27. [If your character had one thing to say to their parents before they died, what would it be?]
Both of Stella’s parents are dead – to her at least. She’d probably just say something snarky and quip-like. Actually, it would probably be along the lines of: “I didn’t even need you after all.”
Her biological family, for sure. Stella made the best lemonade she could with her lemons but her mother’s suicide, her sister’s abandonment, her father’s useless… They’re all still sore subjects for her. Following that, there’s really just the fence and the War that ripped through the human world. She doesn’t take nicely to being captive, playthings for the demons and she doesn’t like that the war between these heavenly bodies (angels and demons alike) are what altered everyone’s life forever.
13. [Have they ever been so overwhelmed they had to stop and take a break from something?]
Not really. Stella has always just…kept moving. Sister gone? Keep moving. Mother and father gone? Keep moving. Foster home to group home to foster home to foster home to group home to foster home? Keep moving. No future as a runaway? Keep. Moving. Sibling rivalry exploded into Holy War that ripped the world apart and made them captives in their own town? Hell, someone had to serve the coffee the next day. Keep moving.
(already answered 12, 22, & 28 :3) – under a cut because long
2. [Does your character have any noteworthy features? Freckles? Dimples? A scar somewhere unusual? etc.]
Other than her nails and long hair mentioned in (12), I don’t think so. She has a few scars, but normal childhood stuff – from being an active kid that played outside, sports. There are also the trademarks of a waitress along her hands: nicks, cuts, burns, etc. Otherwise, there really isn’t anything remarkable or noteworthy about Stella’s appearance.
4. [Do they have any verbal tics? Do they have trouble pronouncing certain words or getting their thoughts across clearly?]
No real verbal tics, but Stella thinks faster than her mouth can process. So, she tends to have a lot of start-stops when she speaks. She’s also the master of the nonsense portmaneau – saying “No welcome” when she means either “No problem” or “You’re welcome.” Generally, though, Stella’s verbal skills are above average. She can speak eloquently, but casually and get her ideas across concisely and comprehensively… As long as she’s had a moment to think it all through.
6. [If you were to pick one song — and only one song — to describe your character, what would it be and why?]
There are a lot that fit a lot of different aspects of Stella, but just off the top of my head, for a complete look at Stella, I’d have to say SWEET NOTHING - Calvin Harris & Florence Welch. Mostly because: “It isn’t easy for me to let it go / Cause I’ve swallowed every single word / And every whisper, every sigh / Eats away this heart of mine / And there is a hollow in me now.”
8.[ Are they a quick thinker or do they need time to sort through their thoughts?]
Definitely a quick thinker. Stella’s mind is always racing at a million miles a minute, calculating change, tips, how much time since she’s taken orders, since she’s refilled coffee, wondering if Winnie’s feeling better, wondering if she should get a puppy, wondering whether there would be any mail, trying to remember if she watered the fern that morning, trying to remember whose shift she needed to cover, scanning for bed-partners, and everything more. If she has to voice any of those thoughts, put them into something intelligible, though, it takes her a second to sort through it all and gather the words up.
10. [If they had a choice, would they prefer a subway or a bus for public transportation?]
Truthfully, she’d prefer to walk or bike or drive, but failing those options, she’d opt for subway. No traffic beats out over mole-people any day.
14. [Are they a team player or do they prefer to be solo?]
If you asked Stella this, she’d lie. She likes to pretend she’s a loner but she only thinks that because she’s been on her own for so long. Stella craves contact and friends and family units. She’s at her best when she has people to bounce ideas off of, trade responsibilities with, break projects up and delegate.
16a. [What are their best school subjects?]
Latin
Biology
Psychology
Sociology
Phys. Ed. (never tell a jock it doesn’t count)
16b. [What are their worst?]
Literature
History
Civics
Calculus
Chemistry
18. [Are they a leader, do they prefer to follow, or would they rather just stay on the sidelines altogether?]
Definitely a leader. Another question that Stella herself would answer differently (she’d say that she’d rather stay on the sidelines). Stella can’t stand to see things that need to get done not getting done.
20. [If your character was allowed to murder one person without any consequences, who would that person be and why?]
No one immediately comes to mind. She spent a long, long time hating her father and sister and mother for abandoning her. But she’s moved on from that. Besides, her mother’s gone, she still loves her sister, and she wouldn’t waste the energy of murder on her father. There isn’t anyone else who’s wronged her so deeply that she’d want to end their life, even without the consequences. At the risk of a non-answer, though, I’ll say one of her less-than-stellar foster parents. She was never abused herself, but she saw a fair amount of it. People who just wanted the tax break and didn’t care of the children at all. There are a few in particular that she thinks the world might be better off without. And, with a liberal definition of the word “person” she might hunt down Lucifer himself and kill him, just to be done with the whole Holy War bullshit.
24. [Does your character have any enemies? If so, who and why?]
None. Petty enemies, maybe. Busybodies who never liked a foster kid from the wrong side of the tracks coming into town. Rude patrons who tip 10% or less. High school bullies, present and grown-up. But no one that she considers herself holding a vendetta against.
26. [How does your character prepare for bed? Do they sleep at all or can they stay awake for days on end without trouble?]
Stella has a hard time falling asleep, in general. So her nightly routine is usually getting all ready (washing up, changing, tidying the house, etc) and then watching television or reading until the early, early hours of the morning before collapsing into bed. She can operate on less sleep than advisable, but it does not a pleasant Stella make.
30. [If your character was forced to eat one thing for the rest of their life, what would they choose and why?]
BAGELS. Stella loves bagels. Stella already, generally, eats bagels for breakfast and lunch most days of the week.
3.[Does your character have an accent? What does it sound like?]
Stella’s accent is fairly standard Middle American fare. She developed speech quickly as a child and so was completely verbal by the time she was put into foster care, sent off from Ohio. While she did spend some brief time in the South, it wasn’t enough to influence her speech. You’re more likely to notice the odd conglomerate of intra-national slang that she uses than any real distinguishable accent.
7. [How does your character perceive themselves? Positive? Negative? Neutral?]
If you asked this question a few years back, maybe before moving up to Paradise, the answer would be wholly different. Back then, Stella was a “bad seed” and she thought so herself. It’s what she had been told her whole life, more or less. And up until just before the Holy War split the world in half, she more saw herself as positive – a force of good, ready with a smile and a helping hand. She’s still that same woman, but the lines are more firmly drawn and so she’s less confident to call herself “positive,” “good,” on the side of the Light. It seems to hold more meaning now, as does “negative,” “bad,” or Dark. She’s firmly in the middle, neutral. Just living her life and hoping for the best for herself and all her fellow humans.
15. [Can they multi-task or must they focus on one subject at a time?]
She absolutely can multi-task. No waitress worth her salt can only focus on one thing at a time. She was always that way, always alert and watching, cataloging different parts of her environment at once.
22. [Does your character trust people right off the bat or does it take them some time to warm up to someone?]
Fifty-fifty, on this one. Generally, Stella does trust most people, but only to a certain degree. She trusts every customer coming in to pay their tab and treat her with respect, to do the basic level of human decency. But she’s not inviting just anyone into her home and heart. Her bed, is another story, for another time. If she’s engaging you for anything more than a night’s romp or the afternoon special, Stella takes some time before she’ll let you close.
9a. [Does your character dream or are their nights filled with an empty blackness?]
Stella feels like all she does sometimes is dream. Her nights are vivid lived fantasies, half-prophecies, lives outside that she’ll never have. She’ll wake in cold sweats or hot skin, with chills or words still on her tongue.
9b.[Describe a dream they’ve had.]
A lot of Stella’s dreams lately have been more abstract. The fence is always a key feature, gleaming and sparkling in high afternoon light. There are winged figures, some with features tipped with blood, some weighed down by tar over their wings. Almost always, the black-winged-beings have rows of razor teeth set deep into their hellishly beautiful faces. The tormented, blood-strewn angels with white wings cry and cry and scream and cry and claw at their faces until they peel their own skin from their bones and cry.
28a.[Are they afraid of death?]
She fears not living more. If she were to day today, she would be less afraid or sad and more angry. Delirious, numbing anger at the fact that her life had been stunted as collateral in this Holy Pissing Match.
28b.[Do they have any regrets?]
A lot. Wasting so much time looking for her sister, not being able to find her sister, not running away sooner, the trouble she gave George and Winnie when she first arrived, the lies she told to so many social workers about how “fine” she was, that she spent so, so, so much time and energy on hating her biological family.
12) Describe 5 unusual characteristics your muse has! { I'm such a sucker for these }
Stella just about always has her nails painted. She would get teased in elementary school for biting her nails and not-awful older foster sister taught her that painting her nails would keep her from biting them. Since then, she almost never has her nails bare and they’re usually bold or bright colors.
She was, and still is, a neurotic student. Once she was able to get her own supplies, all the colors had to match (folders, notebooks, highlighters). If her notes were too messy, she would meticulously copy them over that night. Arrows, diagrams, thought-maps riddle her books.
Even if your name is just one syllable long, Stella probably has a nickname for you. She likes making people feel like they belong, and part of that is giving people little pet-names. If she doesn’t know your name, she falls back to “hon” or “sweetie.” If she’s close friends with you, she’ll often drop into “angel” and “lovebug.” Her affection is as casual as breathing and that spills over into her speech.
The last time Stella cut her hair was in the tenth grade. She’s only been getting trims ever since and she loves her hair long. She figures she’ll chop it shorter once it gets past her ass but until then, she’s not touching it. Which is a hassle, at work, since it has to be back -- always braided and usually tucked into a bun or some twist to keep it from still getting in the way.
Additionally, Stella loves baseball caps. She has a collection of worn-in ones that she usually shoves over her head, unless she’s going somewhere fancy, or stepping out for the night.
