Post by Lavinia DeSanto on Jul 11, 2015 18:47:33 GMT -5
Basics
Name: Lavinia Celeste DeSanto
Nicknames: Vin, Vinnie, or Liv
Age: Sixteen
Birthday: November first
Grade: 10th
Power: Dream ManipulationLavinia can create, shape, enter and manipulate her own dreams and that of others, including modifying, suppressing, fabricating, influencing, manifesting, sensing, and observing dreams as well as nightmares, daydreams, etc. She can produce and modify dreams, bestow nightmares or lucid dreaming, and entrap people in REM- making it harder for them to switch to the next sleep cycle naturally.
In a dream, unlike during an illusion, she can create pain, but with pain- or any strong emotion she encourages through her dream manipulation- she runs the risk of waking the other person up as fight-or-flight kicks in.
But, as a direct result, insomnia haunts her frequently. Not I-can't-sleep every once in a while, but legitimate, certifiable insomnia, complete with inability to stay asleep, and the rather unwanted ability to wake up before her alarms go off in the morning.
Illusion ManipulationLavinia can create, shape and manipulate illusions, causing targets to see, hear, touch, smell and/or taste things which do not actually exist or cause them to perceive things differently from what they truly are.
Illusions cannot create actual injury, but can, potentially, mislead the mind into believing the person is in pain. By the same method that a magician misdirects the mind into feeling a sensation they're not experiencing, Vin is able to present a believable scenario, however briefly the mind is able to be fooled.
To lay out a few more limitations: unlike in dreams when the constructs that govern reality are set aside, Lavinia cannot lay out extensive, full-sensory illusions that completely change the environment and keep up with the actions of others- in other words, she can't make you think you're on Mars unless you're incredibly gullible. And even then, if she encountered someone who is gullible, but has a construct in their mind of Mars that she could, hypothetically, know of and create, she'd struggle to maintain multiple sensory inputs- ie: making sure the air is perceived as noticeably hotter, while also making sure the ground looks reddish in color as they walk.
Illusions themselves are created with thought and focus- an intrinsic understanding of how another person's mind will perceive the sensory stimuli. Meaning it combines instinct, but also awareness of the world and the objects she's creating the illusion of. It isn't tough for her to create the illusion of a snake in the grass in a crowd, because- in a sense- it's a hollow construct. But it's far more difficult to anticipate the actions of more people- and the distractions of other motion, ultimately, is her greatest obstacle. She must anticipate their motion, not drawing her focus from the illusion she's creating, in order to sustain it.
Member Group: Battle Front
Appearance: Like Red Riding Hood in her - well, red hood- Lavinia sports a bright red hat that conceals most of her dark hair. Kept short in length, the hat manages to hide her hair almost completely, save for select dark strands that are too short to fit behind her ears. Instead, these stray sections frame her face, falling fairly even on her forehead, and poking out in a spiky/messy way in front of her ears.
Add in her short, five-foot stature, and you've got a physically unimposing illusionist on your hands. With her slight build and her lack of visible or defined muscles, she's much more of a runner. Literally. A childhood love of soccer has ensured that running up and down the field after a certain checkered ball has kept her respiratory system in functioning order. It also ensures that she's the type who'll keep low and scurry across the ground beneath your swinging fist, then pop back up behind you and grin.
The fact is, Vin's strength lies in her resourcefulness and her speed- her smaller frame has a slight, natural advantage in terms of defense. But her strength often proves ineffective- she can't blindly swing and expect to cause damage. No- this female's constantly calculating her next move when immersed in combat, setting herself up for targeted, precise attacks.
Personality
Overall Personality: Sassy, intelligent, and sarcastic are the three words that have followed Lavinia throughout her life. And- if nothing else- she's lived up to them, with ambition sprinkled in for good measure. That is to say, she's bold in her interactions, sarcastic to mask her disappointment and maintain emotional distance, and intelligent enough to know when the situation calls for either approach. Not to mention her rather hard-to-miss habit of tossing in Latin phrases to the conversation, because- for whatever reason- being understood doesn't seem to be this teenager's top priority.
Lavinia is not going to lie and say everything is okay just to make you feel better. Her cynical nature is beyond that, and, even if it wasn't, she's not keen on dishonesty. The world is a scary place, and this teenager knows it. Embracing fear and mystery, her inquisitive, insightful nature is right at home among the unknown- there's no good reason to cheapen it with false promises and comforting words. Nah- she's the pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps person, not a coddler. Because, ultimately, independence and resilience are what Vin tends to admire most in other individuals.
This need for others to be as self-sufficient and capable as Vin is can often be her most damning trait. The high standard she sets, the unattainable perfect she wants to see, leaves little room for weakness. Which is where her own human nature creeps in, reminding her of a buried idealism: that anything is possible, if people are willing to put forth the effort and thought to achieve it.
Likes:
Dislikes:
Fears:
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Goals:
History
Family Members/guardians:Behind the Character
Bianca Janette Dean, thirty-six, CNA
David James DeSanto, forty-one, mechanic/spy
History:
Lavinia DeSanto grew up in a single-parent household her entire life. Her barely lower middle-class lifestyle was supported by monthly installments of child support from her father, and her mother's just-above-minimum-wage job.
That meant Vin grew up in rented homes, and- despite her mom's best efforts to stay in one place- moved fairly regularly. To be fair, her maternal grandparents were rather generous, particularly when it came to convincing relatives and friends to pass along hand-me-downs to Vin, so Vin felt fairly normal in terms of material possessions.
Vin might not have had the latest iPod (or, an iPod at all, for that matter) but she had a variety of clothes, and a Nintendo 64. That was all she needed to be cool as a child.
That, and a stray red hat, given to her mother as a Christmas present by her father during the single year the pair spent together. Well, technically it was seven months, but Vin always rounded up. It made it simpler, since Vin was conceived much later, in a whirlwind rekindling of that lost year. By the time her mother and father reunited, it was too late for them to have the picture-perfect marriage her mother dreamed of. Her father had a life by then. Another daughter in a city that seemed an insurmountable distance from her home state of Colorado.
At least Lavinia DeSanto had a hat.
It was good enough; a hat, to represent a man she'd never met. It would ultimately become the item of comfort she'd take along with her when she left for Ashford.
Name: Hödekin
Chatango Name: Hodekin
RP Experience: Ten years
How did you find us?: Foxxy
RP Sample:
It was freezing. Not exaggerating freezing, but legitimately, bone-tingling cold.
His lips were already blue, his body trembling. And yet, he moved out of the water with the utmost calm, as if he hadn't just jumped in from the dock several feet away.
His sister was going to kill him, if he didn't die here first.
That was when he noticed the light house. A stationary, and potentially warm place. Jude wasted no time closing the distance from his place on the shore to the light house, To his general delight, the door was open, so he entered without hesitation.
It wasn't as warm as he'd imagined. Maybe- just maybe- the bulb at the top would provide some heat. Jude sighed, another shiver coursing through him, as he began his trek up the stairs, leaving a dangerous trail of water in his wake.
By the time he reached the top, he was fairly certain it would have been easier just to walk across the beach to the nearest business or home. But Jude was here now, so on the sixteen year old walked to stand beside the large bulb.
That's when he heard the voice. Squinting against the light, the purple-haired teen crept quietly toward the source of the sound.
"Hello?" Jude prompted. He'd never admit it, but he was hoping the voice wasn't a ghost of some girl waiting for a sailor (or something equally tragic)
