Name: Elke Emilie Arma
(EHL-kuh, not elk, it's got two syllables! Like alka-seltzer.)Nickname: Elly, Elkie
Age: 18
Birthday: 22 September
Sign: Virgo
Gemstone: Carnelian
Blood Type: O+
Fav. Food: Elke does not really like eating. She eats small portions and generally things like fresh fruit or granola.
Hated Food: Most food.
School: Starting DCU in the fall
Hobbies:Photography-- Elke picked up photography as a hobby when she was about six. Of course, she didn't actually get anything better than a disposable until she was nine, but by then she was already entranced by the ability to take photos and have a physical memory of happy times. She keeps most of her photographs in photo albums or scrapbooks. Her photographs are technically skillful, because she's been practicing for almost a decade, but she's not exactly gifted. Her real talents lie in…
Journaling-- Once publicized in a blog called "The Not-So-Secret Life of Elke Arma", now her journal is an intensely personal thing, picked up in the aftermath of Barren Pines. She is a good writer, not great, but that will come with time--she has a burgeoning talent that just needs practice to mature. Her ambition is to someday write articles to accompany the photos she takes, but more realistically she'll probably be a ghost writer or biographer.
Running-- A Zodiac must be prepared for anything, and Elke is no exception. She runs often, she runs for long periods of time--any physical trainer could tell you she's probably gone past the point of healthy "training" and straight into just punishing herself. For what, no one seems to know.
Virtues: Sincere-- Elke doesn't say things she thinks aren't true. This is in part because she can't lie--like at all--and in part because she thinks she would hurt people more if she lied. She just generally sucks at deceiving people, and so over time she's stopped trying. This trait means that when Elke says she believes in you, she really means it--when she says she trusts you, she means with her life. Her sincerity extends to most everything; she tries her best on any assignment given to her, although there are certain priorities that come before schoolwork. It also means she doesn't apologize unless she really means it--it just so happens she means it very, very often.
Loyal-- Elke will support her friends until her dying day. It doesn't matter if she's actually going to die or not--she's beginning to doubt she can--but she is the kind of person who can give up her entire life for one person, for one idea. And though she is very committed to
ideas, she is more deeply tied to
people.
Optimistic-- When Elke is up, she's
very up. In a good mood, she's indefatigable, she's unstoppable, there is nothing that can bring her down. Failed tests, missing cats, there is a silver lining to everything. Her persistence in this idea is almost dogged, almost angry, but usually her ability to be so cheerful brings others up, too. It's pretty adorable.
Flaws: Optimistic-- When faced with a serious situation, she will still attempt to power through it with a smile, and this can make her seem like she's not taking you seriously. Your cat died, and she just says you can get a new one? You failed a history test and she just says more time with that teacher's aide? Does this girl take
anything seriously? This also ties into the fact that she always seems to focus on the wrong thing. She wants very badly to cheer you up, but doesn't know how to do it or what to say. She'd do better if she acknowledged some things are just bad, but she has never done that and probably never will.
Despairing-- She IS happy, largely--that's not faked. She DOES believe the world is largely a good place, at their heart everyone is good, and everything happens for a reason. But this is because she doesn't know how to deal with bad things; she was never taught, so how could she? Her entire life was peaches and cream until she came to Destiny City. So she ignores the bad things, the comas and the deaths, but when she can't, Elke breaks down and hides. Because not only does she need
herself to believe the world is a good place, she needs
other people to believe
she believes the world is a good place.
Black and White Morality-- A more recent development, but Elke has become rather... uncompromising, when it comes to how enemies should be dealt with. Enemies are enemies, they'll kill her if they have half a chance, so she's got to kill them first, by any means necessary. Letting them live means more civilians dead, more people harmed. She believes there's nothing she can do that's worse than what the Negaverse does, and this belief is unshakeable.