Summer Fox

[Summer Fox]

The easy S T U F F . . .

Name: Summer Grace Fox
Nickname: When she was little, her parents used to call her Princess. The kids at school call her various names that joke about her frequent hospitalization, as well as her general habit of not getting in trouble and getting straight A’s. She chooses not to remember these, generally speaking.
Age: 14
Member Group: Student
Power(s): Atomic Absorption…unless someone can think of a better name for it. Summer can absorb whatever basic materials she needs from the air directly into her body. This means that she technically doesn’t need to breathe, since as long as she is in a place with oxygen she can just take it in. She can do the same for nutrients, so she also doesn’t need to eat. However, she doesn’t know how to control what she takes in, so she often accidentally absorbs things that are bad for her, or even just plain toxic. This results in seizure-like fits where her entire body is literally trying to cough the stuff out. It also means that things like secondhand smoking is an even bigger problem for her, since she could just run past someone and take in half the nicotine in the air. She also might get rashes on her skin where she absorbed the materials.
Play By: Nimue Smit

Let it F L O W . . .

Diary Entry
May 9, 2001
7:53 PM
I know it’s a little late to start this diary entry, since I have to go to bed in seven minutes. Dad is so particular about me going to bed on time. I wouldn’t mind so much, but I had to hurry to finish my book report today, because it had to be done before I went to sleep! I know he cares about my grades as much as I do, but he needs to relax about my getting the “proper amount of sleep and exercise”. I know how to take care of my body, even if I am just a kid! I’ve gotten enough lectures on it, after all. Mom told him to let me stay up later, but he said no. All of my friends say Mom’s cool, because she’s perfectly ready to let me do whatever I want, and that I must hate Dad, because he’s so restricting. They don’t get it. The two of them are perfect together. Mom alone wouldn’t take care of me at all, and Dad would never let me do anything. But I’ve got both of them, so it balances out really nicely. Time to go to bed now, though! We’re getting our spelling tests back tomorrow. I’m not sure if I spelled “fairy” right. I’ve seen it as “faery” too, in some books.

Diary Entry
October 2, 2001
10:59 PM
I’m not even sure what to write. I’m sitting here, in the hospital waiting room with Mom, waiting for the doctor’s to come back from Dad’s surgery, and I’m not even sure what to write. I suppose I should be mad at that drunk driver who hit Dad’s car on his way home from work, but I’m not. The guy’s in the police station now, but I saw him before. He was crying so hard, and I heard someone say that he was drunk because his wife just left him, so I get why, and everything. But I wish I was mad at him. Then I would know what to feel. I don’t feel like anything right now. Just numb. But that’s okay, because Dad’s going to live. I know he is. He can’t die. That kind of stuff only happens in stories, so he can’t die. He’s not going to. That would be stupid and wouldn’t make any sense, and anyway, it’s been hours now, so if he was going to die, it would’ve happened already. So it’s all going to be okay.

Diary Entry
October 3, 2001
2:01 AM
Mom finally stopped crying. After Dad she identified the body she came back to the waiting room, she just broke down. They had to call a taxi to take us home. She cried here too, and I kept trying to make things better, to cheer her up, but I didn’t know what to do. I’m afraid that if I start crying, Mom will think she has to take care of me, and I don’t think she’s ready to do that yet. She isn’t even taking care of herself right now, so I can’t make her worry more. I don’t know what we’re going to do now, but I’m sure Mom will get better in a few days. Then she’ll figure everything out.

Diary Entry
December 17, 2001
6:42 PM
We just got back from Dad’s funeral. His friends set the whole thing up, since Mom isn’t really doing much of anything yet. She isn’t crying anymore, but now, all she does is sit there. I’ve tried talking to her, but she doesn’t even look at me. I don’t really know how to cook, so all we’ve eaten since Dad died is microwaveable food that I bought with Mom’s credit card. I know it’s wrong to take something without permission, but I asked and she just stared past me, so I just took it. We have to eat, and I didn’t know what else to do. She takes the food, but I have to spoon-feed every bite to her. I haven’t told anyone about her. She’s always so crazy about image, and what the rest of the world thinks of her. I know she’d hate it if people saw her like this. I got a taxi to take us to the funeral, and made sure she didn’t have to talk to anyone the entire time. I hope she gets better soon.

Diary Entry
December 18, 2001
2:12 PM
Apparently, one of Dad’s friends managed to track down Mom’s parents. She never talks about them, so I always assumed they were dead, like Dad’s. Turns out, she ran away to elope with Dad when she was twenty, and they haven’t been in touch since. But they came to the funeral, and then they came to our house the next day. Apparently, they’re rich. Mom’s an heiress. They took one look at the state of Mom and our apartment (I tried to keep it clean, I swear!), and said we were coming back with them to their house. I’m not sure if I like them or not. They didn’t look like they liked me much. But they’re going to take care of Mom now, so I’m sure they’re nice people.

Diary Entry
February 18, 2002
I know I should be grateful to Grandpa and Grandma for taking care of me and Mom, but I don’t like it here. I’ve tried, I’ve really, really tried, but it just isn’t working. I wish I could go to real school, even though the tutors they hired teach me more than I would learn in a class with other kids. I like learning, but I miss being able to talk to kids my own age. Here, I talk to my tutors, and then I’m told to go play quietly in my room or do my homework. The only good part is the library. They have so many books that I don’t think I could read them all if we were here for years! But I’m sure we won’t be. When Mom gets better, we’ll leave. I can put up with living here until she’s well again.

Diary Entry
November 13, 2002
4:31 PM
Mom finally came back to life! She says we’re leaving today. She’s taking her inheritance—Grandpa and Grandma are willing to let her have it now that she’s not married to Dad—and we’re going to move somewhere nice, like New York or Los Angeles. I don’t care where we go. It’s going to be just like it was before, I know it!

Diary Entry
November 18, 2002
8:52 PM
The school says that I have to skip a grade because I learned so much while I was at Grandpa and Grandma’s and had a private tutor. I figure it won’t be that big of deal. I’m kind of shy and not that good at talking to people, so skipping a grade will probably make things a little more awkward, and it might be a little harder to make friends, but it can’t be that bad. I’m sure they’ll like me anyway. And Mom seems happy here.

Diary Entry
December 2, 2002
9:34 PM
I almost wish we’d stayed back with Mom’s parents. I don’t have any friends at school. I don’t know how to talk to people, and they think I’m a freaky nerd anyway, because I skipped a grade and I’m top of the class anyway. Mom doesn’t listen. All she wants to do is have parties. Fancy ones where everyone gets drunk and all sorts of rich people that she barely knows come and eat caviar. I don’t get it. Why couldn’t we just go back to how things were before Dad died?

Diary Entry
May 9, 2007
10:47 PM
Mom took me to a therapist today to try and find out why I’m not going through a teenage rebellious phase. She told the lady that all I did was go to school, do my extracurriculars, and then come home to do homework. I think the therapist was more worried about Mom than me, though. What parent wants their child to screw up? If all I do is homework, the school newspaper, the yearbook, play piano and violin, and go to swim team practices, she should be happy. Instead, she wants me to “go to parties and stay out late like normal children my age”. I’m not even that old. Besides, she’s got all that down to an art. She’s the one going to parties and stuff. Doesn’t she get that someone in this family has to be responsible? She needs taking care of.

Diary Entry
January 2, 2008
11:02 PM
Mom’s got a new boyfriend. Again. She says this time it’s serious, but I’m not sure if I believe her. She says that a lot. Apparently, they met at a New Year’s Party, which is apparently terribly romantic and auspicious. Or so Mom says. His name is Daniel, and apparently he’s dying to meet me. I doubt it. Probably just wants to get into the apartment and Mom’s bed. But I’ll be nice to him and smile and agree with the things he says, just like I always do for Mom and her friends. No point in making trouble or having them think bad things about Mom. It’s easier if they just forget I exist.

Diary Entry
January 22, 2008
11:32 PM
I met Daniel today. He’s all right. He didn’t talk to me like a little kid, or just completely ignore me, the way most of them do. He seems to like Mom, which is the most important part, and I think she likes him. I guess I should be happy for her. And I am, I guess. He’s nice enough, even if he’s not solid or dependable or responsible. Not the kind of person who could take care of her when I go to college. But they probably won’t even still be together then. And, I mean, he’s nice. He is. It’s just…he’s not Dad.

Diary Entry
October 12, 2008
11:45 PM
Daniel’s moving in. They’re exceedingly happy about it, and they say I should be too. So I guess I am. Happy, I mean. Mom’s happy, so I guess that makes me happy too. He stays here most nights anyway. Not a big deal. If Mom’s happy, then it’s okay.

Diary Entry
November 14, 2009
7:23 PM
I had a seizure a couple days ago, which is why I haven’t written in a little bit. In the pool. I was just swimming, and I felt kind of weird. Then I just started shaking, and it really hurt, but I managed to grab my cell phone and call 911. Good thing, too, because I was home alone. Then I think I blacked out. I woke up in the hospital. I hadn’t taken a breath in a really long time, so I thought maybe that was why. They said I had really bad chlorine poisoning too, which is weird, because I don’t remember swallowing that much. Oh, well. It’s over now, and I’m going back to school now.

Diary Entry
December 16, 2009
10:59 PM
I wish I’d stop having all these seizures! They’re diagnosing me with epilepsy, but none of the medications they’ve given me are helping. I can’t even swim anymore, because I always start to seize up in the pool. And when I run. Or if I start to any sort of strenuous activities, which is weird, because I don’t even start to breathe hard or anything. I just have a seizure and get rushed to the hospital. Now all the kids at school think I’m even more of a freak than before.

Diary Entry
May 9, 2010
7:53 PM
I thought I’d heard everything. Now they’re telling me I have a superpower. Or something. That’s what’s causing my seizures, apparently, and why I keep having all these substances in my blood stream that I never put there. Call me ungrateful, but if that’s a superpower, I’ll pass, thanks. Mom and Daniel are talking about it. I know he thinks metas are freaks. Mom’s never really expressed an opinion. She doesn’t care about politics at all. The person who did the blood test at the hospital says I have to go to some school for training, but I don’t think Daniel believes them. I think he’d rather I had epilepsy than powers. He should be glad, though. He’ll get me out of the house and have Mom all to himself. I know he doesn’t dislike me, but I think he’d rather Mom didn’t have a kid.

Behind the M A S K . . .

Name: Attila is good. It’s short for Attila the Bunny, but usually people just call me Attila.
Age: 15
RP Experience: Four or five years off and on? Something like that, anyway.
How did you find us?: RPG-Directory

Show your S K I L L S . . .

This is a post from another site. Generally, I would do something fresh for the character, but I think all the diary entries should give you a feel for how I mean to play her.

Lyra tossed in her bed a few more times, unable to sleep. Damn Filch! He'd taken her pocket knife earlier that day. Sure, it was a knife, but it's not like she'd been doing anything with it. Just flipping it around. It was like twiddling her thumbs. Did Filch confiscate people's thumbs? She thought not, though with that man it would probably be hard to tell. If she'd been hurting someone with it--not that she would ever do that to anyone unless they richly deserved it--then maybe she would understand. But this was ridiculous and totally unfair and... Oh, she hated that man.

Rolling over in her bed one last time, she made up her mind. She was getting her knife back tonight. Sod Filch. He could go to whistle. Him, his decomposing cat, and his klepto tendencies. She slid out of her bed and peeked around. No one had noticed her getting up. Grinning, she grabbed Pan from where he had been sleeping on her pillow, and lifted him up to set on her shoulder. He gazed at her balefully, obviously not pleased that she had disturbed his slumber.

"Oh, don't be like that, Pan," she whispered. "It'll be fun. Besides, that man has to learn that stealing is wrong. She could almost hear the voice she always imagined Pan would have telling her that she stole things all the time. She giggled quietly, being sure not to disturb the other sleeping girls. "Well, that's different. I'm just a kid and haven't learned better yet." She settled him on her shoulder and slipped out of the room without bothering to put shoes on or change out of her pajamas. This way, she could always dive into bed without having her clothes give her away, or even feign sleepwalking, though that was always riskier.

She tiptoed out of the common room and into the hallway, looking around cautiously. Good. No one there. It was the middle of the night, and teachers liked sleep just as much as students. More even, since they were all old. Even if any of them were walking around, it was a very big school. If she actually met anyone, she'd be very, very surprised.

And she was indeed very, very surprised when she almost bumped into someone else coming the other way two minutes later. She had three stories in her head about why she was there before she realized it wasn't a teacher, but rather a boy her own age. She thought she recognized him from her house, even, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Jesus!" she whispered to him. "I thought you were a teacher, you dolt. You nearly gave me a heart attack. How would you like my death on your conscience, huh?"

As an extra note: I’d like to either play Summer as having just come to Hammel, or actually play out the part where a recruiter picks her up and she comes. If you’d rather I pretended she’s been here for a while, though, I can do that too.

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