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Name: Sirsce (pronounced sur-sea) Xanthis

Nickname: Anything you throw at her.

Age: 17

Birthday: October 5

Sign: Libra

Gemstone: Sapphire

Blood Type: O+

Fav. Food: Salads, walnuts, hazelnuts, snow peas, and altoids.

Hated Food: Most meats except for seafood, curry, typical American foods like hamburgers and hot dogs.

School: Meadowview High School

Hobbies:

Modeling - Sirsce loves standing in front of the camera, especially if she gets paid for it. Most of the time she simply does it as a favor to friends, or budding photographers for their classes at the school. She'll volunteer to pose for the art classes at Meadowview, too, for their figure studies. She's never done a magazine shoot, and typically goes unnamed in photos of local fashions. Her one rule is she does her own makeup for every shot, considering her sole reason for participating in a photo shoot is to use the photo in her makeup portfolio. She has no goals to become a famous model, since her true passion lies in fashion makeup.

Makeup - As an aspiring makeup artist, Sirsce practices often on herself and sometimes even her willing friends. She has no one in her family to practice on, so she'll practically whore her services around school dance dates to beautify her peers. She believes people should look as beautiful on the outside as they are on the inside, so she tries her best to stylize someone to their personality. However, occasionally she fails horribly at it.

Occasionally she's been solicited to do theatre makeup, but she nary holds interest in the near comical makeup used in plays. It's much too gaudy for her tastes. Her interests lie mainly in fashion makeup for photoshoots.

Dancing - Sirsce is by no means an excellent or professional dancer. She's the kind of person to have her headphones on and break into shuffle dancing while she waits in line. She also likes to take friends' hands and swing them about in a rhythm while she listens to them, or occasionally tangoes with her female friends. Dancing in public is her absolute favorite activity while out with her friends.Would she dance alone? Yes, but only with her headphones on so she could block out the jeering. She never took lessons, and detests formal dancing. She's alright with clubs, but really she prefers just busting into dance on the street or anywhere it isn't expected.

Fashion - Sirsce adores the steampunk fashion, and avidly collects clockwork trinkets and victorian outfits to modify into the steampunk look. She prefers the more vivid colors over the typical black and muted browns, which sometimes forces her to make her own clothes (though she fails horribly at sewing). She exhibits her steampunk fetish nearly every day, as she's adapted it into her common wardrobe - essentially, every day looks like halloween with her.

Virtues:

Warm-hearted -- Sirsce approaches people with respect and a smile. She enjoys being nice to people, and giving gifts when she can afford it. She loves interaction, and strives to make every interaction a positive one. Also, she enjoys showing affection physically, through hugs or sometimes holding hands. She's a touch-oriented person, so those who dislike being touched will be put off with her contact-based kindness. However, she'll respect someone's space should they wish to be left alone and not be touched. People are a treasure to her, and should be treated as such. They have a lot to offer, and a lot to teach her, so why tarnish potential friendships with harsh words or a coarse tone? Evoking smiles is simply the best gift she could get.

Understanding -- Sirsce tries her best to see things from other people's points of view, and keep an open mind. Rather than hating someone for cheating on her, or cheating on a test, or any other action she disagrees with, she tries to figure out why it happened in the first place before she makes any judgements about it. She believes people are infinitely complex, and that their actions are never as wholly simple as some people like to believe. As a result, in Sirsce's mind no one ever acts without reason, and each action has multiple underlying causes. Understanding those causes is the key to understanding the actions.

This is not to say that Sirsce simply allows people to do as they please with her - she still has emotions, and she still responds badly to certain actions, like being cheated on, or watching someone abuse a friend. She won't hesitate to chew someone out for negative actions after she's figured out why it happened, though she definitely waits on the cold shoulder until after the motive is established. As for the positive actions, like offering to walk her dog or hanging around a lot, she'll politely inquire about it and try to understand the person's reasons before drawing any conclusions.

Energetic -- Sirsce isn't the kind of person to stand around on the sidelines and talk monotonously. She's very animated, both vocally and physically, and that effervescent energy keeps her bouncing around and fuels her endless escapades into the shopping mall and such. Since she's so full of life, she hardly ever spends much time on the couch eating chips and watching TV, and she tries to drag her more muted friends out into the sun to perk them up a bit. Since she's so sunny, she likes to try and share that shine with others.

Flaws:

Indecisive -- As a result of overthinking everything, Sirsce can hardly manage a decision. She needs other people to make up her mind for her. Whether it's which coat to wear for the winter weather or if she should visit one friend or another, Sirsce simply can't decide. It stalls her from reaching school on time somedays, and others it stops her from choosing which college to go to, or whether she should visit her mother or grandmother. Overall it simply kills her productivity.

Her indecisiveness causes her to lead people on at times, too. She sees the good in both parties, and can't choose between them, so she waits for them to choose for her. Unfortunately that doesn't end well for anyone involved. It also leads her to ask herself if she did the right thing after she finally makes a decision. That questioning leads her into the conundrum of whether she should even act again, if her previous action led to bad consequences. On a bad day, it really puts a stop to her activities and forces her to seek solitude. After all, if every move she makes puts someone at a disadvantage, why even leave the house?

Flirtatious -- Due to her touch-oriented nature in an anti-touch society, Sirsce often comes across as flirty or loose. In her prior school, people identified her as the town slut, even though most of that was based on rumor. Since she also dresses scantily on occasion, it doesn't help her reputation. Perhaps her hug might feel a little too warm, or a kiss on the cheek seemed a bit out of place, enough to give a solid impression that she's got her eyes on someone. If she gives someone's lover a kiss on the cheek, she might incite drama and rage over an action she naturally does.

She doesn't understand that her actions are strictly inappropriate in certain settings. She'll hug one of her male friends in the men's bathroom, for example, without thinking of the implications. She'll also touch someone who's half-naked in a bathing suit, give hugs, or kisses on the cheek. If there's an inappropriate time to touch someone, she'll find it inadvertently.

Over-analytical -- If the problem's something simple, chances are Sirsce simply can't wrap her mind around it or overcomplicates it. You didn't just bump into that guy because he's the new kid, you did it because you secretly like him and wanted to be discrete about the encounter so no one would get any ideas when you took him out for coffee and... on and on. Since she views people as such complex creatures, she treats their actions as equally so. However, most people don't plan their chance encounters that far ahead, and if Sirsce decides to open her mouth and tell others what she thinks is going on, one might be in a world of trouble for something one never intended to do. As much as she tries not to make assumptions and understand people, even those understandings lead to assumptions. It's the conundrum of knowledge giving her a swift kick in the... well, you get it.


PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION - see here and here.

Eyes: Green.

Hair: Blonde with light purple on top, black beneath. Flows to upper back. See images.

Face: Oval, see images.

Clothes: School uniform

Family

Cere Xanthis -- Mother. Much like her daughter, Cere is very touch-oriented. However, she's far more on the flirtatious side. She knows what she wants, and that flirty personality was the reason behind her divorce. Now she lives indulgently, flitting from man to man as supplemental income. She's a waitress at the local diner, though she lives on the other side of the country. Sirsce hardly receives calls from her, let alone visits.

Aaron Xanthis -- Father. Sirsce gets her calm demeanor from her father, though she doesn't have much of his other qualities. He's a very practical man, and doesn't share the same materialism as his only daughter. He lives modestly, unlike his ex-wife, and recently moved to Destiny City with Sirsce to pursue a higher-paying job. He's very devoted to his daughter, and tries to do what's best for her. That love rubbed off on her personality.

History

Thanks for the crit!

Turned her age clock back a year in response. It's not thaaaat unusual, but I'd rather it not stick out like a sore thumb.

I added more to the dancing hobby too to answer your questions, and tied modeling to makeup.

I don't see where you're getting shallow from. I never wrote that she's shallow, or simply sees people for their face value. Could you clarify on that? I was specifically aiming for her to not be shallow, yet have shallow appearances.

I don't know that I'll add another hobby, because I have a thing with symmetry.

Ah, yeah, I should tell what bothers her. I'm thinking I'll add in something like wondering if she did the right thing, since that would play into her indecisiveness.

Eh, that's kind of an annoying downside I ran into. It's not meant to be anything other than comic relief, or generating drama. That's why I left it a flaw rather than a virtue. I'm not powerplaying with it. It's meant to be incredibly exaggerated and unreasonable, thus the example with shopping.

Thanks for the crit!

Yeah, I'm not entirely sure it fits her, since I just grabbed it off a description of a libra. I may simply scrap it and have her collect '50s pinups and stuff.

I should say that she'll learn to respect someone's space, you're right. Any ideas what I should rename it to? I kinda suck at defining a characteristic in one word!

Oh, good questions. Yes, she would get angry once she understands why it's done, it's just that she won't react emotionally on it instantly. She needs to understand it before she can be all "hey, you're a douchebag". I don't mind if it comes off a bit naïve, but my main point was that she's the kind of person that tries to see things your way. I will try to rewrite that to reflect that better. Thanks a lot!

Thanks Nessy! Luckily it was a quick and easy change, and it makes her outfit tie in a lot better. That turned out to my advantage, really.

Hi Nerva!

I really like Leda as a character overall, and I adore the sphere you're working with! There's a few things in her traits that I feel need a little clarification and her powers need a little refining as well.

Modeling- Just want to know if Sirsce is actively trying to make it as a model ? Or is it more for fun? Does she give out head shots, or is looking for representation and that sort of thing? I understand that her goal is to be a makeup artist, so I’d just like a little clarification on if modeling is only a hobbie or another dream of hers?

For Make-up, is it fashion make-up only or does she also dabble in prop/stage make-up, like making fake noses/limbs/oozeing cuts?

Virtues:
Are generally great.

I’d like to see Understanding applied to more situations than someone cheating on her. The bit about actively trying to understand where someone is coming from it great! How might that apply to someone she’s just meeting for the first time? Maybe another line or two about how she might try to put herself in another person’s shoes before judging them harshly. Does she easily empathize with people? I think that would help prevent understanding from clashing with overcomplicated.

Flaws:

With flirtatious, there’s a difference between being actually flirtatious (winking at someone, sexual innuendos, flirting to get someone to do something for you) and being perceived as a flirt by accident. If it is not Sirsce’s intent to be flirtatious, I wouldn’t count it as a flaw! Being oblivious to others feelings or need for personal space (space invader! What’s personal space?) would be a flaw. Being touchy-feely, and overly affectionate (inappropriate in terms of how/when/where) could also be a flaw. You can definitely keep how others can perceive Sirsce as being flirty/slutty though.

A better word for Overcomplicated might be over-analyzes? I think that’s a more apt description for what you’re going for on that trait. Like a person who over-analyzes dwells on little things, like wondering what it meant when someone said they’d see you later. Does she question other people about what they did, why they did it? Does she tend to ramble on and on on tests and essays. Instead of giving an easy yes or no answer to a question, would she say ‘yes, but first this and that, then maybe if we did this, that would make this better, but that wouldn’t work if we do this…’

Powered Side!

I'm still new to working out kinks in powers, so please bare that in mind!

For both the normal and super attacks, when you say that the steam encircles a person and obscures their vision, is that person trapped in the steam for 15 seconds? Steam seems like something a person could easily walk out of. Imagine running your hand through the steam of a boiling pot of water, it feels warm and moist, but you can pass through it pretty easily (depending on temperature). I’m unsure how practical an attack it would be if someone could feasibly just step out of the swirling steam. It also goes from being a defensive power, to an offensive one in the super. Your first stage and super attacks should be of the same type. Ideally, all your attacks should be of the same type, should you choose to go on offensive route with your first attacks, the eternal should be fine, but if you go a defensive route the eternal would be best as a defensive power as well.

I think there are three routes you could go. You could do an attack that is purely offensive and focused on the hot/scalding effects of steam. Like a quick blast of steam that would make an enemy uncomfortable (damp) and swampy warm. Then for the super you can burn/scald.

Or it might work better as an area of effect attack, where everyone within a small radius of 10 ft is effected by the steam via obscuring their vision and being humid. Like a steam room/sauna. Then the super could be an area of steam that blocks vision and is hot enough people would be reluctant to go through it as it could scald.

Or you could have the steam encircle one enemy and trap them there. In this case I would have the steam be hot in all cases and focus on it being more of a defensive move. Like should they try to leave the steam trap it they could be burned. For a super you could increase the size of the trap and have it get hotter.

These are totally just suggestions!

The eternal is tricky, as summons can be a difficult thing to work with. It’d have to work in a predictable pattern every time instead of intelligently moving from one target to another. You could have Leda send the serpent in a straight line and pass through anything in within 30ft.