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 Posted: Mon May 14, 2012 2:21 pm
Jessica Talbot and Iskierka
══════table of contents══════ Header
Jessica Talbot
Iskierka
The Choosing
Logbook
Sketches
Blank Page
Credits
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Posted: Mon May 14, 2012 2:50 pm
NAME Jessica Jane Clare Talbot
AGE 17
OCCUPATION Student
FAMILY Her father is Lord Westlake, a landholder and a member of the government; her mother is a housewife somewhat cowed by Lord Westlake's ferocious personality. Jessica has two older brothers, one a priest and the other a captain in the navy.
POSITIVES Kind, enthusiastic, intelligent
NEUTRALS Polite, well-bred
NEGATIVE Worrier, passive, nervous
APPEARANCE Jessica is tall like her father, but in all other ways takes after her mother: she is fair, with long, fine blonde hair and porcelain skin free of even a single freckle. Her eyes are hazel, ringed around by thick, dark eyelashes, and she has a bad tendency to squint in sunlight. Coupled with her long noise and small mouth, her habitual squinting gives her an unfortunately pinched, worried expression. She would perhaps be considered pretty (she will never be beautiful), otherwise.
Around her neck is a fine gold chain with a curious pendant hanging from it: a bit of peacock feather, the eye, preserved under glass. It is a gift from her older brother, and normally kept tucked down inside of her shirt.
She is tall, with an unremarkable chest, slim hips, and thin hands. When at home she prefers to wear pants and blouses, but only while at home. She is otherwise too obedient and well-bred to be seen in anything except proper high-necked blouses, a whalebone corset, and long skirts, with delicate little boots peeking out from beneath the hem.
PERSONALITY Jessica is a worrier -- though she tries valiantly to hide that facet of her personality so as not to cause trouble for others. She is very close to her family, and busies herself with being her father's gopher, running small errands for him when he cannot find the time (or be bothered) to do them. Her middle brother is a priest, and she does not often see him as much as she'd like, but her oldest brother, recently returned, brings her joy. Though Will hasn't returned to the manor house, Jessica often steals out (with a chaperone, of course) to visit him in Palisade. If she is allowed, she keeps tabs on everyone, constantly aware of where they are, what they need, what they're doing, and what might be causing them trouble.
An obvious tell to this worrying is that Jessica's fidgety, nervous nature calms when she is actively worrying about something. She stops wringing her hands, instead of starting. It may seem counterintuitive, but it is a habit she has developed, and a good way for anyone close to her to be able to tell her to stop worrying or soothe her fears.
In other aspects Jessica is a normal teenager, though somewhat less concerned with matters of marriage than a young woman her age ought to be -- much to the chagrin of her mother. She prefers to go riding in the family fields, hunting foxes and rabbits with her dogs; she spends quite a bit of time observing the Westlake deer herds. She has not, as a lady of noble breeding of her age should be, memorized the lists of her suitors, or taken pains to learn how to sew, set a table, cook, or make polite conversation.
When in the city, she is every inch the prim and proper young lady, staying within the protective shadow of her chaperone, though she has an entirely girlish tendency to dart away to look at pretty dresses, or jewelry, or tack for her horses.
SKILLS Jessica is smart and well-read, and has a good head for sums and figures; her script is neat, and she is able to recite several poems from memory. She has had only the finest tutors available to her. Unfortunately she is something of a failure at traditional ladies' duties; she does not know how to set a table, prepare a treacle, or sew a straight hem. Lord Westlake has turned his attention onto Jessica as the one child remaining eligible for marriage: with Arthur a priest, and Will arguably an invert, it is only Jessica who can carry forth the Talbot name and provide heirs or (at least) grandchildren. She is doing her best to escape these duties.
She is also quite good on horseback; unlike most girls her age she has a keen eye for tracking animals, and can recognize the different prints, tracks, and spoor of a handful of animals. It is an unseemly talent for a girl of her status, age, and breeding to have, and one that is entirely self-taught.
HISTORY Unfortunately, there is not much to say about Jessica; at 17, she is being pushed and groomed to marry, and has spent much of her life within the manor house, escaping only from time to time into the lawns and woods behind it, or into Palisade proper escorted by a silent, watchful governess or chaperone. For someone as passive and worried as Jessica this life both rankles and suits her needs. Some part of her keeps trying to come to terms with the fact that her father is exercising considerable control over her life; she is, after all, merely a young lady, albeit one of good breeding. But another part of her wars against this, and keeps trying to seize on an opportunity to do something with her life, so that it can be more interesting than settling down in Palisade and having a family. Perhaps it is the fact that she has two older brothers, neither of whom have married. Why should she?
A strange desire to see what animals exist in the Wardwood sent her off on horseback to try and quell the idea; she emerged a day later sweaty, with her hems torn and her hair loose, but clutching a small totem in one of her thin-fingered hands. She is hoping that the totem will allow her to answer the question of what she is doing -- or attempting to do -- with her life.
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 1:50 pm
ISKIERKA Her name means 'little ember' in the tongue of some foreign land; the name was chosen out of some childish, ridiculous notion, but is somehow appropriate. Wild, willful, contrary and protective, as a fawn prone to headbutting or carefully interjected snorts of distaste, she views her Chosen as property, something to be led along, rather than a partner.
Iskierka is highly motivated to bring about change and sees nothing wrong with making her opinions -- all of which she would argue are in Jessica's best interest -- known. If Jessica herself is not the picture of stalwart bravery, Iskierka is, or at least she tries to be.
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Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 9:50 pm
ROLEPLAYS▇ - Popinjay - Jessica and Warwick
▇ - Oldcastle - Jessica and Warwick
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