Astley Pyatt

The Basics

Name: Astley, Grace, Pyatt

Nicknames: none

Age: 17 (recruited at 14)

Orientation: Heteroflexible (she's still questioning)

Desired Rank/Job: Student

Powers: Temperature control. She has control over her own temperature, and a bit of a radiating temperature (about 2 inches regularly, occasionally she can make it go up to 2 feet, but it's a rare occasion that takes a lot of effort or - if involuntary - a lot of energy). She can withstand high heat or freezing cold, her body matching their temperatures. It isn't that she can create fire or ice, just that her body takes on a thermal level. Her power is usually voluntary, but will appear as both a survival instinct, and occasionally an involuntary reaction to extreme emotion (when people describe "hotheaded" or "an icy glare," Astley takes on that temperature - it's rare for her to lose control at this point, but it still might happen).

Side effects: Insensitivity to the thermal discomfort of others, dulled thermal distinction, high metabolism, higher risk of heart strain (due to changes in heart rate between high heat and low), and slower reaction time to pain.

Play By: Haley Bennett

Hair Color: Dirty blonde

Eye Color: Green

Any Piercings? No

Any Tattoos? No

Any Scars? Just minor scars (a couple on elbows and knees, a couple on ankles; nothing more than a half inch, nothing really noticeable)

General Appearance: Astley is fairly average-looking on a regular basis. She's of average height, though slightly underweight thanks to a high metabolism coupled with her inability to cope with stress (leading to, among other things, low appetite and insomnia). Her hair is usually a little messy, a little ragged, with bunches of flyaways always making her look a little haloed in sunlight, and a little unkempt anywhere else.

Her eyes, while a stunning bright green when she was a child, are slightly duller now, with bags that moved in about the same time she moved to Vermont, thanks to stress, though the green is still visible. She's always a little self-conscious about her eyes, trying to put make up on every day, as one is noticeably (at least to her) smaller than the other.

Whenever trying to impress someone or look more mature, she refuses to smile, as her round face makes her look practically two years younger if she ever cracks a grin. She has a bit of a pixie-ish smallness to her face that she doesn't like.

While reasonably well dressed to the extent of most teenage girls, she varies between obsessively dressing for the season (a self-conscious attempt to fit in), and dressing however she wants, despite the season.

Personality: Before coming to Hammel, Astley was a vivacious and outgoing flirt, outspoken, and very self confident. When her powers emerged, and she was forced to move out of her comfort zone, she retreated into herself. Se was very very shy - and still is, around people she doesn't know - but once she makes friends, she comes out of her shell bit by bit. Her emotions are less extreme than they use to be, brought in check to prevent her powers from spilling out.

She's a very positive person in general, more willing to smile than frown, but she's easily influenced by the expressions of others, and can be easily embarrassed. She tries not to get angry, but will frequently be up a few degrees, simmering with under-the-surface rage, at people who anger her.

She is frequently over critical of herself, and highly self-conscious. She cares a lot about what others think, and how she comes across to them, at least until she's close enough to have established a general trust. Once she's close to someone, her playful side comes out. She's not afraid to flirt a bit, or crack some stupid jokes, and will even do some crazy things in order to impress or entertain her friends.

Her first two years at Hammel she spent mostly alone, or with a small group of friends, still unsure of her powers and shy, but as she's growing more comfortable with them, her old confidence is returning and she's opening up a little more. She doesn't laugh as loudly as she used to, but when she does it's got a touch of giddy innocence to it, as though she knows she shouldn't be so 'out there' but has to anyway.

As she becomes more confident, she's also gotten a little less obedient. From the one who was always quiet, she's become the one who is probably muttering a silly comeback or non-sequitur, if you were close enough or quiet enough to hear it. Slowly, she's returning to the brazen girl she was before her powers kicked in, but she's definitely not there yet. She still finds it fascinating to use her quiet attitude in order to observe others.

Likes: Snowy days spent nice and dry, silk, photography, adventurous food, wacky accessories (even if she won't wear them in public), dogs, thunderstorms, musicians, vintage lingerie, the sound of a cello (more than almost any other instrument), pedicures with flip flops, pin up girls, British accents (most dialects), vintage filters on simple pictures, skinny jeans, people who wear vests, making something herself instead of buying it, and giant down comforters. And, though she'll never admit to anyone that she's done it, skinny dipping in the ocean.

Dislikes: Anything creepy and crawly, turtlenecks, formal occasions, lipstick, discussing politics, discussing war or the history of war, full length tights (as well as anything with the words "control top" in the name), being treated like she's ignorant, gossip, talking to strangers, skintight dresses, and soggy shoes.

Strengths: Art (primarily drawing), she has a good eye for faces, and she's very good at procrastinating.

Weaknesses: Maintaining organization, recalling rote facts, meeting new people (and remembering names), responding to stress, maintaining her cool around people she's attracted to (it doesn't help that her body tends to go up a few degrees), self-confidence.

Fears: Rejection, insects, being robbed/carjacked, anyone in a foam costume where you can't see their face, and being too much of a freak to have a real relationship.

Secrets:
- She's not entirely sure if she's straight.
- The incident she had with her boyfriend the night her powers appeared.

Father: James Pyatt, private accountant

Mother: Cadence Reese, gallery docent turned art dealer

Siblings: Younger brother, Josiah, but he's only 5.

Any Other Important People:None.

Astley was born to Cadence and James (an art dealer and her accountant-turned-husband), and grew up quite happily, admiring and idolizing her mother's friends (most of whom were in the art world), and took private art lessons from a young age. She studied in multiple mediums, though never took it more seriously than a hobby. When her parents had her younger brother, she was thrilled (though that thrill died down every time he threw a tantrum), and proudly set an example for him, devoting herself to her craft (which, at that point, really was more "crafts" than "arts"), and loudly lecturing her baby brother on everything she thought he should know.

Astley was over the top before her powers ever showed up, and was pretty boy-crazy, pretty loud, a little rowdy; she was brimming with self-confidence. She was a huge flirt from a young age, teasing the boys and making them blush - or blushing at boys while enjoying their teasing - and started "dating" young. But it was at 14, while she had her first steady boyfriend - Brandon - that she screwed it all up.

They were just kissing innocently (even a little awkwardly) on the couch, her father having stepped out to take a phone call, her mother still at the gallery, when it happened. She felt herself blushing, so excited to finally have someone she felt so oddly passionate about, when suddenly her boyfriend jerked away from her touch, as though she'd burned him. And, as it turned out, she had. The more embarrassed she got about it, the hotter her body grew, and Brandon wouldn't come anywhere near her, bolting out the door. She was miserable and felt awful, rejected, and as her embarrassment settled into depression, her body went from hot to icy cold. She didn't even realize she was doing it until she leaned against a window and found sudden condensation. She always worries that she'll hurt someone again, or be seen as a freak forever.

So, no, this isn't with this character, but I wrote it as (part of) the opening/setting post for a collaborative story that was written in the same style. Now, *ahem.*

Hiding her smile, Cadence unlocked her room and entered. It was the smallest of the rooms in the brothel - why waste a good room on someone who didn't even take clients? - but it fit her very comfortably. She had her bed and armoire, and even a vanity. Trunks and baskets filled with costumes were strewn about the room, a pile of books tucked gently into a corner, and swathes of fabric draped over any hard corners, jewelry hanging from some, giving the room a rather opulent feel, just as she liked it. Props from various performances she'd done lay here and there.

Hurriedly, Cadence tore through a basket, throwing items onto the bed haphazardly. She struggled out of her pristine Opera outfit while she pulled on her new costume - a complex action that required slightly more coordination than Caddy possessed. Surfacing from the fabric, she sat at her vanity, pawing through the various cosmetics she kept on hand and pulling out the darkest shades she could find.

Lady Fortuna was a mysterious woman - cloaked in all manner of velvet brocades (or all manner that Cadence could find and afford), she looked deep into a person's soul through palm readings and tarot cards, reading their future. It was some of the best money Candace made, with the right crowd, thanks to the touch of magic she'd inherited from that unknown entity that was her father.

Evaluating her heavily-lined and shaded eyes and lips, the contrast to her pale skin suitably eerie, Caddy reached for the jewelry. Bangles upon bangles, hoops and bells and rings and things all clicked softy together as Cadence teased her hair out of those damn difficult waves and well past her regular degree of "untamed" curl to a realm of wild beyond measure, before forcing some of it flat under the scarf she tied around her head. And that would do it.

She dug around in one of her trunks and pulled out the canvas bag she used to carry her tools. Into the bag went a small threadbare Persian rug, a few glass orbs and a square of wood, some poles, some fabric, some candles and matches, and her tarot deck. It wasn't the lightest burden, but the setup gave her some credibility.

Breathless, with barely five minutes to spare, Cadence reached her destination: the small park across from the Watson Amphitheater. She calmed herself as she stuck the poles into the ground in a rectangle, draping the fabric around to form an intimate tent of sorts. Inside she set up the rug, placing four little globes on it and resting the wooden board on top, placing a larger glass globe on that, as well as he tarot deck and a couple of small mismatched candles. Verifying that she was, indeed, prepared, Cadence exited her makeshift shop as Lady Fortuna - seer and mystic.

Name: Jen, Jenni, or Turner
Age: 20
Experience: I haven't been on a forum in a few years, but I started on them when I was 11 or 12, and even when I stopped being on forums I frequently wrote collaborative stories in the same manner. So 9 years or so. =)
How Did You Find Us? I've been doing a PbP pathfinder game with a friend of mine, but I don't want to keep buggin him to respond, so I've decided to join a few different sites so I always have something I can be writing. I found the site through some database, I think it was total drama something or other.
Ready To Play? I am at last! Rewrote the application and everything! =D