character development / @agazebo !
eleven. how do they see themselves: as smart, as intelligent, uneducated ?
ally is intelligent. she has a photographic memory that she uses to her advantage later in life, convincing her therapist that she remembers in vivid detail every instance that triggered a phobia she pretended to have. this helped her learn the quirks associated with the persona she wanted to portray, but it was also beneficial for her education. she’s brilliant and observant, fully capable of picking up on what other people don’t want her to know.
twelve. how does their education and intelligence – or lack thereof - reflect in their speech pattern, vocabulary, and pronunciations ?
she’s very well spoken. ally knows what she’s talking about when she talks about it, she doesn’t just throw around supposed facts without researching them first. this is evident in canon when kai starts throwing statistics at her through the bars of her front door. she knows that’s incorrect information and she calls him out on it.
thirteen. did they like school ? teachers ? schoolmates ?
ally actually did enjoy school. she was a straight-a student throughout middle school and was quite popular. not in the “cool kids table” sense but as in everyone knew ally, they got along well with her, she wasn’t quite friends with anyone but she could carry a conversation with everyone in her school. no one really knew ally, they just knew of her. this was intentional, but that didn’t make it terrible.
fourteen. were they involved at school ? sports ? clubs ? debate ? were they unconnected ?
she did a lot of extra-curriculars. primarily educational ones. debate, student un, student council etc etc… she also played lacrosse and ran track, and she was a part of the theatre club. after school she took dance. she also spent a lot of time at the gun range, but there is no record of her ever having stepped foot in one before.
fifteen. did they graduate ? high-school ? college ? do they have a phd ? a ged ?
ally graduated high school with honors and then earned a degree in college.
sixteen. what does your character do for a living ? how do they see their profession ? what do they like about it ? dislike ?
technically, ally owns “the butchery on main” ( with ivy ) and she handles the day to day business while ivy primarily worked in the kitchens as head chef. after the events of cult, she goes in to politics and becomes senator for michigan. eventually, she’ll run for president in twenty-twenty and, inevitably, win the election. this was, ultimately, the endgame for scum. it’s what ally was raised to do and she genuinely does enjoy the politics.