(no subject)
Mar. 29th, 2014 01:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pyrrha_pandoraYour name or online alias: Sasha
Your AIM SN: sasha.robot
Your email: mechasashabot at gmail dotcom
Character's full name: Miss Pyrrha Pandora
Character’s Dreamwidth journal username: pyrrha_pandora
What would you like your character’s tag to be? pyrrha pandora
Is this character an OC set in a canon world? If so, which canon? If not, describe their world. This includes things like whether the world has magic or technology, what sort of culture your character comes from, the relative era in which it is set, etc.
Pyrrha's world is much like ours was in 2012, but the Norse gods are real. They are largely absent from the world, preferring to spend their time in their ivory-tower equivalents; but their magic (runes, songs, rituals) still exists, and some lowly mortals can even use that magic. They may even encounter one or another of the gods who do go forth among the people.
Character’s background (their past and present): Pyrrha was born Daniel Gustafson, seventh of the thirteen children of a fundamentalist pastor and his wife. Her genitalia was ambiguous, but she was raised as a boy, which was not a comfortable fit for a girl in such a sex-divided culture. The things she wanted to do, she wasn't allowed to do, because they were girl things and she was a boy. All she had was her art.
Eventually, the situation became untenable and she had to leave home. She found her way into the city, where a chance encounter in a coffeeshop led to her being adopted into the goth-leaning Puerto Rican drag family House of Pandora; her new family, with its focus on creativity in all possible forms, was a natural fit for her, and with them she thrived. She was given her new name, Miss Pyrrha Pandora, and her new look--the red stripe in her hair. She found her creative voice, and all was well, until her boyfriend Damian's accidental death sent her into a self-destructive spiral that nearly cost her her life as well.
At the lowest point in her life, she was trapped in an abandoned building by a man who had made it quite clear that he was going to kill her when he got home from work that night, and at first she accepted that as inevitable. But the more she thought about it, the more angry she got--she wasn't going to die like that, wasn't going to let him just have his way. So she forced her way out onto the broken fire escape, and there she encountered Loki. 'I can save you if you let me,' he said, and she said yes.
For years, she thought she had a demon in her head, but in reality she had been absorbed, her body burned away, leaving just memories and a soul in the avatar-body of Loki. She spent seven years traveling around and doing his bidding, getting taken in by strangers and trying to make the world a better place by increasing the art and sense of community among the people who took her in. Some weren't so receptive; she was attacked on several occasions, but she always kept going. She didn't like that lifestyle very much, though, the lack of stability--always being on the move, unable to put down roots--so when eventually she was able to settle in Milliways, she was glad.
And then she learned she didn't have a body of her own anymore. And then she was given Loki's son Egil to raise as a foster-baby, and the body situation didn't matter so much to her anymore. And now, with Loki's plans of revenge complete, she's been rewarded for her service by being given a body of her own again. A new life in a new place.
Character’s personality: Pyrrha's a generally perky goth. She tries not to take herself too seriously (though she takes her work very seriously), and doesn't get self-conscious doing silly things in public. She'll try anything that seems like it might be fun, as long as it doesn't hurt anybody (though she doesn't drink anymore, and prefers to avoid drugs since she's got a baby to take care of). She has a very hard time staying still, so if she's not moving, she's talking, and if she's not talking, her mind is racing. She doesn't like being bored.
She also gets very protective of people she sees as her kind of people: the poor, the marginalized, the outcasts, the people with nobody else to look out for them. When protecting or defending them, she will dig her heels in and be incredibly stubborn, in ways she never is when only defending herself.
Character’s skills/abilities/powers: She's good at a wide range of artistic pursuits, including tattooing, drawing, painting, sewing, knitting, and even carpentry. Thanks to her involvement with Loki, she's immune to fire and sickness, but not to any other form of harm.
Any special equipment your character is bringing along? This includes weaponry, magic items, etc.: Just some perfectly mundane art supplies, including tattoo equipment.
Why do you want to play this character? I like the blend of power and powerlessness. Here's a person from a deeply conservative upbringing, raised to deny her individuality and live for others in an almost pathological way, taught that she was nobody--and then she was chosen by a god to be one of his avatars. But he's not just any god; he's the outcast, the maligned, the self-proclaimed lord of nobody and nothing. She's given power, but she's only able to use it in a way that maintains that carefully subordinate position. It's like backseat driving, but with gods. Loki cannot be in a position of power, so Pyrrha can't either, which suits her just fine. She's stubborn. She's a survivor.
What is your character’s greatest flaw? The unfortunate remnants of her upbringing, her self-esteem issues and her problems expressing negative emotions. Some things are hard to get over, and though she can keep telling herself she's as good as anybody else, she doesn't always believe it. Some subjects she's immune to; she doesn't care what people say about her gender or her sexual history. But she's still very self-conscious about her lack of formal education, for instance. And when something bothers her, she tends to shut down, with the masklike placid smile she was taught as a child. Not the most healthy behavior in a relationship.
Describe your character’s family (whether family by blood or by choice). How does your character feel about them? What did your character learn from them? Her relationship with her blood-family hasn't always been the best. She felt hatred and fear toward her father, and resentment toward her mother for allowing such harsh punishments to happen--but at the same time, she did have some sympathy toward her mother, who was just as much a prisoner of the family situation as Pyrrha herself was. Her mother did the best she could under the circumstances, but she had herself and all her other children to protect, not just Pyrrha. She spent most of her childhood firmly in her own head, so was never very close to any of her siblings, a fact she regrets.
She's much closer to her adopted family in the House of Pandora, particularly house parents Andi and Toro. Andi's a fellow transwoman, and out and proud about it; she showed Pyrrha that it's okay to be who you are, that a person can find happiness and love no matter what their situation, if they're comfortable in their own skin. Toro's a drag performer and the driving force behind the House of Pandora clothing line; he's boisterous, often cheerfully raunchy, and he's the reason Pyrrha's not afraid to do silly things in public. Try new things and see what happens--maybe she'll fail, but she'll be able to say she tried.
What hobbies does your character have? She describes herself as an 'all-purpose art machine,' and that about sums it up. She'll try anything that gives her some sort of creative outlet, even if it's not using a medium she's experienced in. She loves to read poetry, though she's too self-conscious about her own abilities to write any herself. She also loves music and dancing, even if it's mostly limited to singing along and dancing around her room; she's not really good at either, but it makes her happy.
Your character wakes up in the middle of the night in panic from a nightmare. What was the nightmare? Either being a child again and powerless, or being in that abandoned building again and likewise powerless. Powerlessness is her greatest fear, not having any control over what's being done to her. She's been through so much, worked so hard to overcome the you must've deserved it mindset, and being powerless just brings it right back.
Writing sample:
Pyrrha looks down at Egil—well, he’s a lot bigger. She must’ve been out a long time this time. “You’re getting heavy, puppy,” she murmurs, and shifts his position a bit to carry him more easily.
Something feels wrong, though.
She’s not sure exactly what—an absence, maybe? Something’s missing.
Maybe it’s just her personal life. With however long she’s been gone, who knows what’s gone on there—still alone, probably. Still hollow. But she’ll get by. She’s got Egil to take care of, hasn’t she?
“We missed Halloween, didn’t we.”
First time in ten years that she has. First time since getting away from her original family. It’s not something a proper goth should do—it’s her favorite holiday in the entire year. The veil between worlds gets thinner, people have an excuse to unleash some aspect of themselves they normally keep hidden—when they celebrate it properly, anyway.
She hadn’t even made herself a costume this year. She’d made one for Egil of course, and a lot of other clothes for him besides—he’s bigger now, so she’ll need to make more—but the only thing she’d made for herself was the wedding outfit.
Next year Egil won’t fit into the costume she’d made him.
“Executive decision, puppy,” she says as she starts toward her room. “Tonight’s gonna be your first Halloween.”
He squirms a bit as she changes him into his costume, but it’s a playful squirming. He’s glad that she’s back; even if he can’t do as much in this shape as he can as a fox, he doesn’t mind when he’s with her.
He won’t fit in the sling when he’s wearing his costume. She’ll just have to carry him downstairs—she can sit him on her lap once they get there. It’s not like she’ll have to hold onto him the entire time.
And he does look adorable in his costume.
She slings her zombie bag over her shoulder, scoops him up and heads for the door.
Your AIM SN: sasha.robot
Your email: mechasashabot at gmail dotcom
Character's full name: Miss Pyrrha Pandora
Character’s Dreamwidth journal username: pyrrha_pandora
What would you like your character’s tag to be? pyrrha pandora
Is this character an OC set in a canon world? If so, which canon? If not, describe their world. This includes things like whether the world has magic or technology, what sort of culture your character comes from, the relative era in which it is set, etc.
Pyrrha's world is much like ours was in 2012, but the Norse gods are real. They are largely absent from the world, preferring to spend their time in their ivory-tower equivalents; but their magic (runes, songs, rituals) still exists, and some lowly mortals can even use that magic. They may even encounter one or another of the gods who do go forth among the people.
Character’s background (their past and present): Pyrrha was born Daniel Gustafson, seventh of the thirteen children of a fundamentalist pastor and his wife. Her genitalia was ambiguous, but she was raised as a boy, which was not a comfortable fit for a girl in such a sex-divided culture. The things she wanted to do, she wasn't allowed to do, because they were girl things and she was a boy. All she had was her art.
Eventually, the situation became untenable and she had to leave home. She found her way into the city, where a chance encounter in a coffeeshop led to her being adopted into the goth-leaning Puerto Rican drag family House of Pandora; her new family, with its focus on creativity in all possible forms, was a natural fit for her, and with them she thrived. She was given her new name, Miss Pyrrha Pandora, and her new look--the red stripe in her hair. She found her creative voice, and all was well, until her boyfriend Damian's accidental death sent her into a self-destructive spiral that nearly cost her her life as well.
At the lowest point in her life, she was trapped in an abandoned building by a man who had made it quite clear that he was going to kill her when he got home from work that night, and at first she accepted that as inevitable. But the more she thought about it, the more angry she got--she wasn't going to die like that, wasn't going to let him just have his way. So she forced her way out onto the broken fire escape, and there she encountered Loki. 'I can save you if you let me,' he said, and she said yes.
For years, she thought she had a demon in her head, but in reality she had been absorbed, her body burned away, leaving just memories and a soul in the avatar-body of Loki. She spent seven years traveling around and doing his bidding, getting taken in by strangers and trying to make the world a better place by increasing the art and sense of community among the people who took her in. Some weren't so receptive; she was attacked on several occasions, but she always kept going. She didn't like that lifestyle very much, though, the lack of stability--always being on the move, unable to put down roots--so when eventually she was able to settle in Milliways, she was glad.
And then she learned she didn't have a body of her own anymore. And then she was given Loki's son Egil to raise as a foster-baby, and the body situation didn't matter so much to her anymore. And now, with Loki's plans of revenge complete, she's been rewarded for her service by being given a body of her own again. A new life in a new place.
Character’s personality: Pyrrha's a generally perky goth. She tries not to take herself too seriously (though she takes her work very seriously), and doesn't get self-conscious doing silly things in public. She'll try anything that seems like it might be fun, as long as it doesn't hurt anybody (though she doesn't drink anymore, and prefers to avoid drugs since she's got a baby to take care of). She has a very hard time staying still, so if she's not moving, she's talking, and if she's not talking, her mind is racing. She doesn't like being bored.
She also gets very protective of people she sees as her kind of people: the poor, the marginalized, the outcasts, the people with nobody else to look out for them. When protecting or defending them, she will dig her heels in and be incredibly stubborn, in ways she never is when only defending herself.
Character’s skills/abilities/powers: She's good at a wide range of artistic pursuits, including tattooing, drawing, painting, sewing, knitting, and even carpentry. Thanks to her involvement with Loki, she's immune to fire and sickness, but not to any other form of harm.
Any special equipment your character is bringing along? This includes weaponry, magic items, etc.: Just some perfectly mundane art supplies, including tattoo equipment.
Why do you want to play this character? I like the blend of power and powerlessness. Here's a person from a deeply conservative upbringing, raised to deny her individuality and live for others in an almost pathological way, taught that she was nobody--and then she was chosen by a god to be one of his avatars. But he's not just any god; he's the outcast, the maligned, the self-proclaimed lord of nobody and nothing. She's given power, but she's only able to use it in a way that maintains that carefully subordinate position. It's like backseat driving, but with gods. Loki cannot be in a position of power, so Pyrrha can't either, which suits her just fine. She's stubborn. She's a survivor.
What is your character’s greatest flaw? The unfortunate remnants of her upbringing, her self-esteem issues and her problems expressing negative emotions. Some things are hard to get over, and though she can keep telling herself she's as good as anybody else, she doesn't always believe it. Some subjects she's immune to; she doesn't care what people say about her gender or her sexual history. But she's still very self-conscious about her lack of formal education, for instance. And when something bothers her, she tends to shut down, with the masklike placid smile she was taught as a child. Not the most healthy behavior in a relationship.
Describe your character’s family (whether family by blood or by choice). How does your character feel about them? What did your character learn from them? Her relationship with her blood-family hasn't always been the best. She felt hatred and fear toward her father, and resentment toward her mother for allowing such harsh punishments to happen--but at the same time, she did have some sympathy toward her mother, who was just as much a prisoner of the family situation as Pyrrha herself was. Her mother did the best she could under the circumstances, but she had herself and all her other children to protect, not just Pyrrha. She spent most of her childhood firmly in her own head, so was never very close to any of her siblings, a fact she regrets.
She's much closer to her adopted family in the House of Pandora, particularly house parents Andi and Toro. Andi's a fellow transwoman, and out and proud about it; she showed Pyrrha that it's okay to be who you are, that a person can find happiness and love no matter what their situation, if they're comfortable in their own skin. Toro's a drag performer and the driving force behind the House of Pandora clothing line; he's boisterous, often cheerfully raunchy, and he's the reason Pyrrha's not afraid to do silly things in public. Try new things and see what happens--maybe she'll fail, but she'll be able to say she tried.
What hobbies does your character have? She describes herself as an 'all-purpose art machine,' and that about sums it up. She'll try anything that gives her some sort of creative outlet, even if it's not using a medium she's experienced in. She loves to read poetry, though she's too self-conscious about her own abilities to write any herself. She also loves music and dancing, even if it's mostly limited to singing along and dancing around her room; she's not really good at either, but it makes her happy.
Your character wakes up in the middle of the night in panic from a nightmare. What was the nightmare? Either being a child again and powerless, or being in that abandoned building again and likewise powerless. Powerlessness is her greatest fear, not having any control over what's being done to her. She's been through so much, worked so hard to overcome the you must've deserved it mindset, and being powerless just brings it right back.
Writing sample:
Pyrrha looks down at Egil—well, he’s a lot bigger. She must’ve been out a long time this time. “You’re getting heavy, puppy,” she murmurs, and shifts his position a bit to carry him more easily.
Something feels wrong, though.
She’s not sure exactly what—an absence, maybe? Something’s missing.
Maybe it’s just her personal life. With however long she’s been gone, who knows what’s gone on there—still alone, probably. Still hollow. But she’ll get by. She’s got Egil to take care of, hasn’t she?
“We missed Halloween, didn’t we.”
First time in ten years that she has. First time since getting away from her original family. It’s not something a proper goth should do—it’s her favorite holiday in the entire year. The veil between worlds gets thinner, people have an excuse to unleash some aspect of themselves they normally keep hidden—when they celebrate it properly, anyway.
She hadn’t even made herself a costume this year. She’d made one for Egil of course, and a lot of other clothes for him besides—he’s bigger now, so she’ll need to make more—but the only thing she’d made for herself was the wedding outfit.
Next year Egil won’t fit into the costume she’d made him.
“Executive decision, puppy,” she says as she starts toward her room. “Tonight’s gonna be your first Halloween.”
He squirms a bit as she changes him into his costume, but it’s a playful squirming. He’s glad that she’s back; even if he can’t do as much in this shape as he can as a fox, he doesn’t mind when he’s with her.
He won’t fit in the sling when he’s wearing his costume. She’ll just have to carry him downstairs—she can sit him on her lap once they get there. It’s not like she’ll have to hold onto him the entire time.
And he does look adorable in his costume.
She slings her zombie bag over her shoulder, scoops him up and heads for the door.
