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Post by Tobey on Feb 1, 2007 13:10:52 GMT -5
(These are answers to the 100 Questions to Ask Your Character, for which the credit goes to Souleh) (I'm currently in the process of updating Pipsqueak's interview, since his answers to some of these questions will have changed now that he's finally at the House) Pipsqueak's Interview, Part 1 [/b] Part 1: The Basics 1. What is your full name? I suppose I don't have an 'official' name, but I call myself Pipsqueak, just so I have a way to refer to myself when I need to. 2. Where and when were you born? I suppose I was born in a tree somewhere. I only know that because I've seen females of my kind raising their babies in trees. I have no idea when I was born. Probably in the summer, because that's when all the females seem to give birth. I've never really given it much thought, because those two details wouldn't matter /at all/ were it not for the fact that females whose young I've killed become more open to mating with me. Thus, I need to know when and where to look for the young. 3. Who are/were your parents? (Know their names, occupations, personalities, etc.) Oddly enough, I think my parents did have 'official' names. I can't remember what they were, though, although I remember that they had numbers in their names. As for occupation, that would be the same as me; flying around looking for dead stuff to eat. I sort of remember what my mother was like, a little. She was always impatient with me, as if she was just waiting for me to be old enough to survive on my own, so she wouldn't have to mess with me anymore. I don't have any memory of my father at all. 4. Do you have any siblings? What are/were they like? I think I had siblings . . . two sisters and . . . three brothers, but they've gone their separate ways. I don't remember much about them, except that they would fight me for food. But I was the biggest, so I usually won. 5. Where do you live now, and with whom? Describe the place and the person/people. I used to live wherever I could find food, and where I don't have to worry too much about competition from others of my kind. Mostly I would look for open, grassy areas, because that's where it's easiest to spot predators and prey from the air. I typically had my own territory, but sometimes food got scarce enough that I had to move. I didn't really live /with/ anyone, except during mating season. And that's pretty much just utter chaos for a month or so. I suppose I've made the occasional alliance with predatory creatures when I needed food, but those never seem to last long. I say 'used to,' because I've recently had a rather major change in where I live. It's kind of hard for me to describe, but I think I found an entirely different /world/. So now I live with real live humans, which, as it turns out, aren't mythical at all. 6. What is your occupation? I'm a scavenger. I eat the leftovers from predators' kills, and as I mentioned earlier, I sometimes work with predators to help them find their prey. And when the hunt is over, I get a portion of the kill in exchange. At least, if the predator is in a good mood that day, I do. But predators can be such b!tches, sometimes. 7. Write a full physical description of yourself. You might want to consider factors such as: height, weight, race, hair and eye color, style of dress, and any tattoos, scars, or distinguishing marks. Well, I'm about two feet long, with a four foot wingspan. Each of my wings is supported by a long, jointed rod, which supports the membrane. About in the middle of the wing, I have a hand, with three fingers and a thumb, all of which have claws. My wings fold up, so that I can walk with my hands. I have a fine coat of black fur on most of my body, but my wings are bare. They're . . . dark brown. Very close to black. My face is somewhat doglike, but it has mainly the same features as the other creatures I see around me. My weight? I don't know exactly, but I would suppose I'm light for a creature of my size, since I'm able to fly. My race, like me, doesn't really have a name, but a lot of creatures call us "bat-vultures," so I'll go with that. I don't have any scars, since I have quick enough reflexes fly away from any threat before it can hurt me. Well, usually. I don't have any distinguishing marks, either. As far as I know, I look exactly like all the other bat-vultures. I could be wrong, though, because I try to spend as little time around other members of my kind as possible. 8. To which social class do you belong? Well, most predators look down on me as a liar and a theif, but most prey are scared of me. So I guess I'd fall somewhere between predator and prey. 9. Do you have any allergies, diseases, or other physical weaknesses? If I did, I doubt I would have survived to adulthood. The weak starve, or are eaten. That's the way things work. 10. Are you right- or left-handed? Not that I use my hands for much, but I suppose I'm right-handed. 11. What does your voice sound like? High-pitched, but rough-sounding. 12. What words and/or phrases do you use very frequently? "Predator," "prey," and, "This way!" are the only ones that really spring to mind. Normally, I don't really talk that much. Just when I need to. 13. What do you have in your pockets? I don't have pockets. 14. Do you have any quirks, strange mannerisms, annoying habits, or other defining characteristics? If you asked a predator, my most annoying habit is my insistance that I get my share of the kill. It irks me when predators don't keep their end of the deal, and that happens a lot. I guess they're used to shy little bat-vultures who just shut up and go away when the predator says "Tough luck," because that's what they always seem to expect me to do, and it annoys the hell out of them when I keep pestering them. If you asked a prey creature, my most annoying habit is pretending I have a predator following me, so that they'll stampede. And that's just plain fun. Part 2: Growing Up 15. How would you describe your childhood in general? Well, there was that short period when I was with my parents, which, as I've already told you, I don't remember much about. The rest of my childhood wasn't much different from my adulthood. Aside from the fact that I was so much less experienced back then. 16. What is your earliest memory? The fact that I can remember my mother is pretty incredible. That should be good enough for you. 17. How much schooling have you had? None. The only reason I can speak english is because I've heard other creatures speaking it, and I'm a quick learner. 18. Did you enjoy school? No, because I've never been there. 19. Where did you learn most of your skills and other abilities? I learned a little from my parents. What to eat, what not to eat, basic stuff like that. I think I might have learned a few words of english from them, but I know my mother wouldn't have had the patience to teach me much. Most of what I know I learned either from experience, or eavesdropping on other creatures' conversations. 20. While growing up, did you have any role models? If so, describe them. Not really. There was never a member of my own race that I really got along with, because they'd always fight you for food or territory or something. And my parents are out of the question, because I hardly remember them, and what I remember, I didn't like. And I never looked up to other races either. The predators are all snobs and b*st*rds that I only work with because I have to, and the prey are all pathetic little stupid cowards. 21. While growing up, how did you get along with the other members of your family? For the time I knew them, I suppose I got along. They were feeding me, after all. 22. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be a prey animal [sarcasm]. I wanted to be exactly what I am today; a creature that could fly high above the ground and didn't have to work hard for food. 23. As a child, what were your favorite activities? Eating, sleeping, the occasional friendly fight with my siblings. 24. As a child, what kinds of personality traits did you display? Other than that I wasn't as smart as I am now, I don't know. 25. As a child, were you popular? Who were your friends, and what were they like? Was I . . . popular? I'm a bat-vulture, so what do you /think/?! And I don't have any friends. I don't need them. 26. When and with whom was your first kiss? Kissing is a human thing. We go straight to the good part, if you know what I mean. 27. Are you a virgin? If not, when and with whom did you lose your virginity? Hell, no, I'm not a virgin. Virginity implies weakness. Let's see, my first mating season . . . yeah, I remember. I fought a few of the losers from other mating battles, so I got fairly high in the ranking. But I was just a beginner, so I lost quite a few fights, too. Still, there was a female who was definitely checking me out. She wasn't the best female there, but she wasn't diseased or anything. I stayed with her for a while, at least till the end of mating season. I've only seen her a few times since then, always at mating season. 28. If you are a supernatural being (i.e. mage, werewolf, vampire), tell the story of how you became what you are or first learned of your own abilities. If you are just a normal human, describe any influences in your past that led you to do the things you do today. Well, I'm not a supernatural being, but I'm not a normal human, either. So, um, I guess I'll answer both questions. I became what I am today because I was born this way, and I do what I do because . . . well, because it's just what seems right. Part 3: Past Influences 29. What do you consider the most important event of your life so far? Probably the day I learned that you should always stay in the air when dealing with predators. Thankfully, I took off before I got eaten, but that was a lesson that I have always remembered, and which has served me well. 30. Who has had the most influence on you? Probably just predators in general. You can't really work side by side with a certain group and not have them influence you, at least a little. 31. What do you consider your greatest achievement? Probably that day I was able to trick a herd of prey animals into stampeding off a cliff. Needless to say, I ate well that day, and for weeks afterward. I was sort of surprised, actually; normally they're just a bit smarter than that. 32. What is your greatest regret? . . . . . I can't think of anything I really regret. I'm pretty happy with how my life is now, and none of the things I've done in the past have had that much impact on the present. 33. What is the most evil thing you have ever done? If I had really truly considered an action "evil" then I wouldn't have done it. Humans tend to see killing as 'evil,' and I have killed sentient creatures before. But I don't think of it as 'evil,' it's just how life is. 34. Do you have a criminal record of any kind? No. As far as I know, nobody keeps track of anything I do. 35. When was the time you were the most frightened? Probably the same day I learned to keep to the air when dealing with predators. I had been certain I was going to die. 36. What is the most embarrassing thing ever to happen to you? It was probably the time I tried to do a loop in midair to impress a female. I was so disoriented when I came out of the loop that I plowed right into her! To say the least, she didn't approve of me after that. 37. If you could change one thing from your past, what would it be, and why? I already said I have no regrets, so there's nothing I'd want to change. If I /had/ to change something, though, I would've killed my siblings. I think I could've beaten them in a fight, and that would've been five less bat-vultures that I'd have to deal with today. 38. What is your best memory? The stampede off of a cliff that I talked about earlier. That was a good day. 39. What is your worst memory? Again, I already talked about it. The day the predator almost ate me, because I was dumb enough to land. Part 4: Beliefs And Opinions 40. Are you basically optimistic or pessimistic? Optimistic. 41. What is your greatest fear? Being unable to fly, and subsequently starving to death because of my own weakness. 42. What are your religious views? All I know about religion is what I hear from the canine clans. They have all this drivel about how we were created by 'the White Ones,' or 'the Keepers of Knowledge,' who watch over them, and when they die they come back to life as those so-called 'humans' everyone seems to talk about. It's a bunch of bullsh*t. 43. What are your political views? We don't exactly have politics. 44. What are your views on sex? I like it. 45. Are you able to kill? Under what circumstances do you find killing to be acceptable or unacceptable? Yes, I'm able to kill, although I find it so much more convenient to let the predators do that for me. Killing is acceptable whenever you're hungry, and it's unacceptable when . . . . when you're not hungry, I guess. I dunno, 'unacceptable' is such a strong word. 46. In your opinion, what is the most evil thing any human being could do? Human beings can do whatever they darn well please, as far as I'm concerned. As for the creatures I'm familiar with, I'd have to say . . . well, it bugs me when predators try to kill the fastest members of a herd of prey, just to prove they can. It slows everything down, and . . . it's just frustrating. I guess frustrating isn't the same as evil, but that was the only thing 'evil' I could think of that wouldn't make me look like a hypocrite. 47. Do you believe in the existence of soul mates and/or true love? Not really, no. 48. What do you believe makes a successful life? Having enough to eat, a big territory, and not getting eaten by predators. And of course, the ability to fly is always a nice thing, too. 49. How honest are you about your thoughts and feelings (i.e. do you hide your true self from others, and in what way)? Nobody cares about my thoughts and feelings. I wouldn't say I /hide/ my true self from others, but I don't go and shove it in people's faces, either. 50. Do you have any biases or prejudices? I think I've already said that predators are b*st*rds, and prey are cowards. So yes, I have a few biases. I'll admit that I've met a couple exceptions to those rules, but not many. 51. Is there anything you absolutely refuse to do under any circumstances? Why do you refuse to do it? If there's food involved, I can't think of anything I'd refuse to do. I'm a scavenger; things like dignity just get in the way. 52. Who or what, if anything, would you die for (or otherwise go to extremes for)? Okay, so maybe there's one thing I'd refuse to do for food. I wouldn't die for it. That would defeat the purpose, wouldn't it?
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Post by Tobey on Feb 1, 2007 13:11:22 GMT -5
Pipsqueak's Interview, Part 2 [/b] Part 5: Relationships With Others 53. In general, how do you treat others (politely, rudely, by keeping them at a distance, etc.)? Does your treatment of them change depending on how well you know them, and if so, how? I assume you mean others of my kind. If it isn't mating season, I typically tell them to get the f*ck out of my territory, or, if I'm not in my territory, I steer clear of them. I'll often encounter others of my kind when there's been a big kill, in which case I'm typically able to chase them away, because I'm a bit bigger and stronger than most of my kind. Mating season is a whole other ball game. If I see a male, and he looks weaker than me, I challenge him, and fight until one of us surrenders. If the male looks stronger than me, he'll often challenge me. If it's a female, I try my best to seduce her. 54. Who is the most important person in your life, and why? Me. Because there is nobody else. 55. Who is the person you respect the most, and why? No specific person, but I have a healthy fear of predators. That's sort of like respect, right? 56. Who are your friends? Do you have a best friend? Describe these people. I don't have friends. 57. Do you have a spouse or significant other? If so, describe this person. No. Very few bat-vultures decide to mate for life. 58. Have you ever been in love? If so, describe what happened. Yes, every mating season. Lots of crazy sh*t happens during mating season, and you're insane if you want me to try and remember all of it. 59. What do you look for in a potential lover? She needs to look healthy, and well-fed, with nice, soft, thick fur. It would be nice if she smells good, too; I like the way some females smell. 60. How close are you to your family? Not at all. 61. Have you started your own family? If so, describe them. If not, do you want to? Why or why not? Probably. I don't really know, because I don't stick around to find out. 62. Who would you turn to if you were in desperate need of help? I don't have anyone to turn to, so I guess I'd just figure out a way out of it myself. 63. Do you trust anyone to protect you? Who, and why? It would probably have to be a prey creature of some sort. Predators turn on you as soon as they get hungry, and my own kind would probably kill me just to get rid of the competition. 64. If you died or went missing, who would miss you? Nobody. 65. Who is the person you despise the most, and why? There was this one feline hunter once, who was worse than the rest. Refused to let me anywhere near the kill, even though there was more there than she could possibly ever eat. I think she was the one who first called me "Pipsqueak." 66. Do you tend to argue with people, or avoid conflict? I argue over food, when I think I've earned it, and I've gotten into my share of territorial conflicts. So no, I don't really avoid conflict. 67. Do you tend to take on leadership roles in social situations? Occasionally, when I'm around others of my kind; in other words, during mating season. But around other creatures, I really /can't/ take on a leadership role, because the prey are afraid of me, and the predators think I'm scum. 68. Do you like interacting with large groups of people? Why or why not? Not really. I occasionally work with packs of predators; typically the canine clans, but their whole 'group mentality' thing weirds me out a little. It's like they aren't even individuals anymore. 69. Do you care what others think of you? Hah! No. Part 6: Likes And Dislikes 70. What is/are your favorite hobbies and pastimes? Causing stampedes, eating, mating. 71. What is your most treasured possession? Well, considering that I don't have any inanimate possessions, I'd probably have to say my wings. 72. What is your favorite color? Red. It means food. 73. What is your favorite food? Mmm. The deer-people taste good, but that's what I eat most of the time, so I get tired of it. There's some aquatic race, I'm not sure what they're called though, and I found a dead one of them once, and their meat is good. All salty and juicy and yummy. It sure is hard to come across, though. 74. What, if anything, do you like to read? I can't read. 75. What is your idea of good entertainment (consider music, movies, art, etc.)? Watching deer-people stampede off a cliff is about the best entertainment I've ever seen. 76. Do you smoke, drink, or use drugs? If so, why? Do you want to quit? No, I don't smoke, yes, I drink; otherwise I'd be dead, and what the hell are 'drugs'? 77. How do you spend a typical Saturday night? Precisely the same as I would spend any other night; I sleep. 78. What makes you laugh? Watching deer-people stampede off a cliff, and there was this one time I watched a feline hunter get his head stuck in some other animal's burrow. That was hilarious. 79. What, if anything, shocks or offends you? Inter-species relationships, particularly between a predator and a prey creature. I mean, if they're just friends, that's okay, I suppose; even though I think it's rather pointless to be making friends with people outside your species; but if it's anything deeper than that, then that's just wrong. 80. What would you do if you had insomnia and had to find something to do to amuse yourself? Considering that my night vision is somewhat lacking, I'd probably occupy myself by thinking up new ways to trick predators and prey and get food. 81. How do you deal with stress? I don't really get stressed. If it's food I'm worried about, I leave my territory and look elsewhere for food. If it's predators, I simply stay alert. If it's mating that's worrying me, then I croon my mating call. I can't think of anything else I would get stressed about. 82. Are you spontaneous, or do you always need to have a plan? It depends on the situation. I like to plan out some things, like the whole stampeding deer-people off a cliff thing, that was planned. Other times, you aren't expecting something to happen, and you need to be able to be spontaneous. 83. What are your pet peeves? Predators, flies, and irregular air currents. Part 7: Self Images And Etc. 84. Describe the routine of a normal day for you. How do you feel when this routine is disrupted? I wake up with the sun after a light sleep in a tree. I sleep in trees so I'm out of reach of most predators, and I have to sleep light because there are some predators that can climb. I'm usually hungry early on, so first thing I do is look for something to eat. If I find that the nocturnal predators didn't make any kills the night before that are still lying around, I go look for predators. The canine clans are usually nicer to me than the feline hunters, but you have to watch out, because they're d*mn smart, too, and they can trick you sometimes when you aren't expecting it. And like I said, their whole group mentality weirds me out. But anyway, once I find a predator, then I find some prey. That's usually the easy part; the deer-people gather in such huge herds that you could spot them a mile away. I lead the predator to the prey, and breakfast is served. After I eat, making sure not to eat too much so that I can still fly, I just sort of fly around, making sure nobody's in my territory. That's sort of my lazy time; I just fly, and enjoy the feeling of air under my wings. Whenever I get hungry again, I find another predator, and repeat the same routine as I use to get breakfast. It's the same pattern until it gets dark, and then I find a tree and go to sleep. Perhaps not a very exciting life by human standards, but I'm happy with it. 85. What is your greatest strength as a person? Could be my asertiveness, even though it's come close to getting me killed on multiple occasions. It's how I often get my way, especially in the way of food. Not to mention that being assertive is a definite plus during mating season. 86. What is your greatest weakness? My curiosity. Sometimes, I just want to know more about something, and I start ignoring my better judgement. 87. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I wouldn't let curiosity get the better of me. I'd focus on survival, and nothing else, because that's what's important. 88. Are you generally introverted or extroverted? Introverted. I tend to keep to myself, most of the time. 89. Are you generally organized or messy? Neither. I have no possessions to be organized or messy with. 90. Name three things you consider yourself to be very good at, and three things you consider yourself to be very bad at. I'm very good at taking off quickly, tricking people, and winning fights against rival males. I'm very bad at being loyal to anyone or anything, picking up small objects, and complex mid-air manuevers. 91. Do you like yourself? I guess so. I mean, I like my life, and I like what I am, but I'm not sure if that was what you were asking. 92. What are your reasons for being an adventurer (or doing the strange and heroic things that RPG characters do)? Are your real reasons for doing this different than the ones you tell people in public? (If so, detail both sets of reasons...) I think I said this before, but I do what I do because it's what feels right. What I tell other people varies. To prey, I would say that it's just because I need to eat, and that it's not really me who kills them, but the predators, and I just happen to reap the benefits. They probably wouldn't buy that, though; they aren't /that/ stupid. To the predators, I would say that I love the thrill of the hunt as much as they do, but poor little me, all I can do is watch. Predators love it when you act all inferior to them. But I doubt that either of these situations would come up, as nobody ever actually asks why I live the way I do. 93. What goal do you most want to accomplish in your lifetime? I want a big territory with lots of food. It would be nice if it was near the sea, so that I'd have dibs if any of those aquatic people died and washed up on shore. If I get that, I'll be very happy. 94. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? I see myself 5 years older, and hopefully not dead. Other than that, I have no idea. 95. If you could choose, how would you want to die? I'd want to die from some sort of disease. It's probably the only way to die that isn't associated with weakness or stupidity. Only the weak get eaten by predators, only the stupid starve to death, but anyone can get sick. 96. If you knew you were going to die in 24 hours, name three things you would do in the time you had left. I would try to get another herd of deer-people to run off a cliff, I would see just how high I can really fly, and then dive down at maximum speed, and then I would find a predator in a bad mood and see how much I could piss them off. 97. What is the one thing for which you would most like to be remembered after your death? Why should I care whether I'll be remembered or not? I'll be /dead/. 98. What three words best describe your personality? Clever, tough, and adaptible 99. What three words would others probably use to describe you? Annoying, untrustworthy, and ungrateful; that last one I would get from predators, anyway 100. If you could, what advice would you, the player, give to your character? (You might even want to speak as if he or she were sitting right here in front of you, and use proper tone so he or she might heed your advice...) First of all, don't think your curiosity always has to be a bad thing. Curiosity can help you survive, too, you know. Second, just in general, I'd recommend being on better terms with the predators. Keep pissing them off, and they might not let you land one of these days. Okay, okay, the interview's over. Here's your treat.
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Post by Tobey on Feb 1, 2007 13:12:49 GMT -5
(This is fun! I'm going to interview Echo now.) Echo's Interview, Part 1 [/b] Part 1: The Basics 1. What is your full name? Jordan Marie "Echo" Gabriels 2. Where and when were you born? December 8, 1988, in Salem, West Virginia. I'm pretty sure the name of the hospital was Salem Medical Center. 3. Who are/were your parents? (Know their names, occupations, personalities, etc.) Oh god, don't get me started. For the longest time, I just thought my parents 'wanted what was best for me.' That's the line all parents feed their kids, isn't it? But it finally dawned on me that what they really wanted was exactly that. It was what /they/ wanted, not what I wanted. Mom and dad were the same that way; they were both trying to control my life. And before you start thinking I'm just being paranoid, let me tell you how I found out what my parents really thought. Back when I was still trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, they were all love and support, and even though they were both doctors, they said they would be behind me one hundred percent, no matter what career I picked. Right up until I actually /picked/ a career. I wanted to be a professional photographer. For a while, I guess, my parents thought it was just a phase I was going through. They didn't think I actually, really wanted to take /pictures/ of things for a living. To them, that was stupid, and they didn't think /I/ was that dumb. At first, they tried gentle coaxing. Surely, their daughter wanted to spend a little more of her focus on something else? Something that was a little more . . . lucrative? That didn't work, of course. I knew what I wanted to do, and to be honest, I wasn't really that concerned about money. So then my parents tried less subtle tactics; they didn't want their daughter to turn into some good-for-nothing bum. The tension built for a while, and then things literally came to blows. My father, who had been abusive before I was born, but who had managed to change his ways, took out his frustration with me on my mother. It was only too easy for me to guess what had happened; I saw the bruises on her face. That was the last straw. I ran away from home after that. See? I told you not to get me started on my parents. You ask about my parents, and you get my life's story. Oh, I forgot that you had asked for their names. James and Lucy. 4. Do you have any siblings? What are/were they like? Nope, I was an only child. 5. Where do you live now, and with whom? Describe the place and the person/people. I'm currently living in a place known only as the House. It's a sort of safehouse for people who've been . . . altered. After I ran away, I was kidnapped by a genetics lab, and they turned me into what I am today. Fortunately, I escaped from that horrible place, and stumbled upon the House. I have one roommate so far, a girl named Bea. She seems nice, but I don't feel like I know her that well. She's just so quiet. 6. What is your occupation? It varies. I try to get jobs as a photographer, but it's hard, because I don't have my own camera, and good quality ones are really expensive. The ironic thing is, if I had a camera, I could get a better job, and earn money to buy a camera! But, as it is, I get jobs where I can. I've worked at grocery stores, mostly, and tried my hand at telemarketing. It's hard for me to keep jobs, though, because ever since my riff with my parents, I've had major problems with following authority. 7. Write a full physical description of yourself. You might want to consider factors such as: height, weight, race, hair and eye color, style of dress, and any tattoos, scars, or distinguishing marks. You're hilarious. Really. Since I doubt you really wanted to know what I happen to look like /today/, I'll instead tell you what I looked like, before I went to the lab. I was almost exactly average height, and I had sort of dusky brown hair, which I wore down to about my mid back. I liked my eye color; I had fairly dark, greenish brown eyes. People often told me my eyes were pretty. I only pierced my left ear, mainly because it hit me after that looking pretty should never have to be painful. So I typically wore an earring in my left ear, but left my other ear intact. People said I looked like Anna Paquin, but personally, I never saw the resemblance. People also said I looked like a leader, which is weird, because I'm not. Mostly, to me, I look tomboyish, but not so much so that I thought I needed to change. Unlike so many people around me, I was happy with the way I looked. 8. To which social class do you belong? Before I ran away, probably middle to upper class. Now, poor as I am, and considering that nobody really knows I exist, I'd say lower class. 9. Do you have any allergies, diseases, or other physical weaknesses? I'm allergic to people. Does that count? Okay, before I was altered, I would sometimes sneeze from pollen, but nothing too serious. Other than that, I was pretty much physically fit. I suppose I really /was/ just a bit of a tomboy; I played sports, and basically was active most of the time. Now that I'm genetically destabilized, I get whatever allergies and physical weaknesses that they have. It sucks. 10. Are you right- or left-handed? Left-handed. That, at least, is something I've kept throughout my transformations. 11. What does your voice sound like? I assume you mean what /did/ it sound like. Because right now it just so happens to sound exactly like Buffy's. It used to sound . . . oh god, I can barely even remember it. It was sort of deep for a girl's voice; not enough so that I sounded like a boy or anything. But, at the same time, it sounded like a hummingbird. At least, that was how my mom described it. 12. What words and/or phrases do you use very frequently? Depends on my mood. If someone's trying to boss me around, "F*ck you" seems to come out of my mouth a lot. If I'm in a better mood, the only phrase that comes to my mind is "genetic destabilization," and that's just because I have to explain my condition to everyone I meet. I generally prefer not to get stuck in a rut, saying the same things over and over. 13. What do you have in your pockets? However much money I happen to have with me. When I'm in Tarr's form, I usually have a picture of myself in my pocket, just so I can make sure I got my appearance right. God, it's so weird to forget what you look like. 14. Do you have any quirks, strange mannerisms, annoying habits, or other defining characteristics? I don't like to touch people. Then again, considering my condition, that's perfectly understandable. I also get just a little irrational whenever people touch me without my permission, even if they don't know about me yet. But, on the other hand, I also ask permission of people before I touch them. Part 2: Growing Up 15. How would you describe your childhood in general? I already gave you the speech, when you asked about my parents. I don't really have anything to add to that. 16. What is your earliest memory? Hmm. Well, I remember seeing some comercial having something to do with dogs, and then asking my parents if I could have a puppy, and my mom said something like, "Wouldn't you rather have a kitten?" I ended up not getting either a puppy or a kitten. But I guess that would probably be my earliest memory. 17. How much schooling have you had? I was just starting high school when I realized I wanted to be a photographer. Just a couple years after that, when I was a sophomore in high school, was when I ran away from home. So I've had about . . . K through 8, then middle school, then about two years of highschool. 18. Did you enjoy school? Does anyone ever enjoy school? I liked my photography class, though. That's what helped me decide what I wanted to do with my life. I also enjoyed choir, because I was at least decent at singing. I think that's all the classes I liked; my math classes sucked, and I was never a good enough writer to be good at english. 19. Where did you learn most of your skills and other abilities? I learned most of my 'book smarts' at school, obviously, even though they don't help much in the real world. What I know about photography was actually more or less self-taught, because I didn't always understand what the teacher was talking about. It was better to learn for myself, anyway, I think. And, of course, my one major 'ability' wasn't so much learned as inflicted upon me, by Camp Sunshine. 20. While growing up, did you have any role models? If so, describe them. My parents are out. Even when I got along with them, I didn't ever want to be like them. I guess . . . I've always looked up to people who are happy with who they are. That, and people who go out and change the world for the better. My psychology teacher was like that, so I guess he was one of the people I looked up to. 21. While growing up, how did you get along with the other members of your family? Well, I used to get along just fine with my parents, at one point. But of course, I already said what happened after that. 22. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? I went through several phases of wanting to be various things; firefighter, cop, you know, the kinds of things little kids want to be when they grow up. Then, when I got into high school, I decided on photographer. 23. As a child, what were your favorite activities? I liked most sports; soccer, baseball, basketball. Yeah, I guess that's it, really. I didn't like to read much, and I suppose I watched TV, but what kid doesn't? 24. As a child, what kinds of personality traits did you display? I think I was always at least a little rebellious. I'd never do anything just because other people were. But I've become even more rebellious since me and my parents had our little disagreement. Other than that, I was more of a dreamer when I was young than than I am now. Since middle school, I've known that dreaming doesn't get you anywhere; action does. 25. As a child, were you popular? Who were your friends, and what were they like? I wasn't all that popular, but there were a few kids who respected how independent I was. I had several friends throughout the years. In elementary school, I made friends with Caleb, Timothy, and Brittney. We were sort of our own 'clique,' I guess you could say. Caleb was taller than average, sort of heavily built, with short, light blond hair. He was really into sports, much more so than me. He was kind of thick-headed sometimes, but he'd surprise you every now and then by noticing things the rest of us missed. Tim was about my height, with dark brown hair down to his ears, with bright red highlights. He had piercings in both his ears, and his tongue. Tim and I were the rebels of the group. The main difference between us was that we had different ideas of how far was too far. I generally stayed within the boundaries of school rules and such, only rebelling when there was something that really ticked me off. Tim seemed to rebel against everything, often just for the sake of "sticking it to the man," as he would often say. We worried about him, sometimes. Finally, Brittney. She was shorter than me, with wavy, blondish brown hair, and bright blue eyes. I'd probably consider her my best friend throughout elementary, middle, and high school. She was the peacemaker of our little group, and she'd always be the one who broke up Tim and me when we started arguing about something, which happened quite a bit. She was the kind of person who you could always tell your problems to, and she'd always say just the right thing to make you feel better. At the same time, she was almost always cheerful, and it was that kind of cheerfulness that's contagious. On the other hand, she didn't tend to take commitments very seriously, so she tended to be just a bit flaky. The four of us stayed together all the way up until my sophomore year of high school, since we all were in the same school district. But then I ran away, and I still feel a little guilty that I never told any of them where I was going. I hope they aren't too worried about me. 26. When and with whom was your first kiss? It was with my boyfriend from highschool. His name was Nick. I don't really like talking about him, since we broke up on pretty bad terms. All I'll say is that there was another girl involved with the break-up. 27. Are you a virgin? If not, when and with whom did you lose your virginity? Yes, I'm still a virgin. Thank /god/ the relationship with Nick never made it that far, or I might not have been able to handle the break-up with him. 28. If you are a supernatural being (i.e. mage, werewolf, vampire), tell the story of how you became what you are or first learned of your own abilities. If you are just a normal human, describe any influences in your past that led you to do the things you do today. I'm most definitely not your average human being. I think I might have referred to it earlier, but I was captured by Camp Sunshine some time after I ran away from home. They're a genetics lab, and they do their experiments on /human beings/. Yeah, I know, it's totally sick. If I wasn't worried about putting the others at the House in danger, I would've gone to the media about it, because places like Camp Sunshine /need/ to be shut down. Well, anyway, I'm getting off track. I was captured by Camp Sunshine, and they tested out this thing called 'genetic destabilization' on me. Basically, whoever I touch, I absorb their DNA and become them. Fortunately for me, for some reason it only works with people, or animals who have some amount of human DNA. And I don't have any control over it, either, so I don't have any way to return to my own true form. If I could find a strand of my own hair from back before the experimentation, then I could be myself again, but I don't know where I'd ever find one. Camp Sunshine is out of the question, and even if I were inclined to ever go home again, I doubt there'd be any there, since my mom is such a compulsive house cleaner. For now, I spend most of my time as either Tarr or Buffy. Tarr is a shapeshifter who can actually control his shape, so that allows me to at least have the illusion of being myself again. The only thing is the eyes; his eyes are always this weird pale color, no matter what form he takes, so now, when I'm in his 'form,' mine are too. As for Buffy, well, who /wouldn't/ want to be able to hover in midair, go through walls, create force fields, and shoot little purple energy disks? Okay, so I can just barely make a force field, and I'm nowhere close to even being able to think about making the energy disks yet, but I'm working on it. Part 3: Past Influences 29. What do you consider the most important event of your life so far? That's easy; running away from home. 30. Who has had the most influence on you? Probably Brittney. She told me to always keep a positive outlook on things, and that advice has helped me a lot. 31. What do you consider your greatest achievement? In photography class, we were learning about taking pictures from interesting or unusual points of view. For homework, we were supposed to take a picture from a different point of view. I got probably the best picture ever. The neighbor's black cat was looking up intently at a bird; a thrush of some sort, I think; in a tree, and I wanted to get a shot from above, so that the bird would be in the foreground and the cat would seem like just an observer in the background. So I climbed up on the roof of the neighbor's house, positioned my camera for the perfect shot, and took the picture. All without making enough noise to get the cat's attention, or making the bird fly away. The thrush was sitting on her nest, looking like she knew something was watching her, but she had to stay put to take care of her eggs. The cat looked anxious, and brimming with energy, as if it was getting ready to jump right up to the branch the bird was in, even though it was a good eight feet up. The next week, when we turned our pictures in to the teacher, he held mine up to show the class what a everyone's pictures should look like. But it wasn't the recognition that really made me happy, it was that /I/ knew I had taken an excellent photograph. That was definitely my greatest accomplishment. 32. What is your greatest regret? Not telling my friends I was leaving when I ran away from home. 33. What is the most evil thing you have ever done? I don't know. Probably not trying harder to free more people from Camp Sunshine when I escaped. I did try, but not many people even /wanted/ to escape. That scared me, that all those people's spirits could have been so broken that they didn't even /want/ freedom, at least not bad enough to risk getting injected with that d*mn Serum. 34. Do you have a criminal record of any kind? Nope. Although I am sort of in hiding, anyway. I mean, I did suddenly go missing from my home, and I'd have to assume that my family and friends organized some sort of search, and I have no way to know if they've given up yet. But, somehow, I highly doubt they'll be able to hunt me down. 35. When was the time you were the most frightened? When I first realized that my dad was abusing my mom because of me. I was scared at Camp Sunshine, too, but that didn't even come close to the fear of dad hurting mom. 36. What is the most embarrassing thing ever to happen to you? Probably that time we were on a field trip to a forest in middle school, and Brittney and I had gotten lost out in the woods, or at least we thought we were lost, and Caleb saw us wandering around, and he snuck up on us and jumped out from behind a tree and roared to scare us. I jumped about five feet, and Brittney thought it was absolutely hilarious to see me jump. I wanted to slap both of them. 37. If you could change one thing from your past, what would it be, and why? I would've told my friends where I was going before I ran away. 38. What is your best memory? It was either that cat and bird photograph I took, or the first time I met Brittney. It was the first day of first grade, and it was our first recess, and I was kind of off by myself, because I didn't really know anybody yet, since I'd gone to a different school for kindergarten. One of the bullies at that school decided to throw a dodgeball at me, because I had my back turned and I looked like the sort of pathetic little kid that bullies love to pick on. Anyway, Brittney literally jumped in the way of the ball to keep me from taking the hit! The guy who threw it had thrown it pretty hard, so she had a pretty nasty bruise on her shoulder for a while. And that's Brittney for you; I think she'd take a dodgeball to the shoulder for just about anyone. That's just the way she is. Once I heard the sound of the dodgeball hitting her, I looked in time to see what had happened, and I bet that bully wasn't expecting me to retaliate. A teacher had to come break the two of us up. But anyway, that's how I met Brittney. 39. What is your worst memory? Does a long time period count as a 'memory'? If so, I'd have to say the entire time I spent at Camp Sunshine was my worst memory. If not, probably the day I had to watch Kelly die. Part 4: Beliefs And Opinions 40. Are you basically optimistic or pessimistic? I try my best to be optimistic, but sometimes it's hard not to get weighed down by everything, you know? 41. What is your greatest fear? You know those bacteria that they inject human DNA into so they'll manufacture insulin? Those things are my greatest fear. I think you can figure out why. 42. What are your religious views? I'm an atheist, even though my dad's catholic. I just don't really like the idea of some grand supernatural power who created everything there is. I sort of like to create my own reality, thank you very much. 43. What are your political views? It makes me sick when politicians abuse their power, or get all caught up in money or bipartisan issues. Other than that, even though I think the two-party system is way too restrictive, I tend to vote democrat. I just agree with more of their views, compared to republicans. 44. What are your views on sex? I think I might be okay with it if I really loved someone. Or at least, I would've been okay with it, before this whole genetic destabilization thing. Now, I'd either have to force myself to be a lesbian, or sleep with a gay guy, with me in a male body. Both ideas give me the willies, but the second one makes me want to puke. So, I guess if I ever found a girl I really liked . . . oh, who am I kidding? I can't just /decide/ to change my sexual orientation, d*mn it. 45. Are you able to kill? Under what circumstances do you find killing to be acceptable or unacceptable? Depending upon whose form I'm in, I might be /physically/ able to kill, since I get any supernatural powers the person might have, but I don't think I would be able to bring myself to actually do it, unless I had a d*mn good reason. Like they were dangerous enough to need to be killed, they had killed someone I knew really well, or I was really, /really/ pissed with them for some other reason. Christina Payne is the only person I can think of who meets any of those, and she meets all three. 46. In your opinion, what is the most evil thing any human being could do? That would have to be either purposefully trying to control someone else's life, or crushing someone's spirit until they have no free will of their own. Christina was legendary for the latter evil. 47. Do you believe in the existence of soul mates and/or true love? Yes, and . . . yes. I believe that true love is all too rare in this world, though. So much of the time, people just love each others' bodies. True love goes so much deeper than that. 48. What do you believe makes a successful life? Making a difference in the world, being happy with what you've accomplished in your life. 49. How honest are you about your thoughts and feelings (i.e. do you hide your true self from others, and in what way)? . . . that phrase, to "hide your true self" is f*cking horrible. /Literally/ speaking, yes, I do "hide my true self from others." As far as my /actions/ go, I try to be as true to myself as possible. It doesn't help that sometimes I get personality traits from the people I become, and those sometimes blur my own personality a little. 50. Do you have any biases or prejudices? I've never liked preppies, popular girls, and celebrities. They're always all about their public image, and only seem to care about what others think of them. They don't even have a life outside of their adoring fans, or, in the case of celebrities, if they /do/ have a life outside of their public life, they're ridiculed for it. 51. Is there anything you absolutely refuse to do under any circumstances? Why do you refuse to do it? I'd probably refuse to inject someone with Blood Red Serum. I'd be willing to kill under certain circumstances, but that Serum is just inhumanely cruel. I know, having been on the recieving end of it many times. I might make an exception to this for Christina, though, since it would serve her right to get a taste of her own medicine, and maybe, if she knew what it felt like, she wouldn't be quite so quick to dish it out. Maybe. 52. Who or what, if anything, would you die for (or otherwise go to extremes for)? Possibly Tim or Brittney (I don't think I'd die for Caleb, but I'd still 'go to extremes' for him), or the freedom to live your life the way you want.
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Post by Tobey on Feb 1, 2007 13:13:45 GMT -5
Echo's Interview, Part 2 [/b] Part 5: Relationships With Others 53. In general, how do you treat others (politely, rudely, by keeping them at a distance, etc.)? Does your treatment of them change depending on how well you know them, and if so, how? On occasion, a few people have thought I was rude because I didn't want to shake their hand when I met them. But, usually, I tend to be pretty friendly with people I meet, although I don't consider people to be 'friends' as easily as some people do. And, if people touch me, even if they don't know about my destabilization thing, it usually sets me off enough that sometimes we'll get off on the wrong foot. 54. Who is the most important person in your life, and why? Probably Brittney. Because she always kept a positive outlook on life, and she taught me to be the same way. Or at least to always try to. 55. Who is the person you respect the most, and why? Brittney again. For the same reason as the last question. 56. Who are your friends? Do you have a best friend? Describe these people. Wait a minute. Didn't you already ask this question? Well, I only know of a few people who I would call friends, who I didn't already describe. The first is . . . well, was Kelly. . . . She was considerably shorter than me, but then, she was much younger than me, too. . . . She had a freckled face, and naturally wavy red hair . . which she had down to the bottom of her ears, I recall. They gave her firefly DNA, so she had wings on her back that were covered by those wing cases . . the kind like a lot of beetles have. She had antennae, but she was one of the few people who could make antennae look good, and they were . . . adorable on her. And somehow, they got her entire body to be able to glow bright orange-yellow, but she could control it, so she wasn't glowing all the time. She was always so shy, as if she was always expecting someone to yell at her for doing or saying something wrong. But, once she opened up to you, it just seemed like you'd known her forever, like . . . you were her one and only friend. She was . . . much more susceptible to peer pressure than I ever was. She'd just give in meekly to what the older experiments told her to do. And . . that's why she . . why she's dead. Sorry, it's just . . . hard . . . for me to think about her. There's another friend I made after my stay at Camp Sunshine. I think I mentioned him earlier. Tarr. He's a shapeshifter, but he can control it. In his normal form; at least, I /think/ it's his normal form; he has silver grey hair and those weird-looking pale eyes. He's really nice though, if a bit awkward. I think he might have some mild amnesia, because he didn't remember some of the memories I got from him the first time I turned into him. Then there's Buffy. I haven't really seen her that much, except for the time she taught me how to use some of her powers, but I've spent a lot of time /as/ her, so maybe I feel like I know her better than I otherwise would. She reminds me of Kelly, a little. She's kinda shy most of the time, but she can open up and be friendly when she needs to. Oh, I can't believe I almost forgot Adrian. I'm not sure if he really counts as a friend, because I'm not totally sure he even trusts me, but . . . yeah, I guess we're sort-of friends. He's short, and has wings. Mockingbird, I think. And that's pretty much all I can tell you, without breaking my promise to him. 57. Do you have a spouse or significant other? If so, describe this person. No. I think we already discussed why not. 58. Have you ever been in love? If so, describe what happened. Yes, with Nick, and I said I didn't want to talk about him. 59. What do you look for in a potential lover? For one thing, if it was a guy, he'd have to be okay with a completely non-physical relationship. Either that, or Tarr would be my only option, since I think I could touch him while staying a girl. If I could find a guy who either was okay with a non-physical relationship or was Tarr, he'd also have to truly love me in return. Finally, I want a guy who would see himself as my equal; he wouldn't try to boss me around, but he wouldn't, like, wait on me hand and foot, either. 60. How close are you to your family? Miles and miles. 61. Have you started your own family? If so, describe them. If not, do you want to? Why or why not? Yeah, I'd like to, but there are a couple reasons I can't, both relating to my condition, and both of which I'll leave you to figure out for yourself. I think I'd be a good parent, because I wouldn't make the same mistake my parents made with me. I'd try to guide my kids along the right path, but I wouldn't tell them how they're going to live. 62. Who would you turn to if you were in desperate need of help? I would turn to Brittney, but I don't want to go back to my hometown until I'm fairly certain they've stopped looking for me. Since I can't go to her, then, I'd most likely go to Tarr if I really needed help. Or /possibly/ Adrian, although I'd be a little nervous about going up to him and asking a favor. I'm not totally sure he ever really forgave me for . . um, nevermind. He wouldn't want me to tell you about it. 63. Do you trust anyone to protect you? Who, and why? I think Zepher would be the one I'd trust to protect me, actually. She's another person whose form I've taken on occasion. She's way taller than average, with short, blond hair. She has empathy and telekinesis, both of which fluctuate in cycle with each other. The reason I'd trust her to protect me, and not someone else, is mostly because she's the protective type. I got that from her the first time I turned into her. 64. If you died or went missing, who would miss you? Well, Bea, since she's my roommate. Adrian might notice my abscence, as would Zepher or Tarr, I think. I don't think anyone else really knows me well enough to notice I was missing. Of course, you have to remember, too, that people come and go from the House all the time, so most people here are used to residents disappearing without explanation for long periods of time. 65. Who is the person you despise the most, and why? Christina Payne. After her, my parents. 66. Do you tend to argue with people, or avoid conflict? I argue. A lot. Typically with authority figures, or just people I disagree with. 67. Do you tend to take on leadership roles in social situations? Not usually. Well, I'm not a follower, so if I have to choose between leading and following, I can lead. I just prefer not to. 68. Do you like interacting with large groups of people? Why or why not? At one point I was okay with it, but not anymore. Two words; genetic destabilization. 69. Do you care what others think of you? Not a whole lot. I kind of prefer not to be hated by people, but I don't let other people's opinions of me weigh me down too much. Part 6: Likes And Dislikes 70. What is/are your favorite hobbies and pastimes? I like to take pictures of stuff; obviously; and I like most sports, as I think I said before. Some of my newer hobbies include; messing around with Tarr's shapeshifting power, hovering in midair, and trying to perfect the force fields I can make with Buffy's powers. 71. What is your most treasured possession? There's a photograph I took of myself, which was about the only thing they didn't confiscate when I went to Camp Sunshine. That picture saved my butt bigtime. If I hadn't had it, I might have eventually forgotten what I looked like, and that would've been horrible. 72. What is your favorite color? I like earthy colors, like greens and browns. Never really figured out why I like brown, I just do. 73. What is your favorite food? Devil's food cake. Mmm. 74. What, if anything, do you like to read? I started reading mythology after I got the nickname 'Echo,' but other than that, I don't read much. 75. What is your idea of good entertainment (consider music, movies, art, etc.)? Sports. The occasional good TV show. 76. Do you smoke, drink, or use drugs? If so, why? Do you want to quit? No. Tim did, though, all three, at some point or another. We saw what that did to him, and that was enough to make us stay away from those sorts of things. We eventually got Tim talked out of it, too. 77. How do you spend a typical Saturday night? Hanging out with my friends, wherever we felt like hanging out. Or, more accurately, wherever Tim or I wanted to go, since we were the ones who typically had a definite idea where we wanted to go. 78. What makes you laugh? Brittney. She could make anyone laugh. Um, nothing else comes to mind. 79. What, if anything, shocks or offends you? I'd have to say that finding out about genetics labs was pretty shocking. People thinking I should just obey them without thinking for myself, those people offend me. 80. What would you do if you had insomnia and had to find something to do to amuse yourself? I might watch TV, since all the good programs come on at night anyway. Or I might turn into Buffy and work on my force fields. Well, Buffy's force fields, but you know what I meant. 81. How do you deal with stress? If it's a person who's causing the stress, I yell at them, start arguing with them, or cuss them out. If not . . . well, it's usually a person, so I don't really know what I'd deal with stress otherwise. 82. Are you spontaneous, or do you always need to have a plan? Plans are definitely nice. That's how I got out of Camp Sunshine; I had a plan. I'm spontaneous, too, but I think I'd rather have a plan. 83. What are your pet peeves? Authority figures who abuse their power; Christina falls under this category by the way. And bullies, they're a pet peeve of mine, too. Part 7: Self Images And Etc. 84. Describe the routine of a normal day for you. How do you feel when this routine is disrupted? I get up, usually around 6:00 or some ridiculous hour in the morning, and go to whatever job I've managed to find for that month. I go, I work, I try not to lose my temper with the manager, president, whatever, and then I come home. Home being the House, of course. On days that I don't have work; either weekends or those times when I'm unemployed, I just bum around the House. Watch TV, experiment with Buffy's ghost powers, whatever I can do to entertain myself. Then I fix myself something to eat for dinner, and go to bed. I usually shower at night, so I don't have to worry about wet hair in the morning. Showering can be interesting for me, since there are several people at the House who leave hair; or, as the case my be, fur; in the shower. Normally I see it, but occasionally I don't. And then I get to play the "Who am I?" game. I'm usually grateful when something disrupts my routine; I don't like routines. Unless it's something really bad that disrupted my day, in which case I wouldn't be grateful. 85. What is your greatest strength as a person? My self-confidence. 86. What is your greatest weakness? Probably my tendency to start arguments with people. 87. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? Anything? I would want to go back to being my normal self again. Or at least make it so that I could control my shapeshifting. 88. Are you generally introverted or extroverted? I'm typically very extroverted, but I can sometimes be introverted, too, mainly around people I don't know. 89. Are you generally organized or messy? Messy. Well, I don't really have much stuff right now, but when I lived at home, my room was always a mess. 90. Name three things you consider yourself to be very good at, and three things you consider yourself to be very bad at. I'm very good at taking photos, asserting myself, and soccer. I'm very bad at following orders, writing long essays, and high-level algebra. 91. Do you like yourself? Yes. 92. What are your reasons for being an adventurer (or doing the strange and heroic things that RPG characters do)? Are your real reasons for doing this different than the ones you tell people in public? (If so, detail both sets of reasons...) The only thing I'm really doing right now is trying to keep a job. And I'm doing that because I'm trying to get enough money to buy a high-quality camera, and maybe some other photographic equipment. Come to think of it, I really haven't told anyone what I need money for. Then again, nobody's ever asked. 93. What goal do you most want to accomplish in your lifetime? Well, I want to see my friends again before I die. And don't worry, I will, just as soon as things in my hometown cool off. I don't want to be sent back home again. 94. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Hopefully I'll have earned enough money for that camera by then, and maybe I'll be a free-lance photographer. It'll be nice to just take photos when my employers need me to, and not have a work schedule to hold me down. 95. If you could choose, how would you want to die? Not by Blood-Red Serum, that's for sure. It would be nice to die in the name of freedom, as cliched as that sounds. If I lived in dark ages, I might say I'd want to be burned at the stake for refusing to renounce my beliefs, but that sort of thing doesn't happen anymore. 96. If you knew you were going to die in 24 hours, name three things you would do in the time you had left. I'd go straight home and see my friends. If I was going to die, it wouldn't matter if I got caught, right? Oh, you said three things. Um, I'd prank call Caleb before I saw my friends again, just to get him back for that one time in the forest, and then I'd eat devil's food cake until I got sick. 97. What is the one thing for which you would most like to be remembered after your death? There's no one thing, really. I would just want people to remember what I was like. 98. What three words best describe your personality? Confident, independent, rebellious 99. What three words would others probably use to describe you? Argumentative, rebellious, and independent 100. If you could, what advice would you, the player, give to your character? (You might even want to speak as if he or she were sitting right here in front of you, and use proper tone so he or she might heed your advice...) I don't think I have any advice for you, Echo. You've got a pretty darn good handle on your own life. Just, uh, tone down the attitude when you're at work, 'kay? Heh, the only advice I could give you was something you probably already figured out.
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Post by Tobey on Feb 1, 2007 13:14:21 GMT -5
(This one's going to be a bit weird, because I'll be interviewing both Deltar and Harold at once. And trust me, it took everything I ever learned about psychology to get Harold to come out of hiding. And he says it'll only be temporary. So, yeah, the first answer to each question will be Harold's, the second will be Deltar's.) Deltar/Harold's Interview, Part 1 [/b] Part 1: The Basics 1. What is your full name? Harold Bowen. I don't think my birth parents gave me a middle name. Emily thought I ought to have one, but she was never actually able to think of one for me. Deltar 5962. Numbers are so much more effiecient that your human idea of 'last names.' 2. Where and when were you born? April 27, 1989, in Niobrara, Nebraska. I don't know the hospital; I'm lucky I know what city I was born in. On the third flux cycle of magnetic reversal delta-beta-tau. And I was born in the same place I lived most of my life; in the underwater bubble city of Anomalopolis, on the planet Cambria. 3. Who are/were your parents? (Know their names, occupations, personalities, etc.) I don't know anything about my birth parents. They got rid of me when I was only a year old or something. The only other people I'd consider my parents were . . Joseph and Sara Burke. Joseph . . was a programmer, and Sara stayed at home to look after the house, and make sure Emily and I were okay. But they're . . . all three of them are gone, now. My parents were named Fingarth 5901, my father, and Yanira 8762, my mother. They're both planetary archeologists, so they would explore other planets looking for civilizations who had only just achieved sentience. Earth was an amazing find for them, because it was a relatively nearby planet that we had somehow missed, and it was home to an astonishing race that called themselves humans. 4. Do you have any siblings? What are/were they like? Like I said, I know pretty much nothing about my biological family, so it's entirely possible that I have biological siblings I don't know about. I've had quite a few foster siblings, but most of them were mean to me. The one I remember best, though, was Emily Burke. She wasn't mean. She was always so supportive of me, and she liked everything I did, and . . . oh god, she's . . /dead/ . . . I had a sister, as well. Aimylea 8701. She was about fifteen reversals older than me, but we got along very well. She always cared about me, and would listen whenever I wished to speak to her, and she always approved of my accomplishments. I know she is coming back for me, someday. 5. Where do you live now, and with whom? Describe the place and the person/people. I'm not really sure. I don't remember much of anything that's happened since Area 52. I've had a few brief flashes of . . . consciousness, I guess is the best word for it. I mean, I become aware for a few seconds, but Deltar always stays in control. Then I sort of . . . slip away again. But from what I've seen, Deltar's been living in some sort of large-ish house, and there's some odd-looking people there. That's all I know. I have been living in a human residence that is inhabited by a number of . . . I believe they're subspecies of humans. The only places I've ever seen such creatures was at Area 52, and here. I share a room with a human female named Buffy. We got off to a bad start, after she called me a 'whacked-out experiment,' which I most certainly /am not/, but other than that, she seems alright. 6. What is your occupation? Don't have one, and I never did. I am currently unemployed. 7. Write a full physical description of yourself. You might want to consider factors such as: height, weight, race, hair and eye color, style of dress, and any tattoos, scars, or distinguishing marks. Well, I- holy Jesus. I guess they must've kept altering my body after Deltar took over. The trunk claw thing is definitely new. And I /know/ my skin didn't used to be that color. . . . Well, anyway, I'll let Deltar explain what he looks like, and I'll tell you what I /used/ to look like. I was at one point shorter than everyone, but once I hit my growth spurt, I was just about the tallest kid in my class all of a sudden. But now I'm about average height again. I have . . . /had/ mousy brown hair that always seemed to look messy, no matter what I did with it. My eyes were sea green, and Emily always said they looked handsome. I wore glasses, silver rimmed rectangular ones, that kids made fun of me for. As glasses go, I thought they looked pretty good, but I looked geeky enough without the glasses, so with glasses I was an instant bully magnet. And it didn't help that I really /was/ a geek. At least I didn't have freckles, or bad acne or anything. Then I would've looked even more like a geek. I was kind of scrawny, or maybe it was just that I got so tall all of a sudden that it made me look skinny. Well, I guess I am still just a little on the slim side. As for scars, the only one I can think of is the one on my left shoulder where my then-current foster father hit me with a chair. My foster parents haven't usually been /that/ mean, but he was really pissed off that day. Since you are human, I will describe myself in comparison to humans. Much of me is the same; we share the basic shape, a head, a nose, a mouth, two legs. However, my eyes are located on top of my head; they are iridescent green compound eyes, and I possess five of them. I have a muscular limb which extends from my forehead, and which terminates in a claw that I can use to manipulate items. I have four arms, my first pair is much like human arms, and the second is similar but shorter, flatter, and my second pair of hands is webbed. My skin color is slightly purplish in comparison with that of humans. Finally, I have four pairs of fins underneath my second pair of arms. I have gills in the areas where the fins overlap, so that I may breathe water much like the earth creatures called 'fish.' 8. To which social class do you belong? I was lower class, I guess. The Burkes were middle class, though, so I suppose that counts for something. Cambria had no caste system. Everyone was equal. 9. Do you have any allergies, diseases, or other physical weaknesses? Not really. I sort of defy the classic 'geek' stereotype in that respect. Oh wait, yes I do have a disease. Multiple personality disorder. No, I do not. 10. Are you right- or left-handed? I was right-handed. I am right-upper-handed. 11. What does your voice sound like? I remember it sounding a little bit smart-alecky, but not on purpose. I think I was outgrowing that, though. Mostly, it just sounded pretty normal. Maybe just a little higher than normal for a guy's voice, but not too much. My voice is typical, for a Cambrian, but I have learned to speak human with a nearly flawless accent, so that I sound precisely like an average human. 12. What words and/or phrases do you use very frequently? "Hey, give my glasses back!" and "My name's not Harry, it's Harold." "Greetings," "I come in peace," and "Humans are so very strange." 13. What do you have in your pockets? Um . . . apparently, a paperclip, a sudoku puzzle, a pencil, and . . . I'm not sure what this is. A looped conducting wire, a sudoku puzzle, a carbon-based scribing utensil, and my miniaturized quantum radio. I'm still working on that. 14. Do you have any quirks, strange mannerisms, annoying habits, or other defining characteristics? I have an alien who lives in my head. I'd say that's pretty quirky. As for how I used to be, I used to never want to sit down in my desk for class until it was exactly time for class to start. I outgrew that, though. No. It is the humans who have all the quirks and strange mannerisms. Part 2: Growing Up 15. How would you describe your childhood in general? Hectic. Perhaps even a little traumatic, at times. I was shuffled from one foster family to another, because my social workers couldn't ever seem to find a family that would get along with me, and vice versa. Finally, I was able to settle down with the Burkes, and that was wonderful, while it lasted . . . I had a happy childhood. My family loved me, and we had everything we needed; a good living environment, plenty of nourishment, and two good friends as well; Tatawnya 4352 and Pmebon 2310. Do not attempt to pronounce Pmebon's name; I am fairly certain human vocal chords are incapable of correctly pronouncing the 'pme' sound. 16. What is your earliest memory? My first distinct memory was of one of my social workers saying, "What do we have to do to find a family who likes this kid?" Obviously, he hadn't thought I could hear him. But I did, and it really hurt to think that nobody liked me. I remember going to a laser light concert. On Cambria, they pick up thoughts from the audience to help improve the show. I was thinking about Hallucigenians, an endangered race that also lives on Cambria, but which is not as technologically advanced as we are, and then I saw them on the screen! I suppose it could have been someone else who was thinking about Hallucigenians, but I thought it had been me, and it made me joyous. 17. How much schooling have you had? I made it up to seventh grade before . . . before I was captured. School is an inefficient way of learning that less advanced races make use of. We Cambrians have invented synaptic thought waves; syntho waves, for short; that can transmit information directly to one's brain. So I had been going to my syntho sessions until I was about 30 magnetic reversals old. That would be about ten, in earth solar cycles. 18. Did you enjoy school? Well, yes. I made a few short-term friends; I never got to know anyone very well, since I moved around so much from one foster family to the next. And, of course, I loved math and science, which are the two subjects that most people seem to have trouble with. No, as I said, I did not attend school. But I did enjoy the syntho treatments. How could one /not/ enjoy learning new information? 19. Where did you learn most of your skills and other abilities? School, I guess. I learned a few things from my various foster families, but most of what I know, I learned in school. From syntho, and from my parents. Real-world learning is beneficial for one's growth, too. 20. While growing up, did you have any role models? If so, describe them. Emily. She was always good, and . . kind . . to everyone. She teased me sometimes, but . . I always knew she was just being silly. And she was silly a lot of the time, but in a . . . loving sort of way, you know? And she said . . . she said that everyone had someone . . who loved them, at least at some point in their lives. Oh god . . . That is strange. My throat feels tighter than normal. As if I had been upset, even though I am not. Oh, yes, the question. I looked up to my parents, but mostly to my sister, Aimylea. She was good and kind, and I knew I could always count on her for anything. But most of all, she was a good friend, whenever I needed one. 21. While growing up, how did you get along with the other members of your family? That depends on which family I was with. Most families, I got along with just a little, or sometimes not at all. But with the Burkes, we might as well have been a /real/ family. Excellently. The only disagreement that I can recall was when we were on earth, and none of them would believe me when I said I saw humans near our research site. 22. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? A math teacher. Or possibly an inventor, but I didn't really know if you could actually make a living with that. I think I'd be creative enough to be an inventor. Either a plasma-conduit engineer, or a quantum theorist. They're sort of overlapping fields, so it was hard to decide. 23. As a child, what were your favorite activities? I liked to read a lot. Sometimes I'd watch educational stuff on television; I saw this one show called Planet of Life on the Discovery Channel, and it inspired me to write a story about an alien named Deltar, who was based off of a creature called Opabinia, which I first saw on that show. I 'hung out,' as you humans say, with friends and family a good deal of the time. I also liked to put together different sorts of plasma circuits, and I enjoyed working out the quantum physical problems that went along with that. 24. As a child, what kinds of personality traits did you display? As I said before, I was a bit geeky. You know, I was the kid who sat in the library all alone during lunch, with his face buried in a book. Emily said I would take things too seriously, and I suppose that was true. I was never good at recognizing sarcasm, and she found that to be funny, sometimes. I was . . . well, I loved to learn, as many Cambrians do. I always considered myself fairly smart, but I suppose I was only average for a Cambrian. Other than that, I liked to work with my hands, building things. 25. As a child, were you popular? Who were your friends, and what were they like? No. I wasn't popular. I was a loner. I had a few friends, but we would always lose touch. My longest-lasting friends were the Burkes. I wasn't popular, but I wasn't a loner, either. A few good friends I could name were Tatawnya 4352 and Pmebon 2310; I believe I may have referenced them earlier. Tatawnya was the fun-loving one in our group. She told me I focused too much on 'boring things' like plasma conduits and quantum theory, and she would often drag Pmebon and me to various entertainments. Mainly, she wanted to go to the latest movie, the local nightclub, karaoke bar, or go shopping; to use the human words for such things. These things are a little different on Cambria; our 'movies,' for example, involve all the senses, and are often indistinguishable from reality. Pmebon was more philosophical than the other two of us. He thought that there was more to life than what science could tell us, and he usually had advice for any given situation. I enjoyed listening to his opinions, but I still believe that I was right, and that everything can be explained through logical reasoning. Probably the best point he made was that we can only know what we perceive through our senses, so how are we to know that there are not some things that our senses simply were not designed to show us? 26. When and with whom was your first kiss? I've never kissed anyone. Cambrians do not kiss. 27. Are you a virgin? If not, when and with whom did you lose your virginity? Yes, I'm still a virgin. I have not yet reached the age when Cambrians typically reproduce. 28. If you are a supernatural being (i.e. mage, werewolf, vampire), tell the story of how you became what you are or first learned of your own abilities. If you are just a normal human, describe any influences in your past that led you to do the things you do today. I'd rather not go into a lot of detail, but, long story short, people dressed as cops killed my family, and took me to a genetics lab. They found the story I wrote about Deltar, and began injecting me with Opabinia DNA. At the same time, they wouldn't let me forget about my family, and they made me watch tapes of their . . . murder, over and over and over. Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore. I retreated into my fantasy world. The world where I was Deltar, and my family was coming back for me. Eventually, Deltar became . . . like a whole other person, I guess. Those horrible military people at Area 52 kept at it, and pretty soon I gave up completely. I handed over my life to Deltar, because I just . . . didn't want it anymore. I am not a 'supernatural being,' but neither am I a normal human. But I suppose what led to me being the way I am today was when my parents brought Aimylea and me to earth. We were so that mother and father could study the humans, and Aimylea and I were just sort of on vacation. Then I was captured and held at Area 52, but my family was forced to leave me there because they only had enough supplies for a couple earth months. Fortunately, I was freed from my captivity, and found my current residence. Part 3: Past Influences 29. What do you consider the most important event of your life so far? Definitely the day I was captured by Area 52. The three most important people in my life . . . /died/ that day, and I have literally never been the same. The day of my capture. That was the day I was separated from my family, and even if I see them again -no, /when/ I see them again, because I know they would not abandon me- I will always remember my time spent on earth. 30. Who has had the most influence on you? Emily. Either Aimylea, Pmebon, or my parents. They have all influenced me, but in different ways. 31. What do you consider your greatest achievement? There was one time in math class, when our teacher was telling us that you can't take the square root of a negative number, and my hand shot up and I said, "Yes you can!" and I told the whole class about imaginary numbers. Those of them who didn't think I was a total weirdo for that were really impressed, I think. The first time I finished a four-synthesizer plasma conduit. Those are used in cloaking devices, you know. I went on to actually make my own cloaking device with it. My parents, and especially Aimylea, were very impressed. 32. What is your greatest regret? Not finding some way to stop my family from dying. Letting myself be captured, so that my family would be forced to leave earth without me. 33. What is the most evil thing you have ever done? I don't think I've done anything evil, and I'd really rather not think any harder about that question. I once attacked one of the scientists at Area 52 for continually referring to me as Harold. That is not my name, and the sound of the word, 'Harold,' for some reason inspires anxiety in me. So I was becoming very angry by being called that so many times. And this scientist happened to come within reach of my claw. So I reached out through the bars of my cage and grabbed his arm. He cried out in obvious pain, but I bit into it until it became the natural color of my skin, and then it began to bleed. Another captive instructed me very loudly to let go, and I did. I regretted my actions afterwards, and not just because I was punished in solitary confinement. I had let my anger get the better of me. Perhaps the scientist 'deserved what he got,' as you humans say, but I have always believed that evil does not excuse evil. 34. Do you have a criminal record of any kind? No. No, I do not. 35. When was the time you were the most frightened? The day I watched my family die. When my family was on earth, and I began to see humans at our research site. My family didn't believe me, but I knew I'd seen them, and they didn't appear friendly. In the end, my fears were confirmed, of course. 36. What is the most embarrassing thing ever to happen to you? One of my foster brothers at one point locked me in a closet and then forgot I was there. When they found me, my eyes were all red from crying because I thought I was going to die in there. Once, a quantum-state superpositor I was building blew up on me. And it was the dumbest mistake ever, too; I had simply forgotten that Cesium reacts violently with water. 37. If you could change one thing from your past, what would it be, and why? I'd save my family. You know d*mn well why. Please excuse the language. I would have taken something with which to defend myself that day my father sent me off alone to shut off the fusion valve on our ship, when we were staying on earth. If I had done that, I would not have been captured, and I would still be with my family. 38. What is your best memory? Probably my first day with the Burkes. They threw this huge party for me, with a huge banner that read, "Welcome to the family Harold!" They made hamburgers on the barbeque, and there was cake afterwards. That may have been the first time I really felt like I had a family. It was either that four-synthesizer plasma conduit I spoke of earlier, or any one of the interactive movies I went to with Pmebon and Tatawnya. 39. What is your worst memory? . . . I'm not answering this. The day I was captured. I was so filled with anger at the scientists, fear for my life, and sadness at the thought that I might not see my family again, all at once. Part 4: Beliefs And Opinions 40. Are you basically optimistic or pessimistic? Pessimistic. Optimistic. 41. What is your greatest fear? Nothing. What do I have left to lose? I used to be really scared of the dark, though, even when I was old enough that I should've outgrown it. That something would happen to prevent my family from returning to earth. Like . . . something bad happening to them. 42. What are your religious views? I never really had time to get settled into any one religion. Emily was jewish, though, so I might have some jewish leanings. Listening to Pmebon was as close as I ever came to what you call 'religion.' He did believe that there were supernatural forces in our world, much like humans' idea of a 'god.' But not really the same. 43. What are your political views? I never really got into politics. I had enough to worry about with my own life. Cambria does not elect leaders like humans do. We have a computer that makes decisions based on the brainwaves of the population. It works much more efficiently than the earth political system. 44. What are your views on sex? I've never really considered it. I suppose if two people really liked each other, it would be okay, but the whole idea of it weirds me out a little. It is a necessary part of life and evolution, but it has always seemed too . . . primitive . . for my comfort. 45. Are you able to kill? Under what circumstances do you find killing to be acceptable or unacceptable? Killing is never acceptable. Ever. I believe I would be capable of inflicting mortal wounds, as I am stronger than most humans. But to do so would be wrong. Life cannot be given back once it is taken, so one must consider carefully before taking it. Only if I were in mortal danger myself, would I consider taking a life. 46. In your opinion, what is the most evil thing any human being could do? All the things Area 52 has done. I have not seen all that humans are capable of, but the worst evil I have witnessed was the scientists at Area 52 keeping sentient subjects in cages, and treating them like animals. 47. Do you believe in the existence of soul mates and/or true love? Yeah, I do. No, I do not. Pmebon has mentioned the idea, but even he did not seem completely convinced about it. 48. What do you believe makes a successful life? Love. A family. Finding a career you enjoy, and doing great things with your life. 49. How honest are you about your thoughts and feelings (i.e. do you hide your true self from others, and in what way)? I've never been all that open about my thoughts and feelings, but I'm much less so now. Hah, I might as well not even exist anymore. Yes, I would say I am fairly open about my thoughts, anyway. My feelings, on the other hand, I prefer to keep to myself. 50. Do you have any biases or prejudices? I'm a bit prejudiced against the lower class, I guess, mostly because the foster families that were the meanest to me always seemed to be lower class. That might've been coincidence, I suppose, but I was pretty sure I noticed a correlation. I have been somewhat prejudiced against humans, mainly because I began by knowing only the evil side of humanity. Now that I have met a wider variety of humans, though, I have had a more open mind. 51. Is there anything you absolutely refuse to do under any circumstances? Why do you refuse to do it? I think, if they found a cure for multiple personality disorder, I would refuse to take it. Because I don't think I could handle facing my past again. I would refuse to force a sentient creature to live in a cage for any amount of time. 52. Who or what, if anything, would you die for (or otherwise go to extremes for)? I would've died for Emily, but . . . I believe I would die for my family. It would surely make them sad to lose me, but it would make me even more sad to lose them.
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Post by Tobey on Feb 1, 2007 13:15:08 GMT -5
Deltar/Harold's Interview, Part 2 [/b] Part 5: Relationships With Others 53. In general, how do you treat others (politely, rudely, by keeping them at a distance, etc.)? Does your treatment of them change depending on how well you know them, and if so, how? I used to be kind of shy around people I didn't know, I guess. Like I said before, I was a loner. Even if I knew someone, though, I could still be a little awkward. I believe I have become quite good at interactions with humans. They have many strange customs, but I have learned not to question them. There are simply too many questions one could ask. 54. Who is the most important person in your life, and why? I don't have anyone important in my life anymore. Either Aimylea or Pmebon. Both have given me much advice on how to live my life, and I look forward to being able to see them again. 55. Who is the person you respect the most, and why? If you equate fear with respect, the staff of Area 52 would fit that description. If not . . . the only people who would fit are /dead/. I respect my parents, because they are more experienced in life than I am. 56. Who are your friends? Do you have a best friend? Describe these people. I already said, I was always a loner. Emily was probably my best friend. It is hard to decide between Tatawnya and Pmebon. But, I believe I may have been slightly closer to Pmebon. He was easier to talk to about serious matters. 57. Do you have a spouse or significant other? If so, describe this person. No. I was twelve when I was captured. No, I do not. 58. Have you ever been in love? If so, describe what happened. No. No, I have not. 59. What do you look for in a potential lover? I've never thought about it. I would prefer a female Cambrian, but I am not so biased that I would completely dismiss a relationship with a human. Either way, I would like her to be intellectual, enough so that I could discuss philosophical views that Pmebon taught me, or scientific and mathmatical principles that interest me. 60. How close are you to your family? . . . D*mn it, one more question like this and I'm going back to my little corner of my subconscious. Approximately fifteen light years. 61. Have you started your own family? If so, describe them. If not, do you want to? Why or why not? No, and I don't want to. Because I don't want to have kids to deal with. Perhaps I may wish to someday, but I do not think I am mature enough to successfully raise children yet. I am, after all, only 52 magnetic reversals old. 62. Who would you turn to if you were in desperate need of help? Emily, but I obviously can't. I would probably trust Deltar enough to help me out of trouble, except that he doesn't know I exist. So . . . no-one. I would turn to Aimylea, Pmebon, Tatawnya, or my parents, if any of them were available to help me. But seeing as they aren't, I might go to Buffy, the earthling who shares living space with me. 63. Do you trust anyone to protect you? Who, and why? Deltar is already protecting me, from myself and my past. Aimylea would protect me from anything, but seeing as she is light years away, I believe I would trust Zepher to protect me. She is the leader of the habitation known as the House, and she seems like the sort of person who would protect someone in need. 64. If you died or went missing, who would miss you? Absolutely no one. I've /been/ missing for about four years now, haven't I? I would assume my family and friends would. They are surely looking for me, and they must have some reason why they have not found me yet. 65. Who is the person you despise the most, and why? Everyone at Area 52. The humans who operate the facility known as Area 52. 66. Do you tend to argue with people, or avoid conflict? I avoid conflict whenever possible. I was always like that, but now even more so. I prefer tranquility over violence, but sometimes when I become very angry, it is hard not to lash out. Fortunately, I do not become angered often. 67. Do you tend to take on leadership roles in social situations? No. Occasionally, when there is a problem that requires my knowledge of plasma devices to solve, I will step forward as a leader. But you must consider the fact that Cambrians do not tend to divide themselves into 'leaders' and 'followers' like humans do. 68. Do you like interacting with large groups of people? Why or why not? No. Because I was shy, and socially awkward. Some of it was that I was afraid to make friends, because I knew we'd only be separated again. No, I prefer to be alone, or with a small group of friends. When there is a large crowd of citizens, it often becomes difficult to hear one's own thoughts. 69. Do you care what others think of you? Well, yeah. Who doesn't? I mean, I didn't care /deeply/ what others thought of me, but I wanted people to like me, and not think I was an idiot. To some degree, yes. I wished to have the approval of others for my accomplishments, because it is comforting to be approved of. Part 6: Likes And Dislikes 70. What is/are your favorite hobbies and pastimes? Reading. Watching educational TV. Solving puzzles, building things, occasionally. I enjoy building things, especially devices that run on plasma circuitry. I also enjoyed attending interactive movies, and exploring purchaseable items with Tatawnya, and discussing philosophy with Pmebon. 71. What is your most treasured possession? I don't have any possessions, anymore. But I used to have this little keychain with a gold pi symbol cut-out on it. Emily gave it to me. They took it at Area 52, though. The data storage device that the personnel at Area 52 took from me, but which I stole back when I escaped. 72. What is your favorite color? Green. Green. 73. What is your favorite food? The frosting on Oreo cookies. The small breaded crustaceans known by humans as "popcorn shrimp," even though they are completely dissimilar in flavor to the food known as "popcorn." 74. What, if anything, do you like to read? Books about quantum physics. You know, those books that simplify the complex principles of quantum physics into terms that just about anyone could understand. Quantum physics is absolutely fascinating. Books about plasma circuits, and quantum physics. I have found, much to my surprise, that even human books have gotten most of the principles of quantum physics correct. 75. What is your idea of good entertainment (consider music, movies, art, etc.)? Reading a good book. Certain movies, mainly science fiction. Going to see an interactive movie, or a laser light show were both acceptible forms of entertainment. Here on earth, I typically occupy myself solving mind puzzles, and putting together various devices using the materials available to me. 76. Do you smoke, drink, or use drugs? If so, why? Do you want to quit? No. Heavens, no! Cambrians have much less dangerous ways of altering one's mood than by putting chemicals into one's body! 77. How do you spend a typical Saturday night? Saturdays Joseph was home from work, and he would take us out to eat, which was nice. It was great to eat at a fancy restaurant, and talk about whatever had happened that day. Sometimes he'd take us to movies, too. But, failing either of those, we'd play in the backyard; catch, tag, hide and seek . . . frisbee. Cambrians do not measure time in weeks, as humans do. Since we do not have school, and my friends and I were all unemployed, we didn't have 'nights off.' Instead, we went to 'the movies' or 'went shopping' almost every night. 78. What makes you laugh? Physics jokes. Or math jokes. Told'ja I was a geek. Humans, occasionally. 79. What, if anything, shocks or offends you? Area 52 and everything it has done. Many of the inexplicable behaviors of humans are shocking or offensive or both. I am unable to recall anything on my home planet that ever shocked or offended me. 80. What would you do if you had insomnia and had to find something to do to amuse yourself? I'm assuming you mean if I didn't have Deltar to hide behind? I'd probably have to read a book or watch a movie or something that would completely occupy my mind, so that my thoughts wouldn't drift to . . other things. I would work on whatever device I was working on at the time. It has been known to happen that I will become so involved in my work that I will deprive myself of sleep, so it makes sense that that would be what I would do if I was unable to sleep. 81. How do you deal with stress? I go off into my own subconscious where nothing can hurt me. I try to find a solution for whatever is the source of the stress. I have found that calm logic is the best way to approach any problem. Sometimes, however, it is very hard to remain calm. 82. Are you spontaneous, or do you always need to have a plan? I like to have a plan, whenever I can. I prefer to have a plan prepared beforehand, if it is possible to do so. 83. What are your pet peeves? Bullies, anyone who judges you before they know you, and some social workers. Having foreign material caught in my gills, Yits (a Cambrian species of eye parasites), and the human clothing articles called 'shirts'; they simply were not made for beings with extra arms and fins. Part 7: Self Images And Etc. 84. Describe the routine of a normal day for you. How do you feel when this routine is disrupted? I don't really have a routine anymore, since I pretty much don't exist. Before Area 52, though, I would get up at 6 o'clock and I would go to school. I always rode the bus until I lived with the Burkes, and then Emily drove me. Every school was different, but at least every school had math. I was in advanced math in every school that offered it, and the ones that didn't . . . normal math was mind-numbingly boring. I don't know how the dumb kids can /stand/ it. Lunch was usually at noon, or a little later, and I'd almost always spend it in the school library, reading. Then, back to class, and at three I'd get on the bus to go home. At least, until the Burkes came along. Then, Emily drove me home. She had a schedule change in her job at one point, so she couldn't pick me up until four, but I decided I'd rather wait in the library for her than ride the bus again. But then I'd get home, to whatever family I was with at the time. Depending on the family, I might have dinner waiting for me, or, in a few instances, I might have to make my own. Then I took a bath or maybe a shower, brushed my teeth, put on my PJs, and went to bed. I didn't like any disruption of the routine, because that almost always meant it was time for me to change families again. On earth I have very little in the way of routine, which is a welcome relief from the heavily regimented life of Area 52. I awaken when I have been unconscious long enough to rest my nervous system, and I begin to work on whatever device or puzzle I am currently occupying myself with. I prepare myself something to eat at the appointed earth eating times, using the human food items I find in the kitchen. I have become quite proficient in preparing human cuisine using human appliances, considering I had never done so before. I typically shower at some point during the morning, because the water running over my gills helps to rejuvenate me after my slumber. Then, when the sun sets signifying the end of the day, I return to slumber, only to repeat the entire cycle over again. My life on Cambria was a good deal more interesting. I was alternately awakened by either of my parents, Aimylea, Pmebon or Tatawnya, depending on what was going on that flux cycle. I should mention that Cambria does not have 'days', as our multiple suns make the light-dark cycle very erratic, at best, and always much more often light than dark, so instead we use the much more stable magnetic cycles of our planet's core. In any case, I rarely had the opportunity to wake up on my own, rather, I was typically awakened by others, depending on what was happening that flux cycle. If my parents awakened me, it usually meant that I was going to be late for my syntho treatment. If Aimylea awakened me, it could mean that she had a problem she wished me to help her solve, or it could also mean that she was bored and desired my company. If Pmebon awakened me, it was likely the same case as with Aimylea; he desired my company. If Tatawnya awakened me, there was probably a sale at one of her favorite places to purchase various entertainment devices. Once I was awake, I might go to a syntho session, but those only took place every third flux cycle. Otherwise, I might either stay home with my family, or go out with my friends. I would eat four times during the flux cycle, at regular intervals; either eating at various food preparing places with my friends, or eating what was prepared by my family if I stayed at home. Then, at the end of the flux cycle, I stepped into a cleaning chamber; much more efficient than earth showers; and upon becoming satisfactorily sanitized, I returned to sleep. If something disturbed my routine, depending on what it was, I might be either saddened or joyful. I can not truthfully say anymore than that without knowing what the disruption in my routine would be. 85. What is your greatest strength as a person? Probably my book smarts. My ability to solve complex problems through simple logic. 86. What is your greatest weakness? I'm a coward. Always have been. It is perhaps my inability to completely comprehend the reasoning of creatures as different from me as humans are. 87. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I sort of miss the way I used to look. If anyone from my past did miraculously manage to find me, they wouldn't even recognize me. But I don't think I would change my appearance, because if I did, Deltar might go away, and then I'd be alone again. So . . . I don't know. The only thing that comes to mind is that my back left eye is slightly smaller than the others, and that has always bothered me somewhat. Other than that, I am happy with the way I am. Well, I suppose I would also like to go back to Cambria, but I did not think that was what the question was asking. 88. Are you generally introverted or extroverted? If anyone was more introverted than I am now, they'd be dead. I consider myself fairly balanced between my social life and my intellectual life, but I would say I am probably somewhat closer to being introverted than extroverted. 89. Are you generally organized or messy? Messy. I was too busy with homework and reading and life in general to clean up after myself. I am generally fairly well organized. Organization can help one focus on specific details of that which is organized. Not all things require focusing on specific details, however, and these things I often leave as they are. 90. Name three things you consider yourself to be very good at, and three things you consider yourself to be very bad at. I'm good at math, reading, and mind puzzles. I'm bad at recognizing sarcasm, standing up for myself, and facing my fears. I am quite skilled at creating plasma conduits, fitting in with humans; at least in my opinion, and solving the human puzzles known as 'sudoku.' I am rather deficient in skill at understanding why humans do the many strange things they do, identifying the tone known to humans as 'sarcasm,' and manipulating small objects with the claw on my trunk. 91. Do you like yourself? Um, no. The only people who ever liked /me/ are /dead/, so why /should/ I like myself? This is a very odd question. Do humans always wonder such things? Regardless, I suppose the answer is . . yes. I mean to say, I do not /dis/like myself. 92. What are your reasons for being an adventurer (or doing the strange and heroic things that RPG characters do)? Are your real reasons for doing this different than the ones you tell people in public? (If so, detail both sets of reasons...) The only reason I ever did anything, besides reading and other things I did for entertainment, was because people told me to. My foster families, the social workers, even the other kids at school would tell me what to do, and I would obey them. Like I said before, I was a coward. I suppose I would tell others pretty much the same thing; "I'm doing this because such-and-such told me to." Some of what I do, such as living on earth, is the result of events which were beyond my control. The rest is an attempt on my part to adjust to the new situation, and to fit in among the humans. If anyone asked, I would likely say the same. 93. What goal do you most want to accomplish in your lifetime? . . . . . I can't really think of anything. Maybe . . coming to terms with the Burkes' deaths, that might be a good thing, right? I would very much like to return to my home planet before my life is over. Once I am there, I would also like to invent a plasma conduit device that no-one else has thought of before. 94. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Same place I am now. Stuck in neutral; to quote a book title. Back on Cambria. I am confident that my family would come back for me within five earth solar cycles. 95. If you could choose, how would you want to die? . . A bullet to the heart. Same as Emily. This is another peculiar question. Why would I choose to die? 96. If you knew you were going to die in 24 hours, name three things you would do in the time you had left. I suppose I would come back out of my subconscious and see what Deltar has been doing for the last . . . however long it's been. Then I would introduce myself to Deltar's friends, even though they would undoubtably think I was insane; then again, knowing Deltar, they would probably already think I was insane. But I would want to see if they liked him, and maybe even if they would like me. And after that, I would sit down and read all the books I could find. I would intensify my efforts to fashion a device that would connect me with Cambria, either a transport device or a communicator. If that worked, I would spend my final moments speaking with my friends and family. If I had actually managed to transport myself back to Cambria, I would go have a brainwave sample taken of my mind, so that at least a small shadow of my consciousness could live on. If I was still stuck on earth, I would pass on as much of my knowledge of technology as I could to the humans that I cohabitate with. I have heard that it is not a wise idea to pass on advanced technology to a primitive race, but I believe that the humans inhabiting the dwelling known as 'the House' are trustworthy enough to handle the responsibility. 97. What is the one thing for which you would most like to be remembered after your death? I won't be remembered after my death. I would like to be remembered as the Cambrian who successfully made peaceful contact with, and studied, a race that had just acheived sentience. 98. What three words best describe your personality? Cowardly, rational, and geeky Logical, tolerant, and creative 99. What three words would others probably use to describe you? Geeky, aloof, timid Cambrians might describe me as creative, outgoing, and polite, whereas humans have tended to describe me as eccentric, focused, and occasionally crazy. 100. If you could, what advice would you, the player, give to your character? (You might even want to speak as if he or she were sitting right here in front of you, and use proper tone so he or she might heed your advice...) Harold, you'll never heal if you don't ever face your past. I realize that it's hard for you, but you ought to come out of your shell every now and then. I think meeting some of the friends Deltar has made would be good for you. And who knows? Maybe the residents of the House could become your next family. Deltar, I just want to let you know that . . . uh . . . you look awesome in plushie form. Yeah. That's all I wanted to say.
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Post by Tobey on Feb 1, 2007 13:15:43 GMT -5
Dakota's Interview, Part 1 [/b] Part 1: The Basics 1. What is your full name? Dakota Lee Faulkner 2. Where and when were you born? October 22, 1987, in Detroit, Michigan. My mother wasn't exactly very well off, so I wasn't even born in a hospital. At least I was born in a house, and not on the streets or something. 3. Who are/were your parents? (Know their names, occupations, personalities, etc.) Their names were Susan and Lenny. Lenny, my father, died before I was born. AIDS. Mom told me a lot about him, though. She said that he was a good man, and that it was through no fault of his own that he was unemployed most of the time. She also said that he was friendly to most everyone, and was even more polite and friendly to strangers than to friends. I don't know how much of that was really right, and how much was just my mother's opinions of him. It was easy to see that they had been in love. Even so, Mom coped fairly well with his death. She was good at coping; she believed that a little mourning was good for the soul, but you had to go on living. She was rather practical-minded; she knew a lot about practical things, like how to survive on less than most kids got in allowance. When I was five, we found out that she had AIDS, too. It never really occured to me to wonder how she had managed for five years without even showing symptoms. I knew that was just the way she was; she was a survivor. But it finally caught up to her, and when I was six, she passed away. 4. Do you have any siblings? What are/were they like? No. I was an only child. 5. Where do you live now, and with whom? Describe the place and the person/people. I live at the House, which is a place for people who have been genetically altered, so that they don't have to face the fear and prejudice of mainstream society. I'm roommates with Zepher, who had some psychic experimentation done, and Genesis, who I think might be a teleporter. Zepher sort of runs the place, more or less. She founded the House, so I guess she considers it, and everyone there, her responsibility. I don't know that much about Genesis. She's been gone for a long time, and only recently returned. There are other people at the House besides those two, of course, but we'd be here for hours if I tried to describe them all. 6. What is your occupation? Don't have one. 7. Write a full physical description of yourself. You might want to consider factors such as: height, weight, race, hair and eye color, style of dress, and any tattoos, scars, or distinguishing marks. I have sandy blonde hair about to my shoulders, and brown eyes. I don't really know exactly how tall I'd be if it weren't for my posture, but at my last physical exam back at The Pit, I was able to stretch up to about four foot ten. That sounds really short, but that's because my hips are such that I have to lean forward all the time, sorta like a roadrunner. You see, I was spliced with dinosaur DNA. Nanotyrannus, to be specific. Judging by your shirt and your hat, I think you probably know enough about dinosaurs to know what a Nanotyrannus is. Anyway, from about my hips down, I'm completely dinosaur. Legs, clawed feet, big tail, scaly skin, the whole shebang. The skin is grey green, but on the back of my tail is a yellow-green pattern like shadows in a forest. You can't see it under my shirt, but my back and sides are scaly, too, and the forest-shadows pattern continues up my back, about to my shoulder blades, which is where the scales end. My arms are scaly, too, all except for my thumb and my ring and pinkie fingers. My other two fingers are tipped in claws. The claw on my pointer finger is the longer one, which is the opposite of most tyrannosaurs. I have some needle scarring on both arms, but it's kind of hard to see with the scales. My worst scar is easily the burn scar on the sole of my right foot, where I was trying to move a superheated metal beam. It left this line that runs horizontally across my toes. I also have a bit of burn scarring on the palms of my hands, but that's fading pretty quickly. 8. To which social class do you belong? I went from the bottom rung of the class ladder to falling off of the ladder completely. 9. Do you have any allergies, diseases, or other physical weaknesses? Being part dinosaur, I'm kind of clumsy when I'm trying to do certain things. Particularly going up and down stairs. But that's not completely clumsiness, I'm afraid. 10. Are you right- or left-handed? Right-handed. 11. What does your voice sound like? Pretty average. Slightly deep for a girl's voice, maybe a bit flat. As in, unemotional. That could be Christina's doing, though. She didn't seem to like emotion, for whatever reason. 12. What words and/or phrases do you use very frequently? "Nanotyrannus DNA. Like a t-rex, only smaller," "Dinotopia," and "Dinosaur, not reptile." 13. What do you have in your pockets? Lint. That's it. 14. Do you have any quirks, strange mannerisms, annoying habits, or other defining characteristics? I tend to get a little annoyed when people associate dinosaurs with reptiles. It isn't that I don't like reptiles or anything, it's just that it shows how ignorant some people can be about some things. Part 2: Growing Up 15. How would you describe your childhood in general? Well, Mom was poor, like I said, but I still think I had a good childhood up until I had to go to the orphanage. Having a parent who cares about you can make up for the things that other people might complain about, like not having as much to eat, or having to live in a shabby house. But then, when I was six, I went off to the orphanage, where I stayed for two years. It wasn't /so/ bad, I guess, it's just that the adults didn't seem to care about the children's well-being as much as they ought to. They were mostly concerned with keeping all of us in line, and teaching us how to behave. But I did make lots of friends there, most of whom I was separated from when I was taken down to the underground genetics lab when I was eight. The orphanage was actually just a cover for the lab, but I didn't figure that out until later. 16. What is your earliest memory? I have a pretty good memory, so my earliest memory was when I was really young. All I remember, though, is my mom talking to some guy in a grey suit, and she put her hand over her mouth. Later she told me that that had been when I was just two years old, so, like I said, I have a good memory. 17. How much schooling have you had? Not much. I made it to third grade, since we had school at the orphanage, but after that, the only schooling I got was the intelligence testing I went through at the lab. I learned a lot from the older experiments at the lab, though. 18. Did you enjoy school? No. Before the orphanage, I went to a crappy school, and the classes at the orphanage were even worse. In both cases, it was more about obeying the teachers than actually learning anything. 19. Where did you learn most of your skills and other abilities? I learned a lot from my mom, even in the short amount of time I was with her. But I'd have to say that most of what I learned was from the other experiments at The Pit. A lot of them felt sorry for me, I think, and they decided they could help me by giving me lessons; lessons that were, incidently, much better than any I had received at any school. 20. While growing up, did you have any role models? If so, describe them. My mom. I liked the way she always knew what was worth worrying about, and what wasn't. That was what I wanted to be like, when I was younger. I suppose I did sort of turn out that way, mainly because I learned for myself how to tell the difference between big problems and little ones. 21. While growing up, how did you get along with the other members of your family? My mom was the only family I had, and I got along with her just great. We had the occasional argument, as any little kid has with their parents, but for the most part, she loved me and I loved her. 22. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? I didn't really care what job I had, but my fantasy was that I would go out and get a well-paying job, and help support my mother, and earn enough money that neither of us would have to live in poverty anymore. Ah, to be young and a dreamer. 23. As a child, what were your favorite activities? I read Dinotopia books. A lot. For much of my childhood, I had nothing else to do. Before that . . . well, I guess I always liked to read. And I would often play with the other kids in our neighborhood. 24. As a child, what kinds of personality traits did you display? I was considerably more social before I went to the lab, even though I'm still pretty outgoing. I think that was the only thing that really changed, other than just the typical personality changes that all kids go through as they get older. 25. As a child, were you popular? Who were your friends, and what were they like? Yeah, I was good at making friends, so I suppose that amounts to being popular, in a way. I had a lot of friends prior to the orphanage, and most of us got separated, so you probably don't need to hear about all of them. There was one girl I met in the orphanage, named Mya, who I would consider a friend. She was two years older than me, but she didn't act superior to me like some of the older kids did. She had long, shiny crimson-brown hair, and light blue eyes. She was serious in that way that people are when they're really dedicated to something. Her dedication was music; she played the flute. She was what you might call a child prodigy; she even wrote her own music! And she was only ten! True, what she wrote were pretty simple tunes, never more than few lines of music, but they were always deep, and often sad. Not that she was a sad person, she just liked sad music. They took her down to the lab just a little before me, but it turned out that we ended up in the same section of the lab; the section that dealt with prehistoric DNA. We were in the same cell, even. She got Lambeosaurus DNA, and eventually she grew a crest. I thought the crest looked good on her. There was sort of a squarish part in the front, and a rod that stuck out in the back, and the whole thing was covered in scaly skin. It was a pale, sort of spring green color, and the squarish part had blue-green stripes that didn't reach the edges. The rod part had blue-green on the sides. And she figured out pretty quickly how to blow air through her crest, and she could make the most hauntingly beautiful music that way. It sounded a little like her flute, but deeper, and with a bit of a harmonica-ish sound to it, too. It also had that sort of echo-y quality of whales' songs, but not quite that pronounced. She started writing her own music again, and she would play it on her crest. It gave her something to do in the depressing atmosphere of the lab. I had my Dinotopia books, Mya had her music. But then we were separated, because I had to be moved to another part of the lab because I was becoming 'too dangerous' to be kept in a cell with other experiments. So I was moved to a smaller, solitary cell. Mya had been beginning to grow a tail at that point, which was the same spring green color with blue-green stripes as her crest, but there weren't any other changes in her. I haven't seen her since we were separated. For all I know, she could've been killed in the fire. I don't really have my hopes up too high, at this point. After I was moved to my solitary cell, I met Hunter. He was in a cell across the hall from mine. He was a Smilodon splice, and his gigantic canine teeth made it hard for him to talk. I could understand him, though. He had short, blond hair, and yellow-brown eyes. He was covered in golden fur, the same color as a lion's, except that he had orange spots on his back, about the same size and shape as a cheetah's spots. His ears were rounded cat ears that poked through his hair. And, of course, his canine teeth reached down a bit past his chin. He was fairly serious most of the time, rarely kidding around or making jokes. He tended to keep quiet, only speaking if there was a good reason to. He didn't seem to mind awkward silences, either. He hated the scientists more than the rest of us did, but he never openly defied them. I think maybe he'd defied them in the past, and they'd punished him enough for it that he learned his lesson. In any case, he would never ever put any trust in the scientists, not even concerning tiny details that they would have no reason to lie about. When he talked to me, he could be very philosophical, and we could often talk about matters like life, death and freedom, at least until the scientists came to shut us up. But when the fire happened, Hunter was trapped inside the lab. I tried to save him, which is how I got my scars, but in the end I had no choice but to leave him there. I came back to find his charred skeleton. 26. When and with whom was your first kiss? I've never kissed. By the time I was of the age to start thinking about romance, I was in solitary confinement. 27. Are you a virgin? If not, when and with whom did you lose your virginity? Um, I just answered this with my last answer. 28. If you are a supernatural being (i.e. mage, werewolf, vampire), tell the story of how you became what you are or first learned of your own abilities. If you are just a normal human, describe any influences in your past that led you to do the things you do today. Well, I became part dinosaur at The Pit. Basically, that orphanage I stayed at for two years of my life was actually just a cover for this genetics lab called The Pit. They basically mess with people's DNA just to see what happens. It's pretty sick. But then there was a fire, and for some reason all the cage doors opened. I honestly doubt that it was a safety mechanism, because the people who run The Pit would rather have seen us experiments burn to death than have us escape. So I don't know what happened. But anyway, I was one of the lucky ones who got out. Part 3: Past Influences 29. What do you consider the most important event of your life so far? Escaping from The Pit. My life completely changed in a very short time, that night. 30. Who has had the most influence on you? Either my mom, or Mya. My mom taught me to worry about the big things, and the things you can change, and to forget about the small things, and the things you can't do anything about. Mya always told me to follow my dreams. So far, I've followed Mom's advice a lot better than Mya's, but I've at least tried to take both of those messages to heart. 31. What do you consider your greatest achievement? I don't really know. It wasn't escaping from the lab, because that wasn't really much of an achievement. I don't think I was any more deserving of freedom than Hunter was. And I can't really think of anything else noteworthy that I've done, other than just being able to stay sane after everything that's happened to me. I'd say that's a pretty great achievement, don't you? 32. What is your greatest regret? Leaving Hunter behind. Every now and then I think about it, and I keep wondering if there was /something/ I could have done. 33. What is the most evil thing you have ever done? Leaving Hunter. 34. Do you have a criminal record of any kind? No. 35. When was the time you were the most frightened? The day The Pit burned. I had no idea what was going on, and I was just running on fear and adrenaline. And then I remember how terrified I was when I realized that Hunter was going to die and there was nothing I could do about it. Nothing really compares to that feeling. 36. What is the most embarrassing thing ever to happen to you? The teachers at the orphanage would slap kids' knuckles with rulers as punishment. I think a lot of schools do that, but anyway, I got used to saying "Ow!" when I got hit with the ruler, because if you acted like it hurt, they wouldn't punish you as much. So one day, another kid was being punished for something, and when I heard that characteristic slap of the ruler, I said "Ow!" just by pure reflex. Everyone laughed at me, and there were a few kids who kept making jokes about it for weeks afterward. 37. If you could change one thing from your past, what would it be, and why? I'd have either saved my mom, or Hunter. D*mn it, can't I save both? I guess, if I had to choose one or the other, I think I'd have saved my mom. 38. What is your best memory? It was probably back when I was still with my mom. Let me think . . . oh yeah. There was this one time when I noticed she wasn't eating, and she was getting really thin and kind of sick looking. I was really worried, because I thought something was wrong with her. It didn't dawn on me that my birthday was coming up. But then, it was my birthday, and Mom got me this amazing set of walkie talkies that even had a little tracking system on them. I'd seen them on TV and had said I wanted them for my birthday, but they were fairly expensive. And then I realized that Mom hadn't been eating so that she could save up enough money to get them for me. I felt bad, but at the same time, I was happy because I knew my mother loved me. I'm pretty sure I cried, but whether it was from happiness or guilt, I'm not sure. Maybe both. 39. What is your worst memory? Climbing up the stairs of The Pit, knowing that Hunter was going to die down there. Part 4: Beliefs And Opinions 40. Are you basically optimistic or pessimistic? Neither. I'm a realist. In the lab, I was a bit on the pessimistic side of things, but now I'm pretty much evenly balanced between optimist and pessimist. 41. What is your greatest fear? Fire. I saw what it did to Hunter. 42. What are your religious views? I guess I'm an atheist. Mom didn't believe in a god, because god didn't seem to care if people believed in him or not, so why waste your life believing in something that wouldn't do you any good? 43. What are your political views? I never had a chance to get into politics. But I guess I would vote for any politician who was as much unlike Christina as possible. 44. What are your views on sex? I think people should be really careful about it. I mean, both my parents died because they weren't as careful as they maybe should have been. So, I think that you shouldn't have sex unless you're sure you're going to stay with that person for a long time. 45. Are you able to kill? Under what circumstances do you find killing to be acceptable or unacceptable? Yeah, I'm able to kill. I had to hunt my own food in the lab, actually. I didn't complain, though, because the thrill of the hunt was pretty awesome. I got a few predatory instincts from the experimentation, but it wasn't like I had a separate 'predator personality' like some experiments got. Instead, it was just sort of incorporated into my own personality. But even so, I know where to draw the line. I'd never hunt if I wasn't hungry, and I'd never, /ever/ hunt a sentient being. Not unless they were deadly dangerous and needed to be killed, and even then, I'd be hesitant about it. 46. In your opinion, what is the most evil thing any human being could do? I used to think it was killing someone. But Christina's done things that make death look tame. I think some of her methods of torture would fall under the category of 'most evil thing any human being could do.' 47. Do you believe in the existence of soul mates and/or true love? I don't know. I'm inclined not to, just because it seems so far-fetched, but I wouldn't know, seeing as I haven't found mine yet. 48. What do you believe makes a successful life? Don't let anyone ever tell you it's money. It's not. I think a successful life means being happy, and maybe having an impact on others. My mom met both of those. 49. How honest are you about your thoughts and feelings (i.e. do you hide your true self from others, and in what way)? I kind of used to hide my feelings, for some time after I got out of the lab. I was just so used to having to act all blank and unemotional, because Christina would punish people for the littlest things like that. But, it's been a year, and I've done pretty well about getting back to normal. So now, I think I have about an average amount of openness about my thoughts and feelings. 50. Do you have any biases or prejudices? I'm a bit prejudiced against rich people, just because when I was living with my mom, I saw so many of them who just looked at my mom and me like we were pieces of sh!t stuck to the bottom of their shoe. 51. Is there anything you absolutely refuse to do under any circumstances? Why do you refuse to do it? Allowing myself to be recaptured by The Pit. It was rebuilt pretty recently, and it scared me when I saw that it was back in business. If I'm caught again . . . well, I just won't get caught again. 52. Who or what, if anything, would you die for (or otherwise go to extremes for)? I'd have died for Mom in a heartbeat. I don't know if I would've switched places with Hunter, though. But I'd definitely have 'gone to extremes' for him. And Mya. I'd at least seriously consider dying for her.
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Post by Tobey on Feb 1, 2007 13:16:20 GMT -5
Dakota's Interview, Part 2 [/b] Part 5: Relationships With Others 53. In general, how do you treat others (politely, rudely, by keeping them at a distance, etc.)? Does your treatment of them change depending on how well you know them, and if so, how? I tend to be friendly, even to strangers. I think I got that from my father. I sometimes get a little excited when I'm meeting new people, but once I've known them for a while, sometimes I realize that they weren't such great people as I thought. But not always, though; I have made some close friends, too. 54. Who is the most important person in your life, and why? It was Mom. Probably because she taught me most of the things I would need to know about life, and she kept me out of trouble. Mostly. 55. Who is the person you respect the most, and why? Again, Mom. Because she was a good person who knew how to live simply. Or maybe just because all little kids have some degree of unquestioning respect for their parents. 56. Who are your friends? Do you have a best friend? Describe these people. Hunter and Mya were some of my friends at the lab, but now, I think I'd consider Zepher, Genesis, Kat, Alan, and maybe Re as friends. At least, those are all people at the House that I've met, and got along with pretty well. 57. Do you have a spouse or significant other? If so, describe this person. No. Although, I'm starting to think that maybe starting to try to find that 'special someone' wouldn't be a bad idea. 58. Have you ever been in love? If so, describe what happened. No, I haven't. 59. What do you look for in a potential lover? Probably someone as outgoing as I am. A sense of humour wouldn't be a bad thing, although I could dig a serious guy, too. Mainly, I'd want him to be fairly smart, and it sure wouldn't hurt if he was cute. 60. How close are you to your family? Considering I have no biological family left; unless I have some distant cousin I don't know about; I'll answer this for the House. We're all close only in that we live together. We don't really know each other that well, with the exception of roommates. And even then, people seem to be coming and going enough that they often miss each other. 61. Have you started your own family? If so, describe them. If not, do you want to? Why or why not? Not yet. I've thought about it a couple times, though. I don't know if I ever will, because I don't know what effect my experimentation would have on my children. 62. Who would you turn to if you were in desperate need of help? If I could pick anyone, no matter where they were? Then, if she was still alive, I'd go to Mya for help. Otherwise, I think I'd go to Zepher. 63. Do you trust anyone to protect you? Who, and why? I'd have trusted my mom for this, obviously. Mothers are almost always protective of their children, and mine was no exception. Once again, I'd also trust Mya, because, even though she wasn't really the protective type, she's been known to stand up for me when the situation required it. I'd trust Zepher, too, because she /is/ the protective type. 64. If you died or went missing, who would miss you? Well, I did go missing once a while back, when I wandered back to The Pit to find it operating again. To tell the truth, I don't know that anyone noticed my absence. But then, that's just the way the House is; people come and go all the time, so if people got all worked up every time someone disappeared for no reason, everyone would die of high blood pressure. 65. Who is the person you despise the most, and why? Christina Payne. Ask anyone who knows her, I'm pretty sure they would all answer this question the same way. 66. Do you tend to argue with people, or avoid conflict? I don't go out of my way to start fights with people, but neither do I like to back down when I know I'm right. Sometimes I'll back down anyway, but I just don't like to. So I guess my answer is neither. 67. Do you tend to take on leadership roles in social situations? Only if the situation calls for it. Otherwise, I'm perfectly happy as a follower, unless whoever is the leader doesn't have a clue what they're doing. 68. Do you like interacting with large groups of people? Why or why not? Depends on what sort of people they are. If they're people my age, and everyone's just hanging out and making friends, then yes, I love interacting with large groups of people. If they're a bunch of hooligans looking for trouble, or a bunch of annoying little kids or something, then count me out. 69. Do you care what others think of you? Yeah, I do. I think everyone does, to some degree, right? Part 6: Likes And Dislikes 70. What is/are your favorite hobbies and pastimes? Reading Dinotopia books, watching TV, exploring places I haven't seen before; that's the main reason I leave the House so much. 71. What is your most treasured possession? My necklace. It's this golden tyrannosaur figure, standing atop a little green orb. I got it for Christmas the last year I was in the lab. 72. What is your favorite color? You know, I never actually picked a favorite. When I was littler, I liked pink a lot. Hmm, now, though . . . well, I guess I like that yellow-green color of the pattern on my tail. 73. What is your favorite food? For the taste or for the chase? Just kidding, I know what you mean. I'd have to say steak. Even though live prey is so thrilling to hunt, cooked meat just tastes better. 74. What, if anything, do you like to read? Dinotopia books. Didn't I say that already? 75. What is your idea of good entertainment (consider music, movies, art, etc.)? A good movie. Back in the lab, I would've said that it would've been the opportunity to hunt a goat instead of the usual deer. Those things can be feisty. 76. Do you smoke, drink, or use drugs? If so, why? Do you want to quit? No, I only tried alcohol once, no, and . . . no, because I never really started. 77. How do you spend a typical Saturday night? I don't have a job, so Saturdays aren't really any different from any other night. I'm an early-to-bed, early-to-rise sort of person, so I typically get to bed pretty early. Ironically, though, late at night is also the best time to explore the neighborhood, since I'm less likely to be spotted, so I'll sometimes stay out late just sort of wandering around. Call me weird if you want, but I think I'd go crazy if I was trapped in the house all the time. 78. What makes you laugh? I like intellectual humor, I guess. You know, the jokes you have to think about to get, or the jokes you'll only get if you know about a certain topic. It's weird though, because I like physical humor, too. Sort of opposite ends of the spectrum, aren't they? 79. What, if anything, shocks or offends you? The fact that Christina is allowed to exist. Genetics labs in general. People who put too much importance in money. 80. What would you do if you had insomnia and had to find something to do to amuse yourself? That's easy. I would go outside and familiarize myself with the House's surroundings. 81. How do you deal with stress? I pace. Or I walk, or run. So long as my feet are moving, I tend to feel okay. 82. Are you spontaneous, or do you always need to have a plan? I've planned stuff before, but I'd say I prefer spontaneity. Life's more fun when you don't know what to expect. 83. What are your pet peeves? Rich snobs, people who act too casual about having sex, and prey that doesn't even try to resist being eaten. Part 7: Self Images And Etc. 84. Describe the routine of a normal day for you. How do you feel when this routine is disrupted? Ever since The Pit, I've tried to have as little routine in my life as possible. That was one of the horrible things about that place; everything was the same, day after day. It was like living in a giant machine. So yeah, I get up fairly early most mornings; unless I stayed out late the previous night. Then I either find a book to read, or watch TV; but usually there's never anything good on in the morning; or I go outside while most of the neighborhood is still asleep. I eat breakfast, lunch and dinner whenever I get hungry, and then I go to sleep. I take a shower either in the morning or at night, depending on whether I need something extra to wake me up in the morning. Or just depending on when I'm in the mood to take a shower. Showering was really difficult at first, with my tail and all, and with the small shower stalls, but I've somehow managed to figure it out now. Mostly. If there's a disruption to my 'routine,' unless it's really bad, I think I would welcome it. 85. What is your greatest strength as a person? My ability to only worry about the things that need to be worried about, which I got from my mom. 86. What is your greatest weakness? My d*mn homing instinct. At least, I think that's what it is. There's a part of me that I don't think was there before the lab, that keeps tugging me back to that wretched place, just because it had become so familiar to me. Like a home, except bad. Now that it's been rebuilt, though, I think my fear of the place will overcome any desire to go back. I hope. 87. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? It would be kind of nice to not have to deal with all the hassles of being part dinosaur all the time. Have you ever tried to turn around in a small room when you have a big 'ole tail? You probably haven't, so I'll tell you, it's not easy. Getting the claws on your feet stuck in the carpeting of the stairs is another thing that isn't much fun. And I don't think it's very good for the carpeting, either. 88. Are you generally introverted or extroverted? Extroverted. Come on, you call that a question? 89. Are you generally organized or messy? I don't have a lot of stuff, so I'm fairly organized, I guess. If I had more stuff . . . I dunno. I don't think I'd want more stuff anyway, since Mom always said that simplicity keeps everything, well, simple. If you just go out and buy a bunch of cr*p, you forget what's really important. 90. Name three things you consider yourself to be very good at, and three things you consider yourself to be very bad at. I'm good at hunting, making friends; not at the same time, mind you; and coping with life in general. I'm bad at going up and down stairs, turning around in small rooms, and keeping my tail still when I'm excited about something. It's a little embarrassing, now that I really think about it. I mean . . . jeez, I act like a friggin' /dog/ whenever I see someone new; wagging my tail and getting all excited. 91. Do you like yourself? About the same as anyone does. There are a few things about myself I would change if I could, but on the whole, I'm a pretty happy person. 92. What are your reasons for being an adventurer (or doing the strange and heroic things that RPG characters do)? Are your real reasons for doing this different than the ones you tell people in public? (If so, detail both sets of reasons...) Well, I read Dinotopia books; and other books, occasionally; because I like to read. And I suppose I like to explore because . . . hmm. I haven't really ever given much thought to it. I wasn't so obsessive about exploring before I went to the lab, no more so than any other kid, but now it's like I /have/ to know everything that's going on within a five mile radius of the House. It's like it's my 'land' or something. Or, wait, my territory. Wow, I never really thought about it that way before. But that's really what it is; my territory. Weird. I think I'd tell other people the same as I just told you. There are a lot of people here with some degree of animal instincts, and I think most of them would get the whole 'territory' thing. 93. What goal do you most want to accomplish in your lifetime? To live a good life, to have made an impact on the people around me, and to die old and happy. You really can't have a higher goal than that. 94. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Probably still at the House. Hopefully not at The Pit. That's about all, I think. I don't tend to think much about the future, since the present is so much more important. 95. If you could choose, how would you want to die? Old age. When my time comes, I think I could pass away peacefully, knowing I led a good life. 96. If you knew you were going to die in 24 hours, name three things you would do in the time you had left. I would tell everyone at the House what great, amazing people they are. I would then give away my possessions; Genesis would get my prized Dinotopia books, because she once expressed interest in reading them. Some of them might go to Zepher, too, so that she doesn't feel left out. Kat could have my stuffed Brontosaurus that I got my first Christmas at the lab. I don't know who my t-rex mask and various plastic toys should go to. Probably whoever wants them, since I doubt many people would. And I'd want to keep my necklace, since I think I'd want to be buried with it. Oh, and the third thing I'd do would be to spend the rest of that twenty-four hours trying to find out once and for all if Mya is still alive. 97. What is the one thing for which you would most like to be remembered after your death? If I had to pick just one thing, I think it would be my ability to lead a simple life. Well, okay, I /don't/ really lead a simple life, since I live at the House and thus have access to everything I need and then some, but still, it's a d*mn good lesson to learn. I learned it from my mom, so it's only fitting that I should pass it down, too. 98. What three words best describe your personality? Friendly, contented, and cheerful. At least most of the time I can be cheerful. 99. What three words would others probably use to describe you? Friendly, curious, and cheerful. 100. If you could, what advice would you, the player, give to your character? (You might even want to speak as if he or she were sitting right here in front of you, and use proper tone so he or she might heed your advice...) First off, I wanted to say I'm sorry for calling you my least favorite character that one time. This interview has made me wonder how I could have ever said that. Second thing; just thought you should know, there's a very distinct possibility that Mya's still alive.
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Post by Tobey on Feb 1, 2007 13:16:48 GMT -5
Christina's Interview, Part 1 [/b] Part 1: The Basics 1. What is your full name? Christina Elizabeth Payne 2. Where and when were you born? July 13, 1976. Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Some place called "Mercy Hospital," I think. How ironic. 3. Who are/were your parents? (Know their names, occupations, personalities, etc.) Arthur and Irene. They both worked as scientists at this lab called "Smart Pet, Inc." It was supposed to be a pun on the fact that the store "Pets Mart" sounded a little like, "Pet Smart." Anyway, they did genetic experimentation on human DNA, for the purpose of creating something like housepets. They took orders for what to splice their subjects with, and they made them obedient and did some other genetic personality modification. Irene was rarely home, as she was a very high-ranking official at Smart Pet, and had a lot of work there to do. When she was home, she was a very manipulative person who always got her way. She had Arthur eating out of her hand, figuratively. Arthur was a bit lower on the scientist chain, but still high enough above where I would ever get to view me as a disappointment. He . . . lost his temper very easily, and he usually took it out on me. Almost on a daily basis. Actually, both parents saw me as a disappointment. Irene just wasn't home enough to really express it, like Arthur was. Later on, when I was much older and living on my own, Arthur . . . mysteriously disappeared. Nobody knows what happened to him. Irene would have mysteriously disappeared too, but she went into hiding after Arthur disappeared, and I could never find her. The b!tch. And she must have warned the twins, too, because I haven't been able to find them, either. 4. Do you have any siblings? What are/were they like? Yes. Two identical twin brothers, about five years older than me. Matthew and Mark. They were somewhat of a child-prodigy-duo. Matt began his career as a human genetics scientist as early as fifteen, and Mark followed his lead at sixteen. They were exactly what my parents wanted them to be, and my parents could not have been more proud. I don't think even Arthur ever punished either of them. I, on the other hand, was always told, "Why can't you be more like your brothers?" 5. Where do you live now, and with whom? Describe the place and the person/people. I live in this horrid place known as the House. It's a haven for freaks, and unfortunately there's nowhere else for me to go. I can't wait until I find a way to cure my condition so I can return to where I ought to be. The only 'person' I know there at this point is a truly wretched creature that calls itself Kat. The creature is spoiled rotten to the core, and obviously does not know who I am. It said it needed to teach me /manners/ for god's sakes! 6. What is your occupation? I still consider myself a genetics lab scientist, even though I cannot currently return to work. I was never as adept at the actual genetic manipulation, which is part of the reason my parents were so disappointed with me, but I work in "behavior modification." Which basically means I get to torture those hideous creatures until they do whatever I want. My parents never understood it; they said that /anyone/ can inflict pain, and that I should have chosen a station more worthy of what intellect I have. But they couldn't understand; what I do is an /art/. Don't try to tell me that just /anyone/ can break a sentient being and leave an empty shell. I would have thought that Arthur, at least, would have understood. But he didn't. 7. Write a full physical description of yourself. You might want to consider factors such as: height, weight, race, hair and eye color, style of dress, and any tattoos, scars, or distinguishing marks. Oh gods, this is embarrassing. Well, I have long brunette hair, and green eyes, and copper-rimmed, squarish glasses. I chose the style of glasses because they look sort of sinister, at least when I wear them, I think they do. I think that's all the non-embarrassing stuff. I'm . . . six inches tall. I have white fur. And little cat ears. And a tail. Uhm, I suppose there was one almost-acceptable thing that came out of the incident. I have fangs. But still, that doesn't change that I'm one of /them/. And I want nothing more than to be fully human again. 8. To which social class do you belong? I used to be very upper class, mostly because my parents were high up at Smart Pet. Eventually, I did get high enough in rank at The Pit to be an upper class citizen all on my own, but it took a while. But I fell down through the class ranks pretty d*mn fast, and now I'm clear at the bottom, with the other filthy abominations. 9. Do you have any allergies, diseases, or other physical weaknesses? Before the incident, I would have tortured you until you begged for death for so much as suggesting I have any weaknesses. But now, though, I'm a f***ing /kitten/. Oh, gods, I hope I find a cure soon. 10. Are you right- or left-handed? Right-handed. 11. What does your voice sound like? It's fairly average, I suppose, at least in pitch. It sounds kind of grating, which I like, because it has the effect of making it sound more threatening. Fortunately, my voice was one thing that didn't change after the incident. 12. What words and/or phrases do you use very frequently? "Blood Red Serum," "Do you /really/ want to start an argument with me?" and other phrases that I like to say with a threatening tone of voice to make my subjects quiver in fear. 13. What do you have in your pockets? Lots of folded-up papers, mostly chemical equations having to do with a cure for my condition. 14. Do you have any quirks, strange mannerisms, annoying habits, or other defining characteristics? I push my glasses up the bridge of my nose when I'm angry, annoyed, or thinking about something that I happen to enjoy thinking about. Which usually entails torturing sentient beings. Part 2: Growing Up 15. How would you describe your childhood in general? Wretched. Irene and Arthur would occasionally bring their work home with them for months at a time, and it made me sick to watch them treat these sub-human creatures with more affection than me; in my own home, no less. Eventually, Matt and Mark started working at Smart Pet, and they occasionally did likewise. They were just so incredibly /proud/ of their work, that they were constantly lavishing love on the creatures they'd created. Matt and Mark moved out to live on their own when I was about fifteen, so at least that was two less things for my parents to fawn over. But maybe that wasn't such a good thing, because it meant that Arthur had less to distract him. 16. What is your earliest memory? My first beating. It was when I was four or five, I think. I had said I wanted to be a dentist, and for some reason that enraged my father. I'm pretty sure he was drunk, and he gets mad a lot easier when he's drunk. 17. How much schooling have you had? Clear on up to graduate school, with Ph.D.s in neurology and chemical engineering. 18. Did you enjoy school? Until I got to college, no. All school before then is just daycare, because teachers just assume everyone is too stupid to actually learn anything that's worth knowing. Then you get to college, and you actually start to learn things. Only the dumbest of ignoramuses wouldn't want to learn. 19. Where did you learn most of your skills and other abilities? . . . Oddly enough, I did learn a lot from my parents. I learned how to bend people to my will from my mother, and I learned a lot of what I know about torture from my father. I also learned quite a bit in college. I was a genius at chemical equations, and that helped me with what genetic engineering I know how to do. 20. While growing up, did you have any role models? If so, describe them. . . . On some level, I wanted to be like my mother. Never like my father, although I guess I ended up like him anyway. But Irene always knew exactly what threats to make to get people to listen to her, and she was successful in the business world, too. 21. While growing up, how did you get along with the other members of your family? I've already discussed this. No, I didn't. 22. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be a genetics engineer, mostly because I had it beaten into me that that was the only acceptable job for a Payne. 23. As a child, what were your favorite activities? Setting fire to squirrels and rabbits. What? I'm being serious. I guess I would occasionally watch TV, if there was something violent on. Or depressing, if I was in one of my depressed moods. 24. As a child, what kinds of personality traits did you display? I was a lot more withdrawn than I am now. I had a few bouts of depression, lasting months at a time. I guess I was sort of insecure. All that's gone now. 25. As a child, were you popular? Who were your friends, and what were they like? Yes, I had friends. How could I not? Mostly male friends, because all the other girls were just too . . . girly. There was a guy named Mitch who I met in high school, who has been somewhat of a best friend since then. He was fairly tall, somewhat handsome, I suppose, with slicked-back blond hair and brown eyes. He was smart, which was of course a prerequisite for any friend of mine. He was also almost as bitter as I was. But his bitterness didn't express itself the way mine did. He sort of wound up hating everyone, but never really doing anything about it. Well, he didn't hate me, obviously. But it was cool to have someone to talk to, who would always agree that my parents; brothers, subjects, whoever I was mad at at the time; that they all deserved whatever I was thinking about doing to them. I never actually did anything, except for what I did to the experiments at The Pit, and then when I got much older I decided to take my revenge on Arthur. 26. When and with whom was your first kiss? Some handsome guy. And smart, of course. I think his name was . . . Greg? 27. Are you a virgin? If not, when and with whom did you lose your virginity? The same guy as my first kiss. 28. If you are a supernatural being (i.e. mage, werewolf, vampire), tell the story of how you became what you are or first learned of your own abilities. If you are just a normal human, describe any influences in your past that led you to do the things you do today. I really wish I could say I was a normal human, but I'm not. It happened during an uprising at Camp Sunshine. There were scientists who empathized with the experiments, I knew this. There was one in particular who had once been an experiment herself, but then the scientists found out that she knew a lot about genetics, so they freed her and hired her. She was part spider, and was a disgusting sight to look at. Top half human, bottom half hairy black, eight-legged spider body. I hated her, thought she belonged in a cage. And she was so d*mn soft on the experiments, because, of course, they were her kin. So, I knew it was only a matter of time before she released one. I tried to tell my superiors at Camp Sunshine that she couldn't be trusted, but they turned a deaf ear. Of course, she /did/ release one, and that one turned and released others. And this wasn't long after we'd had another fairly large escape, six or so experiments, led by that brat Jordan Gabriels. But anyway, one of these escaped experiments; I think he was some sort of reptile splice; headed straight for my office, and he had a syringe of kitten DNA in his hand. No idea how the f*** he got it. But before I could even get up, he had jabbed it into my shoulder. Then he ran off. It wasn't long before I shrank, and sprouted fur and a tail. Unfortunately, I had to leave Camp Sunshine so that my new form would not provoke the ridicule of my co-workers. I wish I could have stayed to see that filthy /spider/ convicted of freeing experiments. Because I am positive it was her that did it. For one thing, I saw her running past my office a second or two before the experiment that had the syringe came in. Part 3: Past Influences 29. What do you consider the most important event of your life so far? Quite possibly the incident that . . . corrupted my form. Either that, or my invention of Blood Red Serum. After I first started working at the lab, I realized that beatings and electric shocks could only do so much in the way of punishment. So I began working on what would later become my infamous Blood Red Serum. I finished the first version when I was nineteen; only a year after I began working at The Pit. The first version only triggered the burn-pain nerve endings, since it turns out that that's the simplest pathway for pain. Later, I figured out how to trigger multiple types of nerve endings with just one substance. I completed the version of the Serum I use now when I was twenty-six. So I would say creating that Serum was another candidate for 'most important event of my life.' 30. Who has had the most influence on you? Irene. She was a manipulative b!tch, and I'd be lying if I said I'm not just like her. 31. What do you consider your greatest achievement? Inventing my Serum. It's made my job so much easier, and of course it was no small task to create. 32. What is your greatest regret? Letting Irene and my two brothers get away. All three of them deserve death for underestimating me. 33. What is the most evil thing you have ever done? It's so hard to narrow it down to just one thing. I suppose the way I killed Arthur was pretty evil. I kidnapped him, and for months I injected him with Blood Red Serum, just enough to make him suffer constantly, but not enough to kill him. Finally, when I was starting to get bored, I strangled him with his own belt. The same belt he'd used to inflict so much pain on me. I think that was when I was twenty-six. It was right after I'd perfected my Blood Red Serum. 34. Do you have a criminal record of any kind? . . . . well, no. But I should. The only reason I don't is because I'm good at keeping secret all the many crimes I've commited, at least from the general public. 35. When was the time you were the most frightened? The first time Arthur beat me. There's a reason that it was the first thing I remember; it was kind of hard to forget. 36. What is the most embarrassing thing ever to happen to you? Being turned into a f***ing filthy freak. 37. If you could change one thing from your past, what would it be, and why? I would have either killed Arthur sooner, or I would have reacted a little quicker when that experiment came at me with the syringe of kitten DNA. It's a hard choice, but I think it would have to be the latter. Arthur got what was coming to him in the end. 38. What is your best memory? I remember once there was this golden retriever splice that my parents had been working on at Smart Pet, and they brought it home from work for a week or so. I think this was when I was . . . eight? Oh well, that doesn't matter. My parents were so proud of it, like they always were of their creations, and the creature was so idiotically /happy/ all the time. And one day, this thing had the /nerve/ to ask me why /I/ wasn't doting and fawning over it like my parents and brothers were. I remember grabbing its tail and twisting just as hard as I could. It made the most satisfying sound, a cross between an anguished howl and a human scream. Arthur gave me the worst beating of my life after that, but I don't regret it. 39. What is your worst memory? Again, my first beating. Part 4: Beliefs And Opinions 40. Are you basically optimistic or pessimistic? Hmm. I suppose I'm an optimist, because I'm used to things going my way. Sure didn't used to be that way, though. I'd say that in my childhood, I was probably a pessimist. 41. What is your greatest fear? I would say being turned into a freak, but that's already happened. So, heh, I guess I don't have anything /left/ to fear. Except that I might be stuck like this forever. And I don't even want to think about that. It's bad enough that I'll have even the memory of this . . . experience, to mar my reputation. 42. What are your religious views? My parents were Catholic, so I sort of am, too. But I think I have a different idea of God than most people do. I like the idea of a vengeful God, one that smites everyone who deserves it. Punishes the wicked, the weak, and the stupid, and all that. It's a little like how I think of myself. 43. What are your political views? I vote republican. And I vote often, because I don't like to think I don't have a say in who leads our country. Even though I think it should be me. And I like republicans because they are for the individual, and for being able to keep what you've earned. 44. What are your views on sex? I think it's immature to get all offended by it. It's not like I'd want it to be shown everywhere all the time, but yeah, it happens, and it's natural. Get over it. 45. Are you able to kill? Under what circumstances do you find killing to be acceptable or unacceptable? Hell yes, I'm able to kill. I typically prefer not to, though, just because it's not as much fun as torture. Dead people don't scream. When is killing unacceptable? Well . . . when you kill a normal, /human/ being who hasn't done anything wrong. And they aren't, like, annoyingly stupid or something. If they aren't human, or they are annoyingly stupid, then you're doing them a favor by killing them. 46. In your opinion, what is the most evil thing any human being could do? Probably . . . being nice to freaks. All you do is spoil them, and make them act even more horrible. They get all rebellious and disobedient if someone has been nice to them, and you then try to teach them their place. 47. Do you believe in the existence of soul mates and/or true love? No. And no. All that exists is possible pairings of people who can stand each other for some amount of time. 48. What do you believe makes a successful life? Money. Lots of money. A high rank in whatever business you're in. And that's usually achieved by not letting anyone get in your way. So those three things, basically. 49. How honest are you about your thoughts and feelings (i.e. do you hide your true self from others, and in what way)? I don't think of myself as hiding anything, other than my hideous form. When I'm mad, I want people to know it, so they can be properly afraid. I'm never really sad anymore, but when I used to get depressed when I was younger, I guess I would hide that. Oh, and when I'm happy, I don't tend to let people know that, either, because then they think they can get away with sh!t just because I'm in a good mood. Actually, though, it's sort of the other way around. I tend to torture people more when I'm in a good mood, just to sort of keep the mood going, I guess. 50. Do you have any biases or prejudices? I don't like freaks, obviously. Or stupid people, they get on my nerves, too. I think that's about it. But 'stupid people' encompasses a lot of different groups. 51. Is there anything you absolutely refuse to do under any circumstances? Why do you refuse to do it? I would refuse to willingly do any sort of favor for an experiment. It's bad enough that /they/ see me as being at 'their level,' but I will never actually /lower/ myself to that level. 52. Who or what, if anything, would you die for (or otherwise go to extremes for)? Nothing and no-one. Well, I would sure as hell 'go to extremes' for a cure for what happened to me, but I obviously wouldn't die for it, because that would defeat the point.
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Post by Tobey on Feb 1, 2007 13:17:15 GMT -5
Christina's Interview, Part 2 [/b] Part 5: Relationships With Others 53. In general, how do you treat others (politely, rudely, by keeping them at a distance, etc.)? Does your treatment of them change depending on how well you know them, and if so, how? If someone is an adult human, I give them the basic respect any human being is due. I don't have a lot of patience for children, or even teenagers. Very rarely do they have anything to say that's worth my time, so I don't typically give them any of my time. And of course experiments should not be given any respect at all. Ever. You give them an inch and they take a mile, as the saying goes. 54. Who is the most important person in your life, and why? Probably Arthur or Irene. Just because they were my parents, so they naturally influenced me somewhat. Considering that Arthur is dead, and you said 'who /is/ the most important person in your life,' I guess that just leaves Irene. 55. Who is the person you respect the most, and why? Even though I wanted to be like my mother, I also resented her greatly. So I didn't really 'respect' her all that much. I'd say it was probably Sven Ahlström, a co-worker at The Pit. One of my few superiors, actually. He was tall, and had a definite air of leadership. He was about in his fifties, with grey-white hair that matched his mustache and beard, all of which were cut short; his hair about two inches long, and mustache and beard about a half inch. His eyes were also grey, with a sort of coppery-brown tint to them. He worked mostly on neurological enhancement. You know, psychic powers. Well, it might be more accurate to call his experiments 'thought-controlled powers,' since most of them weren't the classic mind-reading or telekinesis. A few of his favorites were one who could create bolts of electricity from his hands, one who could create and manipulate force fields, and one who did in fact fit the classic idea of the mind-reading psychic. But what Sven did that was truly revolutionary, is that he implanted a chip under his scalp that would allow him to take control of any thought-controlled 'supernatural' powers of his subjects. So he could use his subjects powers, without having to take the risks associated with altering his own neurology. He sometimes got on other scientists' nerves by 'testing' the powers of some of /their/ neurologically enhanced experiments. Of course, he outranked them, so they couldn't say anything about it. He loved to be in control, loved power, was a natural leader, and often spoke of using his experiments as an army to help him take over the world. It was sometimes hard to tell if he was joking. 56. Who are your friends? Do you have a best friend? Describe these people. I already told you about Mitch. And Sven. Sven wasn't really a 'friend', the way Mitch was, but we got along. I would help him with his subjects if he needed it, and he would do the same for me. Come to think of it, I suppose we were fairly close, at least compared to my other co-workers at The Pit. It helped that we were very much alike. But he decided to stay on and help rebuild The Pit after the fire, whereas I wanted to find work elsewhere. Namely at Camp Sunshine. There was another 'friend' that I haven't mentioned yet. His name was Curtis, and I first encountered him at Camp Sunshine. He was just learning the ropes of the lab when I met him, and he never really got over the whole 'new kid on the block' thing. He was sort of soft for my tastes, but he served his purposes. He tended to see everything through rose-tinted glasses, and therefore didn't look at the experiments as the miserable creatures they were, but rather as incredible examples of the wonders of science. He was like a kid in a candy store, always in awe of the amazing advances of science that made this sort of experimentation possible. The only reason I had anything to do with him was because he idolized me. I'm still not entirely sure why, possibly because he was the 'new guy' and I had more experience than anyone else at Camp Sunshine. So I guess he figured that he could get rid of the 'new guy' stigma by becoming my dedicated follower. But he was the best lackey anyone could hope for. I only had to call his name and he would pretty much drop what he was doing and come running, ready to do whatever I wanted him to. I sometimes jokingly called him my "main minion." I had always had a small following among scientists who ranked underneath me, almost as soon as I had a high enough rank to command a following, but Curtis was by far my favorite. 57. Do you have a spouse or significant other? If so, describe this person. No, I don't. Sven and I talked about marriage once, but we decided it wouldn't be a good idea. Even though we're about as compatable as two people are capable of being, there's that annoying twenty-year age difference. Ick. 58. Have you ever been in love? If so, describe what happened. No. I told you, there is no such thing as love. Just possible pairings of people who can stand each other for some amount of time. 59. What do you look for in a potential lover? Smart, handsome. They couldn't be soft, because I can't stand softies; except Curtis, and he gets away with it because he's a minion. But of course, I would never turn to him as a lover. Ugh. Any lover of mine would have to be somewhat like me; a leader, not afraid to do what needs to be done to get their way. So that leaves out Mitch. If only Sven were twenty years younger, then he would be perfect. 60. How close are you to your family? I'd be a lot closer if I had some way to track Irene and the twins, d*mn it. Oh, that's not what you meant, is it? Well, considering I have no contact with any of them, and Irene is apparently working hard to keep it that way, not very close. 61. Have you started your own family? If so, describe them. If not, do you want to? Why or why not? No, I haven't started my own family. Even if I do get married, I don't want kids. I mean, what's the point? You just have a bunch of extra mouths to feed, and you have to wait till they're old enough to put them to work before you even get anything from them. 62. Who would you turn to if you were in desperate need of help? Before the incident, it would have been Curtis. I could've counted on him for anything, although I hated the idea of being dependent on anyone, so I still didn't like to trust him with anything big unless it was an emergency. But I don't know if I could even still trust him, now that I'm a freak. I probably could, considering that he was always so soft on experiments anyway. So it would still be Curtis. 63. Do you trust anyone to protect you? Who, and why? Curtis. Same reasons as the last question. 64. If you died or went missing, who would miss you? Well, I /did/ go missing from Camp Sunshine, and I'm sure Curtis is wondering where I am. By now, word of my disappearance has probably reached other labs, so Sven is probably concerned, as well. And I had been doing fairly well at keeping in touch with Mitch, so he might be beginning to suspect that something's wrong, too. 65. Who is the person you despise the most, and why? It would have easily been Arthur, but he's out of the way now. I'd have to say it's just about a tie between Irene and Jordan Gabriels. Irene scores lower because she's been staying out of my way since Arthur's death, but I despised her so much when I was younger, because she despised me. Jordan was one of my subjects, and the one I remember best. We decided to try out our genetic destabilization experiment on her, mainly because we knew she would hate it. She was a brat. She refused to shut up, ever, no matter how many times I injected her with my Serum. And she took pride in learning exactly what would annoy me, and just never giving up. She even tried to hide the pain of the Serum from me, and act like it didn't hurt, but she didn't fool me. When we recaptured her friend Kelly, I purposefully gave the firefly experiment just enough Serum to kill her. I figured maybe that would be enough to finally break Jordan. It wasn't, and if anything that just made her worse. After about four months, she led an escape, and we were never able to recapture her. She remains my only failure, the only experiment that defied me, and that I was never able to break. 66. Do you tend to argue with people, or avoid conflict? I used to love to try to start arguments with experiments, just so they would argue back and give me an excuse to use my Serum. The smart ones eventually figured it out, and just stayed quiet no matter what I said to provoke them. Most of them didn't, though. With normal people, I can sometimes be argumentative, but I can usually stay pretty calm. Sometimes I just loose my temper, though. 67. Do you tend to take on leadership roles in social situations? Yes. I make a good leader, because I know how to get others to do what I want. 68. Do you like interacting with large groups of people? Why or why not? If they know who I am, then yes. People that know who I am typically know not to mess with me. If it's just a bunch of ignorant civilians, then no. 69. Do you care what others think of you? Of course I do. I have to keep up my reputation, so that people will know they can't push me around. Part 6: Likes And Dislikes 70. What is/are your favorite hobbies and pastimes? I like to torture things. I like to read, sometimes; mostly scientific papers, or if I do read fiction, it would have to be something gory and violent. 71. What is your most treasured possession? My Serum. 72. What is your favorite color? Blood red. Big surprise there. 73. What is your favorite food? I'm quite a fan of crême brulée. 74. What, if anything, do you like to read? I already answered this. Scientific papers and gory violent novels. 75. What is your idea of good entertainment (consider music, movies, art, etc.)? I enjoy the occassional high-class party. More often, though, I watch mature movies, or torture experiments. 76. Do you smoke, drink, or use drugs? If so, why? Do you want to quit? I smoke every now and then, but not often enough that it would be detrimental to my health. Same with drinking. No, I don't use any other drugs. And no, I don't want to quit either drinking or smoking. 77. How do you spend a typical Saturday night? Mostly I spend all my time working on a cure. Before the incident, I used to sometimes go out to high-class parties, or I might spend Saturdays at work if it was needed. 78. What makes you laugh? When experiments beg for mercy. 79. What, if anything, shocks or offends you? The idea that normal people might side with experiments if experimentation ever went public. Unfortunately, this is probably true to some extent, and it's the main reason we scientists haven't ever revealed our practices to the public. 80. What would you do if you had insomnia and had to find something to do to amuse yourself? Either work on my cure, or think of new ways to get my revenge on that creature Kat. I got a little revenge on her some time ago, but nowhere near what she deserved. The latter of those two options would certainly be more amusing. 81. How do you deal with stress? If there isn't too much stress, I can deal with it calmly, but if it gets to be too much, I loose my temper and seek to inflict pain on whoever gets in my way. The plus is that I feel much better after I've taken it out on someone. 82. Are you spontaneous, or do you always need to have a plan? I prefer plans. Plans let you have more control over what's going on. 83. What are your pet peeves? People who don't know their place, especially experiments think they ought to have all the rights of normal human beings, and people who try to get on my nerves, even after they ought to know better. Part 7: Self Images And Etc. 84. Describe the routine of a normal day for you. How do you feel when this routine is disrupted? I wake up, go downstairs to get my food for the day if I'm running low. I like to venture downstairs as little as possible, so I keep a supply of food that I don't have to prepare. Granola bars, canned soup, that sort of thing. It's kind of gross, but it's better than risking running into any of the freaks who live in this place. Then I spend the rest of the day working on the cure, eating whenever I get too hungry to concentrate. I bathe at night, so I don't have wet fur to deal with in the morning. 85. What is your greatest strength as a person? I can get anyone to do anything I want. 86. What is your greatest weakness? Watch it, you. 87. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I wouldn't be a f***ing /kitten/. 88. Are you generally introverted or extroverted? I need to be extroverted when I'm bending people to my will. When I'm not trying to influence people, I'm just as happy being introverted. Since the incident, I've been much more introverted, from a combination of hiding my hideousness, and working on a cure. 89. Are you generally organized or messy? Organized. Clutter just interferes with everything. 90. Name three things you consider yourself to be very good at, and three things you consider yourself to be very bad at. I'm good at torturing people, getting people to do what I want, and working with complex chemical equations. I'm bad at not losing my temper . . . that's really the only thing. 91. Do you like yourself? One more idiotic question like this, and you'll get a taste of my Serum. Yes, I like myself. 92. What are your reasons for being an adventurer (or doing the strange and heroic things that RPG characters do)? Are your real reasons for doing this different than the ones you tell people in public? (If so, detail both sets of reasons...) Mostly my motives are all about getting people to do what I want them to, with a few exceptions. I guess that's not so much true now, since I've been temporarily stripped of most of my influence. Now, I'm mostly trying to not let anyone who is of any importance know what happened to me, and to find a cure as quickly as possible. Of course, if any of the freaks I live with asked, I would say that I'm just living here because I need a home. And I definitely don't want them to know I'm working on a cure, because then they'd /all/ want it. 93. What goal do you most want to accomplish in your lifetime? Finding and taking out Irene and the twins. And also hunting down Jordan wherever she's hiding, and finding some way to finally break her. She /has/ to have a weakness. Oh, but first I would have to finish my cure so I can be normal again, and then I can go out into the outside world and accomplish all that. 94. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Fully human and free from the House! Halleluja! 95. If you could choose, how would you want to die? Probably at the hands of one of my enemies. But it would have to be in such a way that my murderer had some sort of obscenely unfair advantage, so that my superiority wouldn't be questioned, and people would see my murderer as the bad guy. And then some horrible fate would have to befall my murderer, so that he wouldn't just get away with it unpunished. 96. If you knew you were going to die in 24 hours, name three things you would do in the time you had left. Well, it so happens that I named three goals I wanted to accomplish in my life when you asked me that question, so my answer for this one is the same. Find a cure, kill Irene and the twins, and break Jordan. 97. What is the one thing for which you would most like to be remembered after your death? I'd like to be remembered for my work. I'd also like to be respected after my death as someone who had been willing to strive for what she wanted. And heaven forbid that anyone ever think I had been a pushover. 98. What three words best describe your personality? Clever, manipulative, and commanding. 99. What three words would others probably use to describe you? Sadistic, ruthless, and manipulative. 100. If you could, what advice would you, the player, give to your character? (You might even want to speak as if he or she were sitting right here in front of you, and use proper tone so he or she might heed your advice...) . . . Um, don't hurt me? I would tell you to tone down the torturing-people thing, but then you wouldn't be Christina. I guess I'd like it if you didn't go too crazy on Echo when you find out she's living at the House. I kind of like her (don't hurt me), and I don't really want to see her as a broken shell. . . . . . . . . . w-one l-last th-thing. Y-you know how I s-said that I knew s-someone who could help you find a c-cure? And I s-said I'd talk them into h-helping you if you'd do m-me the f-favor of giving me this i-interview? I-I-I I lied. If you'll excuse me, I have to run for my dear sweet life while screaming like a small child now. (Several miles later.) Thank /god/ kittens have such short legs. All of you reading this, you had /better/ be grateful. I risked more than my life for this interview.
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Post by Tobey on Sept 30, 2007 19:53:50 GMT -5
Tonya's Interview, Part 1 [/b] Part 1: The Basics 1. What is your full name? Tonya Olivia Quirke 2. Where and when were you born? February 1, 1993, in Orange City, Iowa. 3. Who are/were your parents? (Know their names, occupations, personalities, etc.) Uh, well, I don't know much about my father. I was too young to remember him when my parents divorced, so I only know what my mom told me. His name was Gregory, I think, and according to my mom he was a 'good-for-nothing,' 'unfaithful,' 'lazy' . . . well, yeah, you get the idea. Come to think of it, why did she marry him in the first place? I dunno, because I don't remember her ever saying anything good about him. As for mom, her name was Beverly. She was nice, I guess. Not very well-off, but not terribly poor, either, I guess. She was an accountant, I think. She was a good mother, but you don't really appreciate things like that until they're gone, you know? I think she might have been where I got my shyness from, because she's a little bit that way too. Not quite to the same degree, though. But she had the same tendency to get pushed around that I have. That's probably why, when there was that court hearing that separated me from her, she hardly argued about the verdict. It wasn't because she didn't love me, it was because she was too scared, and she thought there was nothing she could do. 4. Do you have any siblings? What are/were they like? I had a half-sibling, anyway. Victoria. There was a huge age difference between us; she was maybe like fifteen years older than me. She came from mom's last marriage. And it was a bit like having a second mother, what with the age difference, and because Victoria could often be more bossy than my actual mom was. When she was really young, she had cancer of the throat, and she had to have her vocal chords removed, so she couldn't talk at all. So I learned sign language almost as soon as I learned spoken English. Victoria was a much more in-charge person than me, but she never really pushed me around, even though she was so much older than me. Anytime she'd tell me to do something, it was either something I needed to do, like chores, or it was something that wound up being for my own good. She looked out for me, you know, like a good older sibling should. I guess she sorta counteracted my shyness, a little, by being as mature and direct as she was. I really wish I knew what happened to her, after, you know, the court hearing and all. 5. Where do you live now, and with whom? Describe the place and the person/people. I live at the House, which is basically a haven for escaped experiments. It's really the only place where, if they ever did find out about my . . . condition . . . they wouldn't try to lock me away in a mental ward. I think. Still, I'm keeping it secret, for the time being. Just in case. Oh, yeah, people. Um. I only know a few people so far. There's Amber, the first person I met, and she was a little loopy. She talked to the couch, for one thing. Then again, it was three o' clock in the morning. And I guess I'm not one to talk about 'loopy,' am I? But she was nice. I think she was part squirrel, maybe. After Amber I met Aerial. He was cool. I think I said some dumb things in that first conversation with him, but he didn't seem to mind too much. He had these blue wings that were pretty cool-looking, I thought. And then there's Kaspar. Does he really qualify as a person? I mean, he's not really human or whatever. He's a tiger. He's nice, though. Really friendly, if a little bit naive. 6. What is your occupation? I- I don't have one. Maybe I ought to try to get one, shouldn't I? I feel bad for living at the House without giving anything back, but I'm scared to get a job, too. Too many people all around. But I'll figure something out, I'm sure. I hope, anyway. 7. Write a full physical description of yourself. You might want to consider factors such as: height, weight, race, hair and eye color, style of dress, and any tattoos, scars, or distinguishing marks. I pretty much look normal. No fur, or wings, or claws, I mean. I have sorta wavy, light reddish brown hair, and blue eyes. I guess I'm pretty tall, but I don't know that people really notice. I have a feeling I might look shorter than I am. I know I /feel/ shorter than I am, most of the time. I've been almost dangerously underweight since the lab, somehow without it actually making me any more attractive for being skinny. You know, I'm not 'supermodel' skinny, more like 'malnourished' skinny. The kind of skinny that just makes you look all flat and boring, and stick-straight, and angular. But then, I know I tend to be pretty hard on myself, so I could just be imagining things about myself. Anyway, I've gained a little weight since coming to the House, but I'm still pretty thin. 8. To which social class do you belong? Wait, do you mean before, or after the lab? Before, probably upper lower class or lower middle. Now? I have no idea. I think I'm kinda outside the class system, now. Either that or on the very bottom rung. 9. Do you have any allergies, diseases, or other physical weaknesses? Um, well, /yeah./ Let's see, I'm cripplingly shy, I'm underweight, I have like no physical strength, and I can't differentiate between other people's thoughts and /reality/, for goodness sakes. 10. Are you right- or left-handed? Right. 11. What does your voice sound like? Extremely soft, sorta low-pitched for a girl, I guess, and . . . well, I guess a little hesitant- or shaky-sounding. 12. What words and/or phrases do you use very frequently? Well, I use 'filler' words a lot more than I probably should. You know, like, "well," "you know," "um," "sorta," "kinda," and "like." Other than that . . . not really. 13. What do you have in your pockets? A quarter I happened to find the other day and I don't know what to do with, a bobby pin; same story, and one of those 'worry stones' that you can rub when you're nervous. Mine's a pretty, sorta blue-grey color. 14. Do you have any quirks, strange mannerisms, annoying habits, or other defining characteristics? Yeah. I don't celebrate Halloween, I'm nocturnal, and whenever I meet a new person I have to decide if they're real or not before I can know how to act around them. Part 2: Growing Up 15. How would you describe your childhood in general? The part spent with my mom and Victoria was great. I already told you about both of them. We lived in a small, one story house, pretty far out into the suburbs. It was nice, though. A nice and simple and cozy life. Then, the rest of my 'childhood'? The part in the lab? It was wretched. So . . . terrifying and impersonal. 16. What is your earliest memory? Well, this will probably sound kinda silly, but it was playing house with Victoria. I was really little then, obviously. She was probably too old to enjoy such little-kid games, but she didn't show it. But, anyway, I remember that even though she was older than me, she let me be the mom, and she was the daughter. She always used to insist on letting me have my way in whatever games we played, even if I never really pushed for it. There were a few dolls that were the other children, and I said that I'd let my kids throw parties and do whatever they wanted. It was just one of those silly little nothing days that you remember forever without really knowing why. 17. How much schooling have you had? I was home-schooled, actually. But, I guess, it would have been, I dunno, fourth or fifth grade, when I was taken to the lab. 18. Did you enjoy school? Yeah. A good friend of my mom's would come over to teach me and Victoria lessons, since mom didn't really think herself competent to teach us herself. Obviously, Victoria and I got way different lessons. But mom and Victoria would both help me out with whatever I didn't get, so I think I learned quite a bit, and enjoyed it most of the time. 19. Where did you learn most of your skills and other abilities? Well, mostly from home-schooling, and from mom and Victoria. I learned some stuff in the lab, I guess, but not the sorts of things normal children would ever need to know, if you know what I mean. 20. While growing up, did you have any role models? If so, describe them. Victoria. I really respected how she didn't let the fact that she had lost her voice slow her down at all. If it were me, I probably would have just given up, and not even tried to interact with people. Heh, kinda like I'm doing now. But, I swear, most of the time none of us even noticed that Victoria had a so-called 'handicap,' because she never let it change her outlook on life. I really wish I could be like that. 21. While growing up, how did you get along with the other members of your family? I got along with them really well. Mom never really got mad at me, I was a good girl and almost always did as I was told, and Victoria was there for both of us, helping out wherever she could, and sometimes taking charge when neither of us would. We were a very close, and happy family, which makes it all the more perplexing how we could have actually /lost/ that child-abuse court case. 22. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Oh, you know, all kinds of things. I went through a lot of phases of wanting to be this or that; most kids do, I guess. Writer, veterinarian, chef, librarian, computer programmer . . . mine were mostly things that didn't require human interaction. I guess I went through a brief phase of wanting to be a sign language interpreter, but then I sorta realized that they have to stand up in front of huge audiences to interpret, and I would never want to do anything for a living that ever uses the phrase 'huge audiences.' 23. As a child, what were your favorite activities? Playing house with Victoria, playing with dolls, and sometimes just going outside to look for animals and stuff, if I was in an outdoors sort of mood. Didn't get a lot of social interaction, which probably didn't help most of the troubles I have now. 24. As a child, what kinds of personality traits did you display? Mostly the same as I do now, but not as bad. I was shy, then, too, but not as abnormally socially awkward as I am now. Like, the kind of shy that lots of kids are. Now I'm like, terrified of people in general. Hmm. What else? I guess I was also a lot more naive, and less paranoid back then than I am now. And I was sorta obsessive with little things, but I'm still that way, to some extent. 25. As a child, were you popular? Who were your friends, and what were they like? . . . . You /have/ been listening to me, right? That question, well, sorta makes it sound like you haven't. Well, for one, shy people aren't, like, /allowed/ to be popular, and, well, being home-schooled meant that I didn't make a lot of friends. Victoria was really my only friend, besides mom, but she doesn't count, because, well, she's my /mom/. 26. When and with whom was your first kiss? Heh, I don't think I've ever kissed. I mean, there was that one time, but I'm pretty sure that was a hallucination. It was in the lab, and uh, well, I don't really wanna go into details. 27. Are you a virgin? If not, when and with whom did you lose your virginity? . . . . Please don't make me talk about it. Uh, um, same thing as last question. 28. If you are a supernatural being (i.e. mage, werewolf, vampire), tell the story of how you became what you are or first learned of your own abilities. If you are just a normal human, describe any influences in your past that led you to do the things you do today. Heh, I guess I am sorta a supernatural being, aren't I? Hmm, well, you see, I . . . Oh! Oh my gosh, I'm sorry! All this time, I've been talking about court cases and labs, and you must have had no idea what I was talking about! Sorry. I'm such an idiot. Okay, well, anyway, what happened is that there was a child abuse lawsuit brought against my mom. I don't know why, because mom never did anything wrong. I was like, eight, so I didn't understand all of what was happening, but I knew that we lost the case. Victoria gave 'em hell for it; with mom acting as her interpreter, of course; but since Victoria was supposedly an 'accomplice' in mom's child abuse, there was nothing she could do about it, either. I later realized that the whole thing was a setup, because instead of being taken to a foster care place, I was taken to a genetics lab called Area 52, where they do awful experiments on human beings. I know it sounds ridiculous, but there really are places like that. In Area 52, they were doing an experiment to try to give people psychic powers. I was one of the failed attempts. Or /too/ successful, depending on how you look at it. Basically, I can see other people's thoughts as if they were real. The scientists likened me to a schizophrenic person, except that my 'hallucinations' come from other people's minds, rather than my own. Part 3: Past Influences 29. What do you consider the most important event of your life so far? That court case I told you about. That was where my life went from normal to anything but normal, in the course of just a few days. Or . . . wait, maybe it might also be when I escaped from Area 52. That was pretty much the first time I did anything really important on my own, without mom or Victoria's help and support. I was pretty proud of myself. So, um, yeah, one of those two things. 30. Who has had the most influence on you? Well, I really wish I could answer 'Victoria,' but that would be a lie. I /wish/ I were like her, but I'm not. So probably my mom, who sorta inadvertently showed me by example that being shy was okay. Or, maybe, if you want me to answer literally, it would be Area 52. Yeah, they influenced me a lot, in more ways than one. They taught me fear, and paranoia, not to mention that they gave me my flawed 'psychic' powers. 31. What do you consider your greatest achievement? Escaping from Area 52. I did it all myself, as I said before. I stole a bar of soap one time when we were all taking our bi-weekly showers, and I examined the fingerprint scanner pad whenever a particular scientist opened my cage. The guy I picked, his name was Rick Walcott, I remember. Then I'd carve his fingerprint, using the edge of my fingernail, into the bar of soap. It was really painstaking work, because I couldn't afford to make the slightest mistake, and the fingerprint would wear off of the scanner pad after just, like, a few minutes. Eventually, after working at it obsessively for what must have been several years, I was able to carve Rick's fingerprint into my bar of soap. And then it worked! I could use my bar of soap to open any door that Rick could open! So I was out of there. It only occurred to me later that I could have let other people out, too, and that that's what I probably /should/ have done, and so I sorta still feel guilty over that, but I felt pretty good that I was able to pull it off at all, and I keep telling myself that if I had started releasing everybody, they would've figured out something was up and recaptured us all, anyway. 32. What is your greatest regret? Well, I've got enough regrets that it's sorta hard to pick, I guess. Not releasing anyone else from Area 52 is high on the list. Not looking hard enough for mom and Victoria after I escaped is another one. I mean, there was someone else living at our old house, and I didn't know where else to look! But on the other hand, there must be some way to find them that I haven't tried yet, or maybe am too scared even to think of. I dunno. 33. What is the most evil thing you have ever done? . . . Probably getting out of Area 52 without even /thinking/ about releasing anyone else. That was pretty evil, wasn't it? But it was night, and I just didn't think about it, and I didn't know anybody that well anyway, and it wouldn't have worked, and they would've recaptured us all, and I regret what I did, and I'd do it different if I could do it again, and, so, all that makes up for it, at least a little, right? 34. Do you have a criminal record of any kind? Uh, no. Mom and Victoria technically do, but I don't, even though I've probably done way worse things than either of them. 35. When was the time you were the most frightened? Oh god. I don't wanna talk about it, don't even wanna /think/ about it. Oh god. Please don't make me remember it. 36. What is the most embarrassing thing ever to happen to you? Hmm, probably . . . heh. It was probably when I first met Amber. So, I see a squirrel-looking person, and she's talking to a couch, and so I naturally assume she's just a figment, right? So I start, you know, just talking out my problems to her. And I had a lot, at that point, since I had just arrived at the House and all. Then I realize that she's actually real. That was pretty embarrassing. Or, on second thought, it might have been right when I was first learning about my powers. I saw things, and I just assumed that everyone could see them, and, well, a lot of people, experiments and scientists both, thought I was mental. Which I am, sorta, I guess. But it's seriously embarrassing when you first realize that everyone else around you thinks you've been having a conversation with thin air. 37. If you could change one thing from your past, what would it be, and why? Just one thing? Hmm, that's pretty hard. Hey, wait, I know. I would have tried harder to find a way to change the verdict of that court case. I dunno, I maybe could've told Victoria to get them to take it to a higher court or something. Surely there was some legal loophole to exploit, surely they couldn't have made such a phony case fool-proof. Could they? But if we had found a way to somehow win that court case, none of the other stuff would have happened. 38. What is your best memory? Hmm. I'm not really sure. Almost definitely something from before the lab. Uh, I guess it might have been this camping trip the three of us went on, once. We weren't really that far from home, since we live way out in the country anyway, but it was cool to be sort of 'living off of the land' or whatever. But mostly it was just the chance to be with my family outside the house, and have fun just doing silly little things, like fishing, roasting marshmallows over a fire, and telling ghost stories or whatever. 39. What is your worst memory? Uh, that would probably be the court case. That was where the downhill spiral of my life all started. Part 4: Beliefs And Opinions 40. Are you basically optimistic or pessimistic? I'm pretty pessimistic nowadays. I mean, I've got some serious problems that I may never find any solutions to. How could I /not/ be pessimistic? 41. What is your greatest fear? I would say that my greatest fear would probably be that someone at the House would find out about my disorder and use it against me, to basically, well, bend me to their will. I would be so incredibly easy to blackmail, that, well, just about anybody would be at least tempted to do so, I think. And that's happened before, I've been used, forced to chose between doing something awful and being hurt by awful figments, by people I thought I could trust. So I have a hard time trusting people, now. 42. What are your religious views? Well, mom was a Presbyterian, so I am too, I guess. Yeah, I guess I still remember and believe most of what I learned in church. So yeah. I'm Presbyterian, even though I haven't really been to church in a long time. 43. What are your political views? Um, I don't really care that much about politics. Maybe I should. But, you know, I have more important things to think about, and politics doesn't really affect me that much. And besides, what point is there in worrying about things you can't change, anyway? 44. What are your views on sex? Between two people who love each other, I guess it would be okay, though I personally would feel really uncomfortable about it. But, in any other circumstance, like rape, or coercion, it's not okay. And, well, you know, I'd personally prefer it if certain people didn't even /think/ about it so much, or so vividly. Ugh. 45. Are you able to kill? Under what circumstances do you find killing to be acceptable or unacceptable? No, I couldn't kill anybody even if I wanted to. I'm much too physically weak for that. And besides, I'd never be able to muster up the courage to kill someone even if I had the physical ability. Do you have any idea of the kinds of things that run through people's minds right before they die? I do. Not really, like, scary things, but things that you still wish you hadn't seen. Quite a few people died at Area 52 when I was there, and I'm not totally sure if certain visions were connected to them or not, but I think I saw some of their last thoughts. That's the kind of thing that'll make you swear off killing anybody, ever, for any reason. So, yeah. Killing is always unacceptable, no matter what. Well, I guess maybe not quite always. But the /only/ exception is when, by killing, you save the lives of more people than those you had to kill. I even think self-defense is kind of an shaky reason. 46. In your opinion, what is the most evil thing any human being could do? Probably to kill another person. But I think blackmail, torture, and rape are high on my list, too. 47. Do you believe in the existence of soul mates and/or true love? Well, you know, not really. Maybe I'm jaded, but I think I've seen too many failed relationships to ever really believe that true love can happen. I sorta think that 'true love' is usually just an excuse that both lovers tell themselves, because they don't like to admit that they both just want to claim 'ownership' of the other. I dunno, though, I'm really trying to keep at least a somewhat open mind, so if I see a couple that proves me wrong, well, I'll change my thoughts on the matter. But I haven't seen such a couple as of yet. 48. What do you believe makes a successful life? Hmm, you know, I've never really thought about it. I guess, probably because, by any definition, I can't really have a successful life. Well, hmm, money would probably be involved. Oh, and happiness, too. So, yeah, a good, well-paying job that you like, and a comfortable home, a family if you want one, and fame if that's what you want. And, well, as for me? I'd be happy enough if I were just /normal/. If I can find a solution to my, you know, mental problems, I'd count that as being successful, as far as I'm concerned. 49. How honest are you about your thoughts and feelings (i.e. do you hide your true self from others, and in what way)? Uh, well, I'd have to say I'm not very honest. I still haven't told anybody at the House about my condition, but, you know, some of them have probably already figured out something's different about me. But, yeah, basically I hide everything about my 'true self' that I can, and all anybody knows about me is the stuff I can't keep hidden. Like my shyness, or whatever. And maybe some of the more innocent, trivial stuff. You know, the stuff that can't hurt me by other people knowing about it. 50. Do you have any biases or prejudices? Hmm. Let me think. Well, I'm kinda biased against some of the more extreme animal spliced experiments, but that's probably because it's so much harder to tell if they're just figments or not. So, I guess I used to kinda avoid them, sometimes. That's kind of a rotten thing to do, isn't it? But, you know, all the people I've met at the House so far have been animal splices, so I think I may be getting over that. I'm also kinda biased against people who think they're in love, probably because I see love as being so fake. I think I get more biased when I see people who are 'deeply in love' one day, and then want nothing to do with each other the next. 51. Is there anything you absolutely refuse to do under any circumstances? Why do you refuse to do it? Um, well, I think I'd refuse to kill someone, torture someone . . . hmm, betray someone's trust, or . . . umm, wield power over someone. I mean, there's the obvious reasons, simply that they're /wrong/, but then, those are all things I've either seen happen or have happened to me. So I sorta know first hand how terrible they all are. 52. Who or what, if anything, would you die for (or otherwise go to extremes for)? I'd die for Victoria or mom, no questions asked. Other than that, I'd die rather than do any of the things I just said I'd refuse to do, and maybe to keep them from happening to anyone else, either, if I had that choice.
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Post by Tobey on Oct 5, 2007 23:18:07 GMT -5
Tonya's Interview, Part 2 [/b] Part 5: Relationships With Others 53. In general, how do you treat others (politely, rudely, by keeping them at a distance, etc.)? Does your treatment of them change depending on how well you know them, and if so, how? Well, I'm really awkward around just about everybody, with the possible exceptions of mom and Victoria. And I don't trust anyone, but, again, with those two exceptions. And, I guess if I got to know someone well enough, I'd probably act a little less awkward, but would take a really long time for me to really trust anyone. 54. Who is the most important person in your life, and why? Do you mean my entire life, or just who's the most important person in my life right now? If you mean my entire life, I'd say Victoria. Because, well, she's the person I want to be. And if you mean right now . . . well, I don't know. Probably either Kaspar, Aerial, or Amber, because those are the only people I even /know/, who are still around. 55. Who is the person you respect the most, and why? Huh? Didn't I already answer this question? If not, it's Victoria. Because . . . wait, yeah, I did already answer this question. 56. Who are your friends? Do you have a best friend? Describe these people. Hmm, well, I suppose Aerial, Amber, and Kaspar count as my friends, don't they? I don't think I have any other friends right now, in any case. But I don't think I would go so far as to call any of them a 'best friend,' though. 57. Do you have a spouse or significant other? If so, describe this person. Um, no. 58. Have you ever been in love? If so, describe what happened. I think I might've had a couple crushes in the lab. None lasted long, though, and none were what I'd call 'love.' Most were just sorta subconscious feelings that it would take me a while to even notice I had. Heh, it was kind of embarrassing, but one time, I guess someone was just constantly daydreaming about someone they must've had a crush on, maybe from before the lab, and after a while I think /I/ developed a crush on the guy, too, only to find out later that he was just a figment. 59. What do you look for in a potential lover? Well, I'm not looking for a potential lover, but, um, well, I guess you probably want me to answer the question anyway, huh? So, like, hypothetically, if I were looking for a lover, he'd have to be really, really patient to put up with all my neuroses and paranoia and stuff. And he'd probably have to be really faithful, too, and, you know, never break my trust. And, I guess it would be nice if he had plenty of mental control, so he wouldn't accidentally think about things that might bother me. So, yeah, I'd be asking an awful lot, so it's probably a good thing that I'm not looking for anyone. 60. How close are you to your family? We used to be really close, you know, back before the lab. But now, since I haven't even talked to them in years, I'd say we're not very close at all. 61. Have you started your own family? If so, describe them. If not, do you want to? Why or why not? No, I don't have a family of my own, and, well, I don't particularly want to. For one thing, I know I'd be a terrible parent. I'm barely able to take care of /myself/, let alone children. Plus, as I've said before, I don't really believe in true love or whatever. 62. Who would you turn to if you were in desperate need of help? Hmm, well, I guess that depends on just how desperate I am. Pretty much anything short of /mortal/ danger, and I wouldn't go to anyone for help. I tend to try to solve my own problems, even when, deep down, I know I can't do it on my own. I guess I'd rather just stay stuck on my problems, futilely trying to work out my own solutions, than ask for anyone else's help. But, I guess if I was fearing for my life, that would change things a bit. Then, I think I'd go to Aerial. Dunno why, but he seems like the one, out of the people I know, who'd be most likely to offer a helping hand to someone in need. But, like I said, that'd be only if I was /really/ desperate. 63. Do you trust anyone to protect you? Who, and why? Well, I think I would- Wait, protect me from what? You know, the main thing I need protection from, you know, my hallucinations, is the one thing nobody can protect me from. Heh, people are the cause of that problem in the first place. But other than that? If there was something real I needed protection from . . . I wish I could say mom or Victoria. But they aren't around to protect me anymore. So probably Aerial again, or maybe Kaspar or Amber. All three of them would be good 'comfort' sort of people, I think. Well, okay, I guess I don't really know about Amber. I guess I should probably point out that I think I'd be quicker to ask for protection than any other kind of help. 64. If you died or went missing, who would miss you? . . . Well, realistically, probably nobody. If I wanted to be really optimistic, you know, I might say Aerial or Kaspar. Possibly Amber. But, seriously, I'm too quiet, and keep to myself, and let's face it, I'm nocturnal, so nobody really notices me when I /am/ here, let alone when I'm not. 65. Who is the person you despise the most, and why? Well, I mean, I don't really /despise/ anybody. It's hard to ever get angry or hateful when you're as chronically fearful as I am. But there are definitely people I dislike a lot. I'm not going to name names, because most of the people I'm thinking of have psychic abilities, so they might know if I told anyone about them, and I'm scared of what they'd do to me if I told, but I'll just say that there are people who I thought were my friends and they turned out not to be. One in particular, he . . . basically used my powers against me to force me to do stuff I didn't want to do. 66. Do you tend to argue with people, or avoid conflict? I avoid conflict. I'll always be the first to cave on an argument, and I just, well, I do my best not to make people mad. 67. Do you tend to take on leadership roles in social situations? No. 68. Do you like interacting with large groups of people? Why or why not? Very, very, very /no/. I mean, for one you've got my shyness and total lack of social skills. And then, on top of that, more people means that there are more minds around to trigger my psychic schizophrenia thing. So I avoid large groups of people pretty much at all costs. 69. Do you care what others think of you? Well, yeah, sorta I guess. I mean, I don't care if people don't think anything of me at all. Uh, that came out wrong. I mean, I don't care if they just ignore me. But, you know, I don't want people to think /bad/ things about me. So I guess I have a pretty strong conscience. Part 6: Likes And Dislikes 70. What is/are your favorite hobbies and pastimes? I like reading. I don't really have any books I prefer, but just, you know, whatever is well-written and catches my attention. Music is cool, too. Oh, and I like to watch TV occasionally, usually when I'm tense and need to relax and do something that doesn't require any effort. Heh, books, music, and TV; I guess I'm pretty average as far as hobbies go. 71. What is your most treasured possession? Um, well, since I really don't have many possessions at all, I'd probably say my worry stone. Yeah, I know, pretty lame, but, well, that's all I got. 72. What is your favorite color? Blue. Especially that deep, indigo sort of blue. 73. What is your favorite food? Hmm. I dunno. I guess I like marshmallows a lot. They're like, so light and soft and fluffy and mmm. Or, I guess if you mean, like, /food/ food, then I might say . . . pancakes. Yeah, pancakes are good. 74. What, if anything, do you like to read? Pretty much anything but romance novels and murder mysteries. 75. What is your idea of good entertainment (consider music, movies, art, etc.)? I dunno, I never really thought about it before. Well, it'd have to be a solitary activity before I'd go for it, I guess. Other than that . . . well, music is good as long as it matches my mood. Books are good if they make enough sense that I can suspend my disbelief and get immersed in them, but they still have to be /unreal/ enough take me away from reality. Because, I mean, isn't that the whole point of books? To get immersed in, and escape the real world? Anyway, you also mentioned movies. Hmm, well, I guess the same principle that applies to books works for movies too. Sensible enough to suspend disbelief, but not so sensible that they remind you at all of reality. Then again, my 'reality' isn't really all that sensible in the first place, is it? 76. Do you smoke, drink, or use drugs? If so, why? Do you want to quit? No. My brain's plenty messed up as it is. 77. How do you spend a typical Saturday night? Pretty much the same as any other night, I guess. I mean, I stay up all night, you know, being nocturnal and all. And I don't really do much, other than that. Very occasionally I'll try for a little social interaction, but, well, most of the time I just find little things to occupy my mind and fill the time. Read a book, watch TV, watch a movie, you know, just whatever. 78. What makes you laugh? . . . I guess, well, sometimes I laugh more often when I'm really nervous. Like, you know, how stuff that's not really funny seems funnier when you need something to laugh at, to ease the tension? But I guess that's probably not what you're asking. Um, I guess I like fairly simple humor. I hate those jokes that have like, a half-dozen different meanings or whatever, half of which you don't get until they're explained to you. I don't really like 'inside' jokes very much, either. 79. What, if anything, shocks or offends you? When people break another person's trust and then think it's okay and no big deal, that's pretty shocking to me. I guess . . . that's really the only thing that comes to mind. I mean, I don't get offended by vulgar or crude stuff, because, well, you know, I can literally see, and sometimes hear, people's thoughts. I think you'd probably be surprised by how crude a lot of people's thoughts are, and, you know, you kinda get desensitized to that sort of stuff after a while. Or, at least, hearing it spoken out loud doesn't really faze you much after that. 80. What would you do if you had insomnia and had to find something to do to amuse yourself? Heh, insomnia is a pretty common problem for me, what with being nocturnal and all. I mean, human beings weren't really meant to be nocturnal, I don't think. Anyway, I'd do pretty much the same thing I do with my time, anyway; I'd read a book, watch TV, or whatever else I could find to occupy myself with. 81. How do you deal with stress? Well, you know, not very well. I have a tendency to just try to hide from whatever's stressing me out. If it isn't something that can be hidden from, I guess I'd try and find some other way to deny its existence. I guess I never really try and deal with stress in actual, well, constructive ways. I guess that's another thing I should probably work on, huh? 82. Are you spontaneous, or do you always need to have a plan? Well, I guess I try to avoid spontaneity whenever I can. Being too spontaneous, or being around people that are, can be dangerous. Having a plan really just feels so much /safer/. And I guess I also really got used to plans and routines at Area 52. That was probably the only source of any sort of comfort in that horrid place. 83. What are your pet peeves? I think I've already, you know, alluded to some of them. People who break trust, people who think they're in love when it's really just lust, and . . . hmm, is there anything else? Oh yeah. Part 7: Self Images And Etc. 84. Describe the routine of a normal day for you. How do you feel when this routine is disrupted? Let's see. I wake up at around seven or eight o' clock in the evening. First thing I do after I get up is to make my bed. Then I take my shower, spending about twenty minutes. Afterwards, I put on the outfit I picked out for myself the previous day. Then I wash my face, dry and brush my hair, brush my teeth, and generally make myself look, you know, presentable before coming downstairs to eat breakfast. Breakfast usually happens at about nine o'clock. I usually eat cereal, or a poptart, or something simple like that. I have to admit, though, sometimes I'm just not hungry, so I skip breakfast; not terribly often, I guess, but maybe more than I should. Anyway, after about nine o'clock in the evening is when most of the best TV shows are on, so after breakfast is my TV time. I'll usually watch TV until about midnight, which is when I eat lunch. Lunch sorta depends on what sort of food I can find. I usually have a sandwich, but occasionally if I can find some other food that I like in the kitchen, I'll eat that. Because, you know, a person can get tired of sandwiches all the time. After lunch, I go back up to my room, and usually I'll find a book to read. Between lunch and dinner is normally my reading time, unless I can find something else to occupy my mind. I only have about a half dozen books; just those I was able to find for free. But I can re-read them over and over. They're pretty good books. I don't like to just sit and think, or daydream, or anything, because then I start to notice all the figments of other people's dreams, which I try my best to ignore. Then, after reading a book or doing whatever else in my room for a few hours, I go back downstairs for dinner. I usually fix myself something fairly nice for dinner, you know, because dinner is supposed to be more important than lunch. My dinner varies, sorta like my lunch, depending on what I can find, but it often contains chicken, rice, or some sort of pasta as one of the ingredients. Those three things seem to be fairly common in the kitchen, I guess. Anyway, I usually eat my dinner at around seven in the morning; that's when it's just starting to get light outside. Then, I eat a small dessert, which usually consists of a few oreos, or one of those snack pack cups of pudding. Then, usually at around 8 o' clock, I'll go back upstairs to read some more. That's also when I pick out an outfit for the next day. Then, when I get tired, I get ready for bed; I brush my teeth, floss, change into my pajamas, and put my hair up so it doesn't get too messed up when I sleep. I usually get into bed at around ten o' clock in the morning. My routine usually tends to get messed up at the parts where I come downstairs. Because, you know, other people tend to hang out downstairs. I met Kaspar when I was eating my lunch, for example. And I guess that throws me off a little, but only really because people tend to make me nervous, anyway. Once whoever it is leaves, I can get right back on track with my usual schedule. Well, more or less, in any case. 85. What is your greatest strength as a person? . . . I can't really think of any. Um, um, maybe my organization? I'm pretty organized most of the time. 86. What is your greatest weakness? Well, I don't really know if my psychic schizophrenia counts, since it's not really in my control to change. Does that still count? Well, if not, then my answer would probably be my total inability to function socially. That's a pretty big weakness, you know? 87. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I guess I'd want to go back to being a normal person, without this stupid psychic schizophrenia thing. I mean, my shyness is pretty debilitating, too, so I might consider changing that if I could. But, you know, at least without the hallucinations, I think I'd be just a little less shy, anyway. And, you know, shyness is a lot easier to cope with. People can be fairly easily avoided. People's thoughts are a little harder to escape. 88. Are you generally introverted or extroverted? Uh. Introverted. 89. Are you generally organized or messy? I already said I'm pretty organized. My room is really neat. Like, for example, my books are alphabetized by author, and my bed is always made, and I dust my room pretty often. 90. Name three things you consider yourself to be very good at, and three things you consider yourself to be very bad at. I'm good at being organized . . . uh, hang on a sec . . . I guess I'm good at reading? I do read a lot. Mostly just re-reading the same books, though. Oh yeah, and I'm good at sign language. I think. I guess it's been a while since I've used it, so maybe I might be a little rusty. I'm really bad at interacting with people, dealing with stress, and, I guess, figuring out what's real and what's not, sometimes. 91. Do you like yourself? Not really. There's lots of stuff I'd change if I could. 92. What are your reasons for being an adventurer (or doing the strange and heroic things that RPG characters do)? Are your real reasons for doing this different than the ones you tell people in public? (If so, detail both sets of reasons...) Well, my main reason for most of the stuff I do is my perpetual anxiety. That's why I have so much trouble interacting with people, I think, and probably also why I can't deal with stress. Um, is that what you're asking? As for what I tell people . . . well, I don't really talk about my reasons for doing anything. And if I did, I don't think I'd just come out and admit that I have such a huge problem with shyness as I do. I mean, telling everyone about your weaknesses is usually a bad idea, right? But that probably doesn't matter anyway, since it's so incredibly obvious that I have social issues, regardless of what I tell people. 93. What goal do you most want to accomplish in your lifetime? Um, I've never really set any sort of long-term goal for myself. But, if I could, I'd really want to find a way to deal with my hallucinations. I mean, trying to hide from them isn't really working too well, you know? 94. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Still at the House. It's not really like I have anywhere else I can go, where I won't end up in a mental institution in the end. So, I guess, either way, in five years, I'll either be at the House or in a straightjacket. 95. If you could choose, how would you want to die? Painlessly, obviously. And, well, I don't want to know about it beforehand. I don't want to have time to think about it, because then I'd just be work myself into a state of terror over the prospect of dying. I don't want to know I'm going to die until I'm dead. So, um, dying quietly in my sleep sounds just about perfect. Heh, ironic, even, what with my ability to see dreams, and the fact that I'm nocturnal. Well, I guess I'm not really sure whether that irony would be a good thing or a bad thing. Well, whatever, I still would want to die in my sleep. 96. If you knew you were going to die in 24 hours, name three things you would do in the time you had left. Realistically, I probably wouldn't be able to do anything, because I'd be too busy panicking. But I guess you're looking for me to answer what I'd /want/ to do. Well, you know, I wouldn't really /want/ to panic, it would just happen. Anyway, ideally, I guess, I'd find mom and Victoria, and tell them how much I've missed them, and we'd tell each other what's happened since we've been separated, and I'd tell them I loved them. Then . . . maybe I'd bring them to the House? You know, so they could meet the people I've met after I got separated from them. I mean, I don't think 'normal' people are usually allowed there, but surely they'd make an exception for the family of someone who was about to die, right? Well, if not, I'd still want to tell everyone I knew at the House goodbye. I mean, it would be sorta rude to go and die, if you knew you were going to die, without saying goodbye. Right? Let's see, I still need a third thing, don't I? Um . . . I can't really think of anything else. Maybe I should, like, try to get over my shyness, somehow? I guess it wouldn't really matter if I was about to die, anyway. But, I dunno, I could just talk to a random stranger on the street, just to prove I could, or something. Ugh. Sorry, that just makes me all nervous even thinking about it. But, since I'm thinking idealistically here anyway, I guess that's a good answer. Yeah, I'll go with that. 97. What is the one thing for which you would most like to be remembered after your death? . . . This is going to sound pathetic, but I honestly can't think of anything. All the things I think I'm at all good at, you know, being organized, being good at reading, and being good at sign language, are all things it would be really stupid to be remembered for. I guess, so long as I'm not remembered as some pathetic little shy girl who would nearly die every time she tried to talk to anybody, or as some neurotic schizophrenic nutcase who couldn't tell if someone was actually there, so long as I'm not remembered like that, then I'd be happy. Well, you know, not actually happy, because I'd be dead, but . . . I dunno. Content, maybe? Is that a good word? 98. What three words best describe your personality? Neurotic, shy, and anxious. 99. What three words would others probably use to describe you? Probably shy, timid, and crazy. 100. If you could, what advice would you, the player, give to your character? (You might even want to speak as if he or she were sitting right here in front of you, and use proper tone so he or she might heed your advice...) Okay, the interview's over. You can breathe again, Tonya. And I've gotta tell ya, you need to /chill/. When I interview you, /I/ start to feel all anxious and socially awkward. It might help to find someone to talk to, because, you know, talking out your issues can help you relax. If you keep everything to yourself forever, you'll explode. Therefore, I think you're right that you need to try harder to find Victoria again. She'd be good for you right now. Failing that, at least talk to Gabriel, the friendly neighborhood therapist. Just do something to try to get over your social anxiety, because being as nervous as you are all the time is /not/ good for you. But you probably already knew that.
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