Name: Abigail (Later Abel) Race: Doll Zodiac Sign: The Chalice Academy House or University: First Arkham, then Grendel. Gender: Assigned Female At Creation, later transitions to male. Starting Stage: Junior Base: Old (Either A or B)
Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 12:30 pm
Name: Charity (Eventually Charta) Race: Doll Zodiac Sign: The Chalice Academy House or University: First Arkham, then Grendel Gender: Female Starting Stage: Junior Base: Old (Either A or B)
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Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 1:43 pm
Brief Description of Appearance OR Customs Form:
There are no skin markings underneath the clothing. Plain, featureless doll bodies makes sense, unless some very faint freckling/limb blush is desired by the artist! Either A or B base would work! Them both being on the same would make the most sense, so whichever base the artist prefers works for me! Ears: Ideally, custom/rotated 2 (to fit the aesthetic of pointed ears sticking out). If this isn't possible, then 2-but-unmodified, or 4. If custom ears are provided, I would of course be happy for them to be templated as a future default! Several parts of their outfits (taken from Souseiseki and Suiseiseki of Rozen Maiden) are identical, so it may be easier to C+P those Feel free to put them both in the same outfit (it doesn't need to be identical to the ref/s, just have the dollish clothing idea behind it)! That way when Charta grows, she can use the outfit ref on the right? c: Their expressions can be identical! Feathery Lashes! Same iris colour. White lashes for Abel, black for Charta! As pure Dolls, they'll have to have the power symbol for their pupils. c: Better hair ref for Charta here. Abel's hair doesn't have to match the ref exactly, just be long and hairmonstery! When he grows, he will cut it, so don't worry about custom-creating hair– or if you do, make sure it's a shared template! c: The hat and veil are optional! If you do a hat on Charta, I'd love to request an alt with the hat off of her head (either just bareheaded, or with it in her hand)!
Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 2:03 pm
Profile: History: Created by a secret process that not even his own race is privy to, Abel's first memories were of observation, testing, and judgment. It was uncharacteristic of the Process to produce flawed individuals, and she proved to be just that– flawed. The intriguing part for the Company was that while one was blind, the other was superficially perfect, providing the opportunity to compare the two and attempt to isolate what it was separated them when they had been designed to be nigh-identical. After all, if they could improve things for the future, find something they could do to prevent this sort of thing from happening, it would only help, right?
After a trying and difficult start to life as a subject of scrutiny and quiet experimentation, and a confirmation that no greater mistake than poor luck had contributed to their conditions, both twins were custom-clothed, given access to behavioural programs to teach them how to act and interact in a shopfront environment, and encouraged to self-advertise as a pair, given that they helped each other to interpret and communicate with the world.
Certainly, Abigail would not abandon her sister, even as she began to question the world she'd been born into. After all, why would so many people come in curiously to stare, to ask probing questions about the circumstances of their birth and housing, and into whether they were 'happy' with what they had.
As of character creation, Charta and Abigail will still be homed in the shopfront, partially from misgivings about whether non-dolls could really understand them, and whether being separated from their compatriots won't make things worse. They'll consider their eventual buyer very carefully, and potentially never actually bond with them on a deeper level.
Abigail will, eventually, be exposed to the concept of gender identity as something inherent and not assigned, and will eventually transition to male. As such, I have written the personality with masculine pronouns.
Strengths: Expressive, Empathetic, Determined, Charismatic. Likes: Licorice, Charta, Music. Hobbies: Singing, Music, Stringing potential customers along. Quirks: Tends to try to meet eyes with someone when they talk. The effect can be disconcerting. Dislikes: Non-Dolls, Customers. Faults: Moralistic, Self-Righteous, Uncompromising, Adversarial.
Personality: Abel is a charismatic individual, picking up on emotions very quickly and almost immediately learning the nuance associated with them. His sociability is only spurred on further by his incredibly well-worded mannerisms and his passion: he expresses himself with an extensive vocabulary that he's constantly working at extending. Every time he learns about a new issue, especially sociological ones, he's quick to form an opinion, and when it comes to someone who's given the short end of the stick in a situation, he is incredibly quick both to defend them and lampoon those that don't instantly also move to champion those who need support.
He's skilled at listening, and usually very good at relating to people, taking the time to listen to people and engage in long discourse. Of course, if he doesn't like what he hears, he tends to become more and more argumentative, and becomes judgmental if the other person seems at all uncompromising in their views.
He's incredibly determined to do well for himself, and to make the world a better place for people. Ironically, he's the sort of person who refuses to be flexible in his morals, unless a good enough reason is supplied and phrased in a polite enough fashion, and his adversarial nature can lead to people vehemently disagreeing with him in life.
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Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 2:04 pm
Profile: History: Starting life as a control to her twin's experimental subject, Charta was expected to help contextualize her blind sister's existence as a binary. They were the same, or they were different. The reason behind it was either clear, or unknown-as-of-yet, but eventually expected to be sorted into simple, organized categories. She and her brother were treated, quite simply, as a series of problems and questions to be answered, and her outlook on life was heavily influenced and shaped by that.
Eventually, when the questions that could be answered were answered, and those that could not were considered too much trouble to continue with, they were sent off without notice, given new, custom-tailored clothing (soft, vivid), and instructed to download and interpret programs to help with behavioural cues likely to attract customers, before being sent off into a shopfront.
Thoroughly used to being objectified, and with no real context to attach emotions to as of yet, Charity dissociates herself from the notion of Personhood, both seeing it as reasonable for a Doll, and quietly vying (even envying, though she does not herself recognize it) to be more like those Dolls to whom the immaterial notions of personality and emotions come naturally.
Next to her twin, Charity feels flawed, simply due to the fact that she cannot emulate proper behaviour as well. She feels empty and fake, like she's been painted and dressed and expected to play pretend, but that whatever had been intended to spark that initial personness never properly manifested.
For now, Charta's gotten as far as understanding that she doesn't feel Charitable, which her name is supposed to represent, so has been requesting to be called by a name other than the one she has legally had applied to her. She identifies much more strongly with other Dolls than with the other races, and has no interest in leaving the Shopfront.
Eventually, someone will entice her away with a combination of promise to expose her to new experiences in life, and the approval of her brother. Whether or not they'll stay with them or take the first opportunity to bail, however, is another story to tell.
Strengths: Receptive, Openminded, Venturesome, Friendly. Doesn't Dislike: Other dolls, Abel, pretty clothing. Hobbies: Fixing, righting, repairing and replacing damaged or missing clothes/accessories. An invaluable talent to a shop full of people vying to be at their best! Quirks: Doesn't make an effort to breathe, blink, or otherwise seem like a living nightmare. Doesn't self-identify as a Real Person™, doesn't recognize emotions. Avoids: Dirt and grit, People who point out faults in other dolls, people who come to gawk. Faults: Dissociative, Dispassionate, Inconsiderate, Clannish.
Personality: Charta, unlike her twin, has difficulty understanding or processing emotions. While physical stimuli are easy to categorize (sharp/soft, hot/cold, sweet/bitter/salty/spicy/savoury) there are thousands of nuanced variations upon simply 'happy', and no singular guide to behaviour or happiness. In fact, the whole purpose of social interaction seems to elude most people, let alone the mechanism behind contentness.
The answer she gets leads her to experience and success in one's trials. Two things that universally tend to make people feel fulfilled, and two metrics she can measure her own life by. In her rush to experience and try new things, take in new experiences, and learn what her desires and where her place in the world will be, Charta tends to leave friends and acquaintances behind, even though she wishes to attract people to be and stay around her. As she grows and learns to recognize the emotions she has, she'll come to be an impulsive person of mercurial passions, who isn't afraid to cut people to the bone with a sharp tongue when they question her or hers.
Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 2:07 pm
RP Prompt:
A smart-mouthed peer just told your Nightmare that they're a failure to their race. How do they react?
It had happened all-too-quickly. Someone had been excitedly chatting their neighbour up, and all it had taken to make him stutter and make her exit was accidentally bumping into Abby. She'd made her excuses and left, leaving an impassive young Doll who stared at the wall for a while before turning to round on his aislemates. "You keep scaring people away! You're flawed. Failures. If this place was allowed to have a bargain bin, you'd be at the bottom."
Charta blinked idly, tilting her head at the doll so intently angry at her and her sister, not quite comprehending why they'd drawn his ire. "I don't understand-" she started, but was cut off before she could continue.
"Of course you don't, you sorry bag of wires. You're both content to just sit here and gather dust, while the rest of us are trying to find our families. You don't even pretend to understand emotions, and he doesn't even have the decency to cover his eyes with a veil or something, he doesn't blink, he just stares. People get unsettled!"
Abigail was quick to step in, leaning forward and putting a hand out in front of Charta to make sure her twin wasn't being crowded. Certainly, their neighbour's voice was loud enough to be uncomfortably close, or maybe he was just being unreasonably loud...?
"Well, I'm sorry. I didn't know she'd be there, but I won't hide my eyes for someone's comfort– I don't want family that would feel uncomfortable with a part of me." The dress-clad twin sighed, adjusting her skirts with a bit of a tug. "Besides. If she was that willing to just leave you, and if she doesn't come back, she couldn't have been your Real Family. Family's supposed to be more than that."
That elicited a derisive snort from the other. "Yeah, Eventually. People aren't exactly thrilled to bits to be coming here, and go through interviews, and hope that someone will choose them. They're setting themselves up for rejection, and they're jittery, and–" ...and he huffed, once again.
Charta spoke up as they drew breath, seeing a flaw in their compatriot's logic. "If she didn't want to be here, perhaps Abigail just provided the out she was already seeking." She didn't move out of the way as he spat, didn't realize until he was throwing a fist at her that she'd done something to upset him.
Abby couldn't see what happened– only hear a disgusted noise, and then a hollow thudding noise. He was quick to pile himself onto the fray, trying to get between them, at least until a couple of the People came to pry them apart.
-~-
Later, after a long lecture and another section reassignment, Abby fussed at Charta, feeling for cracks or holes. "I appreciate what you were trying to do, Char, but... maybe don't, in the future?" He pulled his hands back as he felt her leaning back away from him.
Silence, for a few moments– only the sounds of people shifting around them. Then, an intent intake of breath.
"I didn't meant to upset him." Abby made a soft noise, leaning in with cradling arms– and was relieved to feel her leaning in against him. "But he shouldn't have blamed us. Either she'll be back, or she won't be, and you shouldn't be held responsible for–
"For getting in the way? I know. But he's anxious to be out of here, and he liked her." Charta sighed, leaning in more intently to the hair-petting treatment she was being given.
"I guess he's right, though, ironically speaking." He flinched, mostly in surprise, as his twin sat bolt upright. "About us not wanting to leave here!" he clarified. "He was right that we're not exactly good for sales."
Abby smiled as her sister leaned back in for a hug. "I don't see a problem with that," she mumbled into his shoulder.
"That's because he's wrong, too. We don't just exist to be bought and sold. And we don't have to focus on it." A long, comfortable silence followed that, before the girl finally worded her thought.
"Emotions sure aren't uncomplicated, are they.""Never."
"Abby?" He didn't respond in kind, Charta saw– only hummed in acknowledgment of her questioning tone.
"I like you just the way you are." His own smile– one she had to peek up through her bangs to see– brought a smaller one of her own to the girl's face.
"Me, too," the other doll replied. "I wouldn't change you for the world."
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smolderingskies Crew
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Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2017 8:11 am
critique incoming!
Appearance: The only thing I need to ask is, would you like for them to have any markings on their skin? Also remember that Dolls have special ears, so you should probably pick out ears and decide if you want any coloration on them.
Backstory: So, I have gotten confirmation from Yushika that it is possible for Dolls still in the store to be also attending Academy. Since they are juniors and are also aligned with Academy houses, you need to decide if they will also be attending Academy (this is a rare case where you can definitely choose, but no matter what their cert is going to say they're attending Academy because of their age). Most of the people at the Academy dislike the buying system that Dolls go through, but they still allow Dolls to attend. I'd like to emphasize that Dolls are not trapped in the store system, as they do have some legal rights. They are allowed to leave if they wish, although it may be discouraged because they are so young. Orphans are in abundance in Below, and the Academy is always more than happy to take them in. So, that being said, is there a reason your Dolls are staying? Do they share the same drive as other Dolls to find a family? At the moment, this is somewhat unclear. Another thing - it's highly unlikely in the world of Below that a Doll would have been assigned gender at creation. Remember, gender is a really wishy-washy concept in Below, so unless Abel had willingly accepted a feminine gender after growing to be a Freshling (such as, to be "the same" as his sister) it probably would not have been pushed upon him.
RP Prompt: Looks great! -thumbs up-
Please quote me when you've made the appropriate edits! There is no need to do them in a different color. Thank you!
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