Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is she heavyset, thin, short, rangy? Carrie is about 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.

3. Describe her posture. Does she carry herself well or does she slouch? She’s alright with posture, though some days she's so tired and bogged down from her jobs that she can't help but slouch a bit. She tries to straighten up when her managers are watching, though.

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. She has no diseases or complications other than mild hay fever during peak allergy season, and she has no physical disabilities. Again, Carrie is 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. Due to her financial and working situation, she doesn't eat the best, either. On average, she probably doesn't eat enough; food is expensive, and even if it wasn't, she's usually too busy to have time for regular, on-schedule meals. When she does eat, it's whatever is available/affordable... which means lots of greasy doggy bags from the diner, occasional fast food, or food from the dollar store.

5. How does she move? Is she clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid? She would love to be graceful, but it's not something she actively practices. She's far safer off with being average. Though... some days, the poor girl would lose her head if it wasn’t attached. She's not necessarily clumsy, but Murphy's Law seems to love her on the bad days.

6. How attractive is this character physically? How does she perceive herself in the mirror? Though she doesn't use much makeup outside of Chapstick or a bit of mascara, she would prefer her face with a fair amount of cosmetics (alas, it's too much of an expense as far as her budget is concerned). While she doesn't have too much of a problem with her natural appearance, she doesn't really consider herself the type to be attractive to anyone who wasn't a straight-up creep in the first place. Chipmunk cheeks, an odd combination of facial features, and all the curves of a two-by-four will do that, though. Most days, she feels about as attractive as thirteen year old.

7. Describe her complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred? Carrie’s genetic lottery makes her rather fair-skinned. Aside from burning easier than she can tan, she honestly doesn't like too many outdoor activities where she currently lives, never mind that she spends most of her time indoors, working. She has a scar on her kneecap from tripping in the cornfield and a few other little ones from other childhood "owies", but nothing significant.

8. Describe her hair: color, texture, style. She has dark wavy hair that has a tendency to get horribly unruly if there's too much humidity in the air, if slept on wrong, or if she moves for more than ten minutes; it’s medium length (not too much styling to it), with bangs/fringe. To save herself hassle, she usually just pulls it back.

9. What color are her eyes? 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 at least look bohemian or vintage/inspired (they look more "hip" in the modern day); and even then, she sticks to modest numbers. If she can't wear them to work, there isn't 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. Otherwise, they're usually worn in already, so they're not too shabby on the comfort front.

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 sweats or pajamas or something equally comfortable and casual.

15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando? Generic panties.



Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse? It’s medium-high, a bit airy, and tinged with a scratch, 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 if her words aren't practiced or rehearsed (like they are when she's waitressing). 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 with a slight southern and midwest twang. She's moved around so much, lived in so many places, and picked up little verbal nuances from them, so it's a bit difficult to distinguish where in the country she lived from her accent alone.

She does tend to stutter from time to time when she's put on the spot or forced to face any sort of non-casual or practiced emotion.

4. What language/s does she speak, and with how much fluency? She speaks English, of course, fluently. She did take a bit of Spanish and French in high school, but she hasn't retained much of anything outside of asking where the bathroom is.

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 definitely has to think. She's so caught up in worrying about her image (the false one) and making people upset that she doesn't usually speak up if something arises. She'd rather play it safe, see where the opinions lay, and then, only if she has to, speak. It doesn't help that she's so guarded that speaking from the heart is nothing short of an Olympic feat. She's pretty darn cowardly.

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 concisely.



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 avoiding 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. She's not dumb by any means, but she hasn't had the experience of higher education.

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 are too many consequences to just leap to an action. Very rarely, if ever, will she act before thinking unless her pets' or her well-being is in danger.

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.

In everyday affairs, she's practical. She cuts coupons. She conserves water and electricity. She doesn't spend frivolously and budgets everything. She follows her pocket calendar (which houses her work schedules) like it's the bible. However, she's impractical in her dream of getting to San Francisco and assuming life with be better for her there. But she needs something good to hold on to. She desperate needs that positive motivation.


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. When gets to San Fran, if working doesn't eat up all her time, she wants to get her AA from a community college at the least. However, that's assuming she can spare the time and energy.

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, working different kinds of office machinery, and she's even managed to snag a few cooking recipes and tips from the diner. And thanks to her having to budget like the dickens to survive, she's more than adept at balancing a checkbook and other such humdrum financial skills. Back in her dependent days, she was quite interested in music, though it never amounted to more than a half-completed band class and an old keyboard she toted around with her from house to house (it went kaput before she got to her last foster home).

Though it's easy to assume her special ability is an area of expertise, she doesn't know much about her own powers. While she'd like to know why they appeared, how they work, etc., she simultaneously doesn't want to use them. Normal feels like it's so far out of her reach, but she believes it's impossibly so as long as she has her powers. 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... is quite the feat in of itself), 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 content but professional visage, obeying and doing her work as quickly and effectively as possible. Though on the tense side, she's outwardly "optimistic"; 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 once more finding herself at the mercy of those who would hate her for being a "Devil's Pawn". It's not a healthy balance.

She's most at-ease and genuinely laid back when she's at home, alone with her pets.

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; it's not even that she hates new folks. Life experience has simply molded her into an extremely cautious being. Unexpected change means she can't continue her time-tested routines; 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. She has a lot of growing to do before she's ready to act first and react second.

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 she feels comfortable in the setting; even bad jokes can be endearing then, if told in the right manner. Normally, she's rather dry when it comes to her own humor.

12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does she deal with them? Caroline suffers from general and social anxieties, though given her situation and the anti-powers vitriol of mainstream society, those issues can't be cured with therapy or drugs (though they would probably help if she could take them safely/afford them). While more research is needed on the subject, it's possible she's recovering from mild PTSD as well.

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". 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 seriously harmed by any person, some of the townsfolk were more than ready to get violent, enough to attempt to chase her down. That memory is what keeps her so vehemently wary of revealing herself as power-toting.

14. What does she fear? Being disliked or hated because of what she is. More specifically, 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.

Perhaps most of all though... a fear of not being able to belong. She'd rather quietly live peacefully in the background than be tossed around in the action.

15. What are her hopes or aspirations? Her dream 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 a community college part-time. In her mind, San Francisco will provide her with the best camouflage (almost like a zebra herd) and give her the best chance to live in relative peace and happiness in a town far more liberal than the expanse of the bible belt and midwest. She just wants to be in artsy city where people come and go so often that 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".




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've never attempted to make contact.

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 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. It’s been the the only constant "companion" of Carrie's throughout her years of jumping foster home to foster home. For a while, it shared its roll of companion with a keyboard, though that died a few years back. She still sleeps with Georgette.

6. Does she have other close friends? Nope. It's a hard knock life.

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? No.

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? Acceptance and protection. It's a pretty shallow requirement, one that could be easily exploited, assuming someone could even make it to that level of intimacy with her.

13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does she relate to them? If no, does she want any? No. In an ideal world, things would be safe enough in the future to consider bringing children into it or taking on the responsibility of adoption. But as things are right now, they're not, and Carrie has no intention of creating a family anytime soon.

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".

15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does she fall on the Kinsey scale? I’m going to say between a one or two. As far as she knows, she doesn't have any particular reservations for or against the same gender. The idea of dating another woman isn't offensive, but she wouldn't actively seek one out or approach a woman with romantic/sexual inclinations. Then again, she wouldn't seek out a partner of the opposite gender either.

16. How does she feel about sex? How important is it to her? Masturbation is a huge stress reliever for her, so while the thought of actually being with someone flusters her, she doesn't think anything negative about sex in of itself. However, aside from alone-time (when she isn't too exhausted for it), it has no bearing on her life.

17. What are her turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits? Turn ons: being held close, positive reinforcement, confidence, reassurance, blindfolds, consensual groping. Turn offs: sloppiness, humiliation, degregation, bad hygiene, pushiness.

Does non-sexually sleeping with a stuffed animal count as weird bedroom habits?



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 Rat. According to this and this, I’d say it’s a perfect fit.

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 realities 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, while she feels 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 under the radar and have some form of protection... at least for now while the media harks on government for info and legislature regarding Devil's Pawns.

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 (not that she'd do anything aside from hide if she met someone who does that). 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. Everyone has beliefs; sometimes those beliefs happen to be religious.

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. 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 possibility is there so she can better stay safe. In that sense, she's prejudiced against everyone until they prove without queston that they 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 quite 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-class, at best. It used to be higher when she was in foster care.

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 studio apartment. The complex itself was built in the '40s, so it's certainly not the Ritz nowadays. The fixtures are old, but she's made it as comfortable as possible. When she moved in, in exchange for a lower rent fee, she tore down the badly-peeling wallpaper, repainted, and cleaned everything thoroughly.

There isn't a lot of furniture. Bed, nightstand, used teacher's desk she got for free with the local school replaced them with new ones, thrifted dresser, sofa she found on the side of the road, a bookshelf, a hand-me-down TV and VCR a coworker was going to throw away, a coffee table with old throw pillows for "chairs". The rat cage is across from her bed, the fish tank on the "kitchen" counter. 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 and VHS tapes. 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 (typing up things the lead secretary doesn't want to do, making photo copies, mailing letters, answering the phone, that sort of thing), the other as a waitress in a diner six 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 whom 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 old thrift store tapes, plays with Ramona, reads, listens to the radio. 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 days, tips are bad and can't afford to buy food for herself (or, if it comes down to getting food for her or food for her pets... she gets food for her pets). Other times, she's simply too busy. However, when she waitresses, she'll sometimes get to take some unused foodstuff home.

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.

As far as alcohol goes, drinking is too expensive of a habit for her. That, and she never really partied in high school and thus never acquired a taste for it.


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

1. Color? River rock grey, sierra green, light yellow, mulch brown
2. Smell? Lily, fresh chopped wood, basil, camomile, coffee
3. Time of day? Early morning
4. Season? Fall
5. Book? Pride and Prejudice
6. Music? Of Monsters and Men, Christina Perry, God Help the Girl
7. Place? Monsano, Italy
8. Substance? Air or water
9. Plant? Peony, Violets
10. Animal? Calico cats, dumbo rats, sugar gliders


END
{{ Get the HTML here so you can do it yourself. }}