♫ character basics
character name: Karina Hutchensen
age & birthdate: 30, 19th May 1991
gender & pronouns: cisfemale, she/her
species: human
affiliation: currently doesn’t believe
birthplace: Newbury, Vermont
length of time in port vale: 6 months
occupation: journalist for Port Vale Times
fc: Deborah Ann Woll
character title: Breakwater
character blurb: you’ve always loved the small town vibe, it’s where you feel most comfortable. and you’re hoping port vale will be home for the foreseeable future. with a job you love and people who seem so welcoming, it seems perfect. but there’s an undercurrent here, tied to the town’s mermaid history, and it’s threatening to bubble up to the surface. will it disrupt the new home you’ve found for yourself?
♪ character history
THE PAST
Karina is the only child of Lori and Micheal Hutchensen. And while she was a very well loved child, she wasn’t coddled, or spoiled. Something that she was always grateful for. Even more so when she began to show signs of something being wrong. It started with bumping into things at night, tripping over things on the floor. If all the lights in the house weren’t on, Karina would find herself getting into trouble. At first, her parents just chalked it up to regular clumsiness, but it wasn’t long before they realized it was something more.
Karina was finally diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a genetic condition that would more than likely be progressive. It wasn’t what the family was expecting, but they adjusted. And it was then that Karina became glad that her parents weren’t overly protective of her. Instead, they fostered her independence, encouraged any hobbies or interests she had.
When she hit her late teens, her eyesight was bad enough that she’d lost much of her peripheral vision, which meant she often struggled with depth perception. She began taking O&M (orientation and mobility) classes, and started using a white cane.
In high school, Karina had always enjoyed writing, and chose to take English and journalism when going into university. It was then that she was paired with her first guide dog, Annie. Annie give Karina a new sense of freedom, and she thrived at university. She’d always loved learning, loved knowing things, and her grades were above average.
But living on a such a big campus, in a rather large college town was tiring. Everywhere was always busy, and things in big cities changed so often that Karina would often find new obstacles on her routes. So when she graduated, she moved back to a small town in Maine, much preferring the atmosphere.
She worked as a journalist for the town’s newspaper, for several years, really loving the work. It was during this time that Annie had to retire, simply due to old age. It was a sad blow, but she went back to live with the puppy raiser family who’d raised her for the first year of her life, and Karina couldn’t have been happier.
However, she chose to wait a few years before being paired with her next dog, finally ending up with a yellow lab named Henry.
THE PRESENT
When a position opened up at the Port Vale Times, Karina found herself excitedly applying. Moving was always a bit of a challenge, but Karina had never shied away from something that might be hard, and so Port Vale became her new home.
She likes that it’s a tourist town, but inhabited by locals. There’s always new and interesting people passing through, as well as the permanent residents of Port Vale to befriend. The town really is a friendly place, even with all the new people who seem to be moving in. Turns out, she’s one of quite a few new inhabitants of the small town. But that’s not entirely odd. Towns fluctuate, Karina just hopes there’s space enough for all of them.
PERSONALITY
Karina is driven, always has been, and encouraged by her parents, never really let anything stop her. Yes, she has obvious limitations, and she’s not going to be a rally car driver or anything, but that’s never been on her agenda anyway.
She’s loyal to her friends, and is always willing to lend an ear, just to listen, or offering advice if she can. Karina really hates being lied to, and rarely does it herself. It always feels like a betrayal.
A small town girl at heart, she wants to help build the community that she lives in, and will often volunteer her time at local charities, or feature them in her writing to help them accomplish their work.
CONNECTIONS
SHIPWRECK: with another journalist in town, you wondered if rivalry would breed between the two of you; but their work delves far deeper than your own, they ask hard questions, pry into things you wouldn’t think to investigate. you wonder what they think they’ll find, and if they’ll let you, you’ll help them where you can, curious to see what they uncover.
OBSIDIAN: you want to write about the local businesses in town; so you've turned to the ones with blood, sweat, and tears built into their life here. port vale has much to offer, and you can’t help but want to immerse yourself in that, so perhaps hearing their stories and advice would help you begin building strong ties to the town and its people.
TSUNAMI: every step they take is done with confidence, and their presence is strength in definition. you feel it radiate from them, and so when you find yourself on a date with them, you couldn't have been more pleased. but there seems to be something more lurking under the surface, waiting to shine through. you have a good sense of things, and wish they would let you in beyond a great first date.
PALLADIUM: you think it would be fun to get involved with the work at the marine center - you want to give back to this community, and it's time you began to settle your roots and make some friends. picking up volunteer hours is a good way to start, but like with everything else, you crave to know everything about the place, and so with them in your sights, you hope to learn as much as you can and find some importance in the work, too.
♫ character development
here and here !
