Jane Vance
Oct 5, 2014 15:19:04 GMT -5
Post by Jane Vance on Oct 5, 2014 15:19:04 GMT -5
The Basics
Name: Jane Vance
Nicknames: Vee, Vance
Age: 15
Orientation: Unsure
Desired Rank/Job: Student
Powers: Reptilian Physiology: Jane's ability isn't precisely shapeshifting, but it does entail altering her own form fairly substantially. On a regular basis Jane just resembles your average teenage girl, but when she puts her mind to it or lapses, she undergoes several physical changes. The foremost outward characteristics of her mutation are a light dusting of scales along either side of her abdomen, and an unnaturally long and dexterous tongue. Also products of her manifestation are her height and long limbs, though if one hadn't been present for the abrupt and extreme growth, it might be easy to attribute these to Jane just being very tall naturally. Advantages to her physiology include heightened flexibility in most areas, improved agility and leg strength thanks to her twitch muscle reactions, and the ability to reach things on high shelves.
However, there are a lot of side effects to Jane's mutation that make it difficult for her on a day to day basis; regardless of which 'form' Jane is currently in, she runs cold, and her skin is usually cool to the touch unless she's been out in the sun for a few hours. Furthermore, she gets very sluggish and lethargic in cold weather, requiring heat lamps and the like to warm herself up. Jane also has a ravenous appetite, coupled with unusual dietary preferences - she doesn't have to eat live food, but generally exhibits distaste for her meals if they're not still wriggling... and when she's very hungry she sometimes struggles to control the urge to try and eat small animals. In addition, though she's normally very energetic, when Jane hits the wall she hits it incredibly abruptly and at great force; she can go from bouncing around to drop-dead exhausted the second her energy runs out, and she's less than apt at pacing herself. Much to her chagrin, she is completely incapable of tanning. In general Jane is not especially good at regulating when and how often she changes, and is worse at maintaining her 'normal' shape the more stressed out, upset, or hungry that she is.
Play By: Isabelle Fuhrman
The Details
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Hazel
Any Piercings? None
Any Tattoos? None
Any Scars? None
General Appearance: Jane looks different depending on how active her powers are at any given time. Her regular height is about 5'5" and a little bit on the slim side. However, when her altered physiology kicks in, she winds up growing a great deal. Not just tall, but taaaaaall; clocking in at nearly 6'7" the last time that she measured,. By extension this shape sees Jane being very skinny and gangly, with long limbs and a slender physique, especially since her body weight doesn't really catch up with her height. This creates a somewhat odd contrast between how she looks and her actual physical capabilities - differences in her muscle fibres mean that Jane can leap, climb and run to a much better degree than her slim form would suggest. One thing her body isn't in either form is athletic.
Jane is pale-skinned, almost ghostly so, in addition to having a very smooth complexion, although that only extends so far as what's visible clothed; her torso has a smattering of dark green scales, heaviest around her sides, just beneath her ribcage, though these are possible to suppress through some effort. Jane's hair is dark and long, although she often ties it up or back due to it getting in the way. Although it's straight when she makes an effort, it usually threatens to break out into waves whenever she's less than stern with it. Similarly, she tends to alternate between wanting to scrub up nicely and not particularly caring about makeup... usually dictated by the most recent time she's worn it and remembered that it doesn't feel one hundred percent comfortable on her altered skin.
An impertinent grin is never far from her well-formed face, complete with expressive eyes and well formed brows. Jane has occasionally fielded remarks of looking a little doll like. She general retaliates by sticking out her tongue; this works even better now that she can make the appendage three times as long. Jane dresses haphazardly, tending to go for a combination of what seems like a good idea at the time and what happens to be clean, which can have a wide variety of results... but usually scruffy ones.
Personality: Jane struggles socially. She has never been particularly good at talking to people, chiefly because her idea of a decent conversation rarely seems to match up well with anyone else's. She isn't a recluse - far from it in fact, she just has a habit of becoming very engrossed in a given task or hobby at any one time, and will semi-regularly trail off in mid sentence as her train of thought gets re-routed. Jane is aware that her interests might seem a little unconventional, and sometimes will go out of her way to try and accommodate and show enthusiasm, which can often wrap around into making her seem a bit too intense. Unfortunately for her social relations at large, Jane is also something of a prankster, which, given her unusual sense of humor, can lead to some interesting situations.
Jane's physical changes are something that may have been debilitating for another girl, but which she took just about completely in her stride. In amongst all of her issues, one thing that Jane isn't is self conscious, though if she were, it would probably drive her completely crazy. As a matter of fact, Jane often goes out of her way to indulge her peculiarities, finding that having a prehensile tongue and the ability to dislocate her jaw can be good ice breakers... well, in theory. This speaks of her attitude in general to her meta-humanity; though her altered biology is something that sometimes unsettles Jane, she puts her best foot forward and instead tries to explore her differences, pushing and testing at the limits of what she can do. She definitely doesn't go out of her way to try and keep herself in her normal shape.
Once you get past all of the weirdness, Jane is actually a genuinely warm and friendly person, just with her own novel ways of expressing affection. Having never been particularly good at making friends, she treasures those she manages to get close to - more than ever after her manifestation, and is fiercely loyal. Make fun of Jane all you want, but hurt one of her friends and the claws come out. That having been said, since her physiological changes and subsequent departure to Hammel, Jane doesn't really have any friends, one of few things that has genuinely got under her skin. Being able to swallow an entire mouse is cool and all, but it's more fun in company.
Your Vices
Likes:
Climbing
Sports (spectating more than playing)
Video games
Sunbathing
Water
Working out
Grossing people out
Short people
Painting (badly)
Sketching (badly)
Mice
Dislikes:
Cold weather
Uptight people (esp. vegetarians)
Dead meat
Interrupted naps
Confined spaces
Insufficient legspace
Heels
Clothes shopping
Short beds
Strengths: Thick-skinned, which is just as well, because there's plenty about Jane to be made fun of. Making light of situations, both to keep her own spirits high and cheer other people up; self-depreciating and weird-out humor are her specialties.
Weaknesses: Jane is a stubbornly slow learner, at least educationally - she tends to get preoccupied with her own strange physiology, and the novelty of it has not yet worn off for her. While she isn't stupid, she does have a short attention span, which means she often struggles in classroom situations. In addition, Jane's laid back approach to life can sometimes be a drawback as much as it's a boon; laughing off insults and deflecting means that she often doesn't stand up for herself, which sometimes invites more trouble.
Fears: Mutating further and getting scales all over her body. Going to sleep in one of her lethargic moments and never waking up.
Secret: A couple of days after manifesting and still not quite in control of her appetites or metabolism, Jane, acting on instinct, ate a small dog. She finds this deeply upsetting.
Family Ties
Father: James Vance
Mother: Lillie Vance
Siblings: Ozzie (8), Samuel (11)
Any Other Important People:--
History
Jane was born and grew up in Reno, Nevada, first of three children to James and Lillie. Her childhood could probably be best described as ordinary, but hectic. Her mom ran a bar, while her dad worked as an EMT (the story went that they had met after two of her patrons got rowdy and had to be rushed to the hospital). Regardless, both professions were very busy, so family occasions had something of a rushed, 'get every moment we can' quality to them, particularly as the number of children increased. In a less tactful, somewhat inebriated moment, James let slip to Jane that none of the couple's children had been planned in any way.
Nevertheless, between the two of them, Jane's parents managed, although she spent many a night occupied by babysitters when her dad was on night shift (her mom, of course, having the night shift by default). Jane grew up relatively well adjusted, although she never had a very good attention span, flitting between hobbies and jobs - if she had chores to do, she would often have to be reminded three or four times due to getting distracted en route. Due to this, as well as her relatively close age to her siblings, Jane was never really trusted as the 'responsible older sister', at least not by her parents. Considering she nearly started an electrical fire the first time she used a toaster, this may not have been unjustified... but it still hurt her a bit when her younger brother Samuel was the one being given messages to relay to the babysitter or the one trusted with the grocery list.
School and Jane did not get along. Fidgety, short attention span, a little odd, it was tough to say if she had a worse time with her lessons or with her peers. Her grades were never really better than okay, and she was constantly landing herself in hot water by failing to pay attention in class and daydreaming. She was able to shrug off typical school aged teasing and bullying, but she wasn't able to make many friends either. Although trying to impress upon her the importance of working hard, her parents' lack of time led them to settle, reasoning that so long as Jane wasn't failing, she had to be doing okay.
Manifestation, for Jane, came incredibly abruptly, around a month before she turned fifteen. She went to bed 5'4" and woke up 6 feet tall. Her changes very rapidly got weirder. Clammy skin, bending further than seemed natural, strange meat cravings, and then there were the scales... Jane's parents freaked out. Jane thought that it was awesome, apart from the fact that none of her clothes fit her properly any more. It was strange when the excitement wore off, but Jane was never one to let something get her down, especially because it meant she was taller than her dad, which she found hilarious. A fortnight of strangeness ensued as Jane alternated between seeming perfectly normal - leading to her family fervently hoping that it was just a blip, and then changing again, sometimes right before their eyes. Jane had the sense that it was something that she could influence herself, but struggled to either suppress or evoke the physiological reactions. About two weeks of growth spurts and strange physiological discoveries later, a recruiter from Hammel came along to collect Jane... she still hasn't forgotten the relieved looks on her parents' faces. She is very new to Hammel and yet to integrate very well; she's unsure what to make of the school, and somewhat resents the implication that her meta-humanity is something that needs to be concealed and hidden.
Roleplay Example
Mallister mumbled incoherently to herself, scuffing up dirt with her boots as she meandered aimlessly across the grasslands. Logic wrestled with stung pride, telling her that she'd only been walking for an hour or two, if she turned around she could easily be back to the group in time to take rest from the high noon sun and then get back to work once the heat abated a little.
And then what? Back to being called an unworthy child? Back to having to prove herself to people she'd spent her whole life with?
The tribe and the elders knew full well what Mallister was capable of. If they didn't consider her an adult after nearly eighteen years, then she wasn't going to change just on their whims. The way that Mal acted - even though it got results - apparently wasn't good enough for them. That was fine. Mal respected the elders in her own way. You didn't become the shaman, the chief hunter, the campsmaker by coincidence, all of them knew vast amounts about their respective areas of tribe life.
Mallister appreciated their guidance, but she refused to bow to it when it insulted her. She was one of the best hunters in the tribe, she was one of the hardest workers, too. Lacking discipline? Control? Where were they when she stalked prey for hours at a time, patient, knowing that the slightest movement could ruin the entire hunt?
No. She refused. If Mal wasn't an adult in their eyes then they would have to do without her. If a child was able to fill the role and duties that Mallister had for the past half dozen years or longer, then they certainly wouldn't miss her presence, would they?
Finally, Mallister stopped walking, teeth gritted and staring off into the distance. As much as it was difficult to concentrate on anything but the bubbling, indignant rage inside of her, she had to come up with a plan of action. She'd hunted enough game in her time to know that there was safety in numbers, and alone she would be far more vulnerable. Predators avoided nightfires surrounded by tents... not so much the scent of a single individual camped under the stars. Feeding herself would be a little easier than trying to bring in enough from hunts to ensure nobody would go hungry, at least. On the other hand unless Mal spent a long while setting everything up, a lot of what she killed would go to waste, which was unacceptable. That meant delays, potentially long ones, whilst she prepared meat for travelling. She couldn't exactly haul a bloody carcass around in the heat.
There was also that little worrisome consideration of her destination. Geography was less than Mallister's strong suit; she could navigate across Juthron and the Tassam, perhaps reach that... city to the south at a push, and that was the extent of her knowledge, which relied heavily on dead reckoning, landmarks, and memory. Beyond that, she'd hardly done so much as crossed the wide river to the grasslands' northern border. Staying in the grasslands just didn't seem right, not with her tribe still there. Sooner or later she'd run back into them, or they'd interrupt one another's hunts and, well, that would just be, well...
Mal sighed. She didn't want to just up and leave forever. The tribe was her family. Sometimes families argued, it had happened before, when Mallister had accidentally ruined a hunt by trying to be too flashy with her shooting. Everything had been worked out in the end with apologies and good cheer. She just... needed some time to herself. Maybe a lot of time. Mal didn't know yet.
She started walking again. East? East sounded good.
What About You?
Name: Zah
Age: 22
Experience: 10 years.
How Did You Find Us? RPG-D
Ready To Play? Marmalade
