying to fix to no avail.

4. What language/s does she speak, and with how much fluency? She speaks English, of course, fluently. She did take a bit of French in high school, but she's not fluent in it by any means.

5. Does she switch languages or dialects in certain situations? Only if she’s quoting a person with a dialect or imitating someone, which is pretty rare in itself (unless she's alone and just talking to her pets).

6. Is she a good impromptu speaker, or does she have to think about her words? She can be, if she speaks from the heart. However, she has a lot of insecurities about her ability and the fear of being persecuted for it. That usually holds her up from speaking her mind in public or even in private. However, if it's to someone who has earned her trust (or animals and/or inanimate objects), she's not afraid to truly communicate what she's feeling. The rest of the time? She's pretty reserved and speaks carefully.

7. Is she eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change? She leans towards being inarticulate, due to the insecurities that hold her back from speaking clearly.



Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is she book-smart or street-smart? As smart as the average B student high school graduate. Most of her street smarts are comprised of being wary of her surroundings and to avoid suspicious people (which tend to be most everyone she passes on the street). She's slow to trust, though she doesn't assume all people to be innately bad; she does, however, assume the possibility of them being part of the anti-"Devil" numbers.

2. Does she think on her feet, or does she need time to deliberate? She definitely needs time to step back, think, and weigh her options. There's too many consequences to just leap to an action. Very rarely, if ever, will she act before thinking.

3. Describe the character's thought process. Is she more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical? She’s more intuitive when it comes to the emotions and concerns of others around her, and she tries her best to conform to them, even if it's at a distance. It's hard to nod your head and agree with bosses and co-workers if you refuse to understand the reasons behind their opinions and actions. She finds that obstacle easier when she tries to see things through their eyes, however biased they are.

Caroline also assumes people to be potential threats; as such, while she's willing to see things from their POV, she's reluctant to open up to allow them to do the same with her.

Meanwhile, she's very idealistic; it lends itself to her having hope that things will be better in San Francisco. It might be a stupid hope, but it's really all she has to hang onto.


4. What kind of education has the character had? Pre-school through high-school; sadly, she's moved schools so many times, the education hasn't always been consistent. She likes to think that once she's settled with a job in San Fran, she'd be able to do some classes as well.

5. What are her areas of expertise? What, if anything, is she interested in learning more about? Thanks to her jobs, she's gotten quite good at typing, Microsoft Office, minor accounting, and she's even managed to snag a few cooking recipes and tips from the diner. Back in her dependent days, though, she was quite interested in the arts, though it never amounted to more than a few art classes and an old keyboard that she's toted around with her from house to house for some time. She doesn't know much about her own powers, and while she'd like to know why they appeared, how they work, etc., she doesn't want to use them. If anything, she'd like to know got to get rid of them.

6. Is she an introvert or an extrovert? She's an introvert. She won't expose much except that she works two jobs and owns a fish and a rat. However, when she's in a private setting and if she's at ease and in the company of someone she trusts (which...hasn't quite happened yet), she'd be at ease enough to be a slightly open book and voice some her feelings. Granted, her true voice would have to be coaxed out of her. That is, unless she's talking to one of her pets.

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 very much in between on most of those. Like many of these questions, it really does depend on the situation and circumstance. At work, she puts on a peaceful but professional visage, obeying and doing her work as quickly and effectively as possible. She's optimistic on the outside; it helps her get by day to day dealing with the little things and stress. But inside, she lives in fear, paranoid of making the smallest mistake and finding herself at the mercy again of those who would hate her for what she is.

8. How does she respond to new people or situations? Is she suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic? She doesn't much care for people or situations that pop up out of the blue. It's not that she doesn't want friends or cohorts, or that she hates new folks, but she's very cautious. Change means she can't continue her time-tested routines which took her a while to find; every new thing popping up could potentially reveal what she is, and with that chance of revelation is the chance that the people who are part of her daily life will react negatively to what she is. It could ruin her jobs, her relationship with the apartment complex landlord, her reputation, and her safety. Or so she believes.

9. Is she more likely to act or to react? She doesn't like to start things if she can avoid it. Carrie is very much a react-er; she'll typically only speak when spoken to (unless it's greeting customers) and only act when something merits a reaction.

10. Which is her default: fight or flight? It’s usually flight, seeing as she’s not very physically strong and her powers aren't suited for physical offense, much let defense. Live, get as far away as possible, and let live.

11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does she appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks? For the most part, she's rather easy to amuse if and only if her walls are down; even bad jokes can be endearing then, if told in the right manner. She can be rather dry when it comes to telling jokes herself, though.

12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does she deal with them? None that I've noticed. While she's "anti-social" when it comes to interacting outside of work, that is nowhere near the psychological anti-social disorder (which states that the person refuses or cannot live within societal norms). She does interact with people and is able to do so well in everyday situations. She's just very introverted and quite capable of living on her own.

13. What moments in this character's life have defined her as a person? The biggest one would be leaving her last set of foster parents (see bio for more details). Those couple weeks were her first real taste of the hatred towards "Devil's Pawns"; she was lucky to only the roof over her head and her comfort was compromised. Word soon spread throughout the small town, and it wasn't long until she had to leave for her own safety. While she was never harmed by any person, the townsfolk were more than ready to get violent, enough to try and run her out of town. That memory is what keeps her so wary of revealing herself as empowered.

14. What does she fear? Being disliked or hated because of what she is. Irrational hate, and all that it brings with it; slander, glares, sneers, the possibility of violence. A fear of not being able to be accepted, of being ridiculed and persecuted for something she can't choose to change. The fear of being hunted and hurt... killed... for something she didn't have a choice in being.

15. What are her hopes or aspirations? Her main goal right now is to make it to San Francisco, find a place to live, find a job she'd be relatively happy with, and maybe go to school part-time. In her mind, San Francisco is the one place where people who are different can live proudly; she assumes they're much more tolerant of one another than in any other place. She just wants to be in artsy city where people come and go often, and where she wouldn't have to be so concerned with hiding what she is.

16. What is something she doesn't want anyone to find out about her? Oh boy, repetition! She doesn't want people to know she's a "Devil's Pawn". It causes her to close up completely, and she'll push anyone who wants to help or understand away.




Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with her parents. Both parents died when she was very young. She's been bounced from foster home to foster home; some of the foster parents had been great, but due to economy and various other circumstances, had to give her up. Others have been horrible, either overbearing or unwilling to help her with her needs. More often that not, though, they gave her up due to her difficulties in opening up and accepting them as "family". The last couple to have custody of her were strict, but involved... until they discovered her ability. Everything fell apart from there.

2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like? A sister, but she died along with her parents in the fire. Carrie has never been informed that she had a sibling and is blissfully ignorant.

3. Are there other blood relatives to whom she is close? Are there ones she can't stand? If she has any, they haven't attempted to make themselves known or tried to contact her.

4. Are there other, unrelated people whom she considers part of her family? What are her relationships with them? This can change, but for now, the only living things she considers family are her apartment-approved pets, Tony the fish and Ramona the grey rat.

5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet? To be totally honest,her best friend is a ratty old poodle toy, brilliantly named Georgette, after "Oliver and Company." It’s been the one of the two constant "companions" of Carrie's throughout her years of jumping foster home to foster home, the other her old keyboard. She still sleeps with Georgette.

6. Does she have other close friends? Not... really. There is one boy, goldenlawedre, who seems to be weaseling his way into her good opinion, but the poor lad has a long way to go.

7. Does she make friends easily, or does she have trouble getting along with people? It's not that she has trouble getting along with people (being pleasant is part of her job), but she typically shies away from having anything more than a casual acquaintance; if her own foster parents, who seemed to genuinely care for her up until the moment they discovered she wasn't a normal human, could come to hate her, surely a "friend" could too.

8. Which does she consider more important: family or friends? For now, neither. The most important for her right now are her pets, as lonesome and pathetic as that sounds.

9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has she been married more than once? Young and single. She dated two boys briefly, each under different foster parents, but nothing clicked or lasted more than a few weeks at best. She has since to date, again, because of her fears.

10. Is she currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse? Nope.

11. Who was her first crush? Who is her latest? First crush? That boy in second grade with the red hair and brown eyes who shared a desk with her. She can't remember his name. Her latest was her last boyfriend from years ago, which lasted all of four weeks before she found out they didn't really have anything in common at all.

12. What does she look for in a romantic partner? Tolerance. That's a biggy. Without it, she wont even consider a guy... if she considers one at all. With being so busy working and saving up, she doesn't feel like she has time for one, let alone feel like she'd be attractive enough to land one.

However, if all the men in the world suddenly were pacifistic and were interested in her (something that could never ever happen, even in her wildest caffeine-induced dreams), she'd need someone with the ability to cheer her on and make her feel confident, someone who'd embrace her personality and powers with open arms.

13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does she relate to them? If no, does she want any? Eventually, if she ever magically finds someone, and if the world starts to shift away from all the hate, then yes, she would. But hey, first thing's first. She needs to get to San Francisco.

14. Does she have any rivals or enemies? While they will probably never ever rear their heads in her life again, her most recent set of foster parents. But then again, they wouldn't follow her out into the Midwest, much less give enough of a damn to torment her again. In general, though, if we're extremely loose with the term "enemy," all those who would hate/hunt her for being a "Devil's Pawn" if they knew could qualify. Ish. Maybe.

15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does she fall on the Kinsey scale? I’m going to say either a one or two. As far as she knows, she doesn't have any particular reservations that lean her towards the same sex, but she does admire women and empathize with them easier. She wouldn't be offended by the idea of dating another woman, but she wouldn't actively seek one out either, even if she was actually actively looking for a partner.

16. How does she feel about sex? How important is it to her? She's easily flustered by the topic, as she is a virgin and inexperienced; it's something that she's personally unfamiliar with, at least outside of a semester of high school health class and what most people would call "alone time" (on those rare nights when she's not so tired she practically falls asleep within a few minutes of going to bed).

17. What are her turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits? Tolerance. Without that, no other preferences matter. However, she does like chivalrous behavior, sense of humor, clean and tidy appearance, and a good reputation. Turn-offs include overinflated ego, being quick to judge, pessimism, anything that lends itself to the hatred she fears. As far as physical appearance goes, for the most part, she's not picky; as long as the person looks healthy.

...Actually, she'd probably would rather just have a "woobie" than a sex partner.



Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does she fit type? Yes, she is a Cancer, and born in the Year of the Monkey. According to this and this, I’d say it’s pretty close.

2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in her life? She’s slightly spiritual. She’s always been fascinated by fictional stories and is no stranger to wondering what the world would be like IF such worlds existed; however, as far as an actual religion goes, she's Agnostic.

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? Typically, her morals fall under the question, "Is it a law?" Thus far, she feels while laws are not always moral themselves, they're in place for a reason. Murder, robbery, breaking and entering, etc. are wrong, hence why there's a law in place. She knows as long as she follows them, she knows she'll be safe and have some sort of protection... at least for now while Congress debates and bickers over the anti-Devil's Pawns legislature.

Personally, she tries to keep a "do unto others as others would do unto you" mindset; however, her practice of "smile and wave" has contradicted it at times.

4. How does she regard beliefs that differ from hers? Is she tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent? She's pretty tolerant as long as it's not used as a means to justify hatred. She may not understand the appeal or why someone continues to follow it, and she may find aspects that don't line up with long-time proven scientific facts, but choice of religion has thus far not affected her opinion of a person. Unless that religion, as in the case of those last foster parents, is used as a means of entitlement and superiority over others, that is.

5. What prejudices does she hold? Are they irrational or does she have a good reason for them? As ironic as she is, she's prejudiced against those who are prejudiced. Haters gonna hate, but that hate can lead to irrational behavior and violence. She makes it a point to be as invisible or as far away from those sorts of people. And yes, it's with good, if not paranoid, reason. Once again, the town she was staying in with her last set of foster parents turned against her as soon as word got out she was a mutant. It's... not a good feeling to be on the receiving end of all that unfounded bitterness.

Hypocritically, she doesn't know just by looking at a person what their views are; again, she assumes the worst so she stays safe. In that sense, she's prejudiced against everyone until she knows that they will mean her no harm.



Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is she rich, poor, comfortable, in debt? While she has yet to fall into debt, she is poor. She's not scraping the bottom of the barrel, but she does have to work two jobs to stay afloat and slowly save up. Most of her money goes to expenses, such as rent, utilities, food, pet supplies, car expenses, etc. Typically, she saves whatever little else she makes; however, if somehow a bonus comes her way, she will use part of it for leisure, such as thrifting. For the most part though, she lives off paycheck to paycheck and tips.

2. What is her social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected her? She'd probably be considered lower-middle-class, at best. It used to be higher when she was in foster care, if only by a small margin.

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? She lives alone in a one-bedroom apartment. The complex itself was built in the '40s, so it's certainly not the Ritz. The fixtures are old, but she's made it as comfortable as possible. When she moved in, she tore down the badly-peeling wallpaper, repainted, and cleaned everything thoroughly.

There isn't a lot of furniture: a dresser, a TV stand, a small coffee table with old flattened throw pillows for "chairs", two small end-tables, a bookshelf, a couch she found on the side of the road, and a futon. The end-tables are used for both the rat cage and the fish tank. She keeps everything tidy enough, though it's not uncommon for her to leave a few clothing items laying around, or her shoes kicked off in various spots along the wall.

While she's made it as comfortable as possible, it's still not "home".

4. Besides the basic necessities, what does she spend her money on? Pet supplies for her rat and fish, bills, thrift store items, and used books. For the most part, though, she'll save her money when she can.

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 works two jobs: one as a secretarial assistant for a small local newspaper office, the other as a waitress in a diner two blocks away. She's not perfect at either job, but she's been doing them long enough that she has the hang of it. While the jobs themselves are fine and dandy, albeit stressful at times, it's the coworkers and bosses who she doesn't always enjoy. Some of them are shallow gossipers, not to mention lazy, needlessly pushy, short-tempered, etc. Carrie tries her hardest to quietly appease them and go about her business.

6. What are her interests or hobbies? How does she spend her free time? Currently, she loves window shopping, as well as thrifting (if and when money allows). Though, when she does have free time, she typically stays inside her apartment in her PJs, does chores, watches TV, dilly dally on the keyboard, play with Ramona, read, maybe sketch a little if the urge hits her. She's pretty tired when a day off arrives and makes the most out of resting up.

7. What are her eating habits? Does she skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods? She skips meals quite often, for different reasons; some weeks she can't afford to buy food for herself until her next paycheck or enough tips are made. Other times, she's simply too busy. However, when she waitresses, she'll sometimes get lucky and get a free dinner before the diner closes for the night.

When she does eat, however, it's usually not always the healthiest food; it's cheap food with the biggest bang for the buck and quick. She tries to have fresh foods around her apartment, but let's face it; sometimes a box of macaroni and cheese costs less than an ear of corn and will last longer if she doesn't get a chance to eat it right away.


Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is her favorite:

1. Color? Forest green
2. Smell? Rosemary, thyme, and pine
3. Time of day? Late afternoon (that time right after sunset where the sky is still bright)
4. Season? Fall
5. Book? Pride and Prejudice
6. Music? Marina and the Diamonds or Christina Perry
7. Place? Monsano, Italy
8. Substance? Air or water
9. Plant? Peony
10. Animal? Calico cats


END
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