Welcome to Gaia! ::

Name: Darryl Spencer

Nickname: Dar, Dare

Age: 15

Birthday: May 25

Sign: Gemini

Gemstone: Aquamarine

Blood Type: AB

Fav. Food: Cheese pizza, Rice of all kind, most vegetables

Hated Food: Seafood and fish, gummy candy

School: St-Magsdalena's Seminary

Hobbies: Technology - Sure, she can't really own any of it - her cellphone is considered utterly outdated by all standards, her laptop threatens to fall into pieces and it's casing is held together by careful use of tape, and the closest she can come to a video game system is playing at someone else's house, but Darryl tries to keep up with the latest ongoing in the technology world. It fascinates her utterly. Old or new, it facinates her and she just can't keep herself from tinkering, which made her learn quite a few things about it down the line by sheer experimentation. She'll jump at any chance she get to take something apart and see how it ticks for no other reason that wanting to know how it works, though she usually does this to things she find in the trash.

Old Video Games - Sure, the closest she comes to an actual system is someone's else house, but she has a game boy advance that she picked up at a garage sale, along with a few cartridges. Darryl find these older games much more interesting than those new-fangled super high definition graphics, and most of what she picks up are remakes of older super nintendo and genesis games, among other things. She hope she can get to own both machines one day and be able to play the whole of their respective libraries.

Skate-boarding - In one of her foster homes, the older son of that family skateboarded. It didn't take any more than that for Darryl to be hooked - and for the old, beaten up board that her almost-brother had recently replaced to go with her when she left that family. She still owns it, and takes the best care of it as she possibly can, and she hits the skate rink whenever she is able to do so. She is... remotely successful at it. In the sense that she doesn't break herself in places she didn't even know existed every time she steps onto a board. She can't pull any of those fancy acrobatics, she can grind down a ramp at great risk (it hasn't stopped her yet) and anything remotely daring on a half-pipe is basically asking for disaster. (Again, this hasn't stopped her yet.)

Urban Exploration/Yard Sales - Oh god, she loves yard sales. Garages sales. Flea markets. Whatever you wanna call it, it's not unusual to see Darryl in those crowds. So many bargains one can find ! And overall just exploring the streets whenever she can. You never know what you can find ! Her interest doesn't lie into the silly knick-knacks often found in these kinds of sale, but more practical things like clothes, or older models of game consoles, computers or phone that some people think are broken beyond repair, or even too clueless to know that they can get a much better price for them elsewhere. That's how she found her laptop - it refused to boot up, but a closer look showed that the only problem with it was a loose cable and a couple of lost screws. Nothing some know how and some tape couldn't fix. If she doesn't need what she find and can manage to fix, she usually sell the items to pawn shops for some pocket money.

Virtues: Determined -- Darryl only has one thing she is completely sure that she will do with her life - she'll take the bad hand she was given and flip it right around. She's not yet sure what exactly, but she'll do something with herself - she won't become her mother, in spite of what some people might think, in spite of the mold that some of society is all too willing to throw her in. Darryl is determined to shed the 'rabble' image that comes from her origins and live a decent, honest life like everyone else can. So she works hard, in hope that she'll get the grades that will either take her into some sort of technology course, and into some resemblance of normal life. No matter how difficult anything can be, once she decide to put her mind to it, Darryl doesn't give up. Ever. It's nose to the grindstone and she will stay up all night to ace that test if she needs to, but by god she is going to ace it. Her determination also shows up in nearly all aspects of her life - she doesn't sit back and lament all the bad things that have happened to her, because she knows it's useless. The past is past, and there isn't a thing she can do about it, but there's a whole wide future ahead of her that she can do something about.

Oddly Optimistic -- Not quite rainbow and puppies and singing birds, here, but as far as Darryl is concerned, she's probably seen worse that whatever bad thing life is throwing at her at the moment. You name it, she's probably seen worse. Sure, St-Mags sucks, but it's still better than being carted from foster family to foster family. It's definitely better than being stuck with her mother. Darryl is quite certain her early childhood was the rock bottom of her life, and that now things can only get better no matter what happens, and how much the small things seem to suck. It takes a lot to actually pull her down. She'd rather focus on the good than the bad at this point, because if she starts focusing on the bad, she'll probably never stop.

Thrifty - Let's face it, Darryl doesn't have much in term of money. She never had, not for any single time in her life. In turn, she's learned to make a little go a long way. Everything is carefully considered, planned to the letter, and she actually keeps a budget. Of course, as she's dorming she doesn't have much to juggle for now, but it will certainly come in handy in the future. She feels no shame about showing up in old salvation's army clothing, because it's all she can afford. If anyone has a problem with it, they can look the other way - she'll be the one laughing when they puzzle over how to pay out their over-maxed credit card because they just needed that handbag.

Independent -- As said in her Thrifty virtue, Darryl knows how to plan a budget. She also knows how to cook, clean, and all sort of other things, and if definitively a girl who doesn't need any hand-holding as far as aspects of a normal grown-up life go. The only shock she'll probably get once she's out of St-Mags will probably be the complete and utter freedom she'll have, and even then it won't be much. This is a girl who does her daily chores gladly, without needing to be told twice about it.

Flaws: Can't Stand Down -- Darryl is nicknamed Dare for a reason. As long as it isn't illegal (she's already going to St-Mags, no need to make it any worse on herself, thanks), if she's dared to do something ? You can bet your a** she's gonna do it. No matter how reckless or dangerous, or stupid (never drink tabasco sauce in milk. Seriously, just don't, and don't ask why Darryl knows this...) Darryl is on to this like a boss. She can't stand being called a pansy at all. The best way to get Darryl to do what you want is to tell her she's too chicken to do it. This can result in injuries of various degrees (Darryl has broken so many bones so far that she's lost count) or her throwing up from whatever odd, gross mix she was dared to drink. To say nothing about getting sick.

Thrill-Seeker -- She's the girl who will grind down the longest ramp in Destiny City not only because she was dared to do it, but just for shits and giggles. Hell, she'll probably do it even if you don't dare her. She has one addiction, and it's not alchool, drugs, or gambling - it's thrills and adrenaline. Again, injury is very likely to occur on this, especially since if she even has protective equipment... it's probably old and ratty. But hey, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Whooooops.

Trust Level Zero -- Darryl is friendly enough. She talks to people, hang out with them, and so forth. Superficial things, or even teamwork, she's okay at - she's also a very good secret-keeper. But the second the talk goes to her past, or to her feelings, or her problems. or that anyone tries to pry too deep on her secrets, she closes up like a clam. Every person she's truly opened up and trusted so far (her mother, each of the foster parents who, in the end, didn't adopt her) has let her down, so clearly the answer is to simply not trust anyone too much, and rely mostly on herself unless it is simply impossible to do so. If asked questions she deem too deep, she'll change the subject. If they keep pushing, well, usually she'll just leave. Darryl just stacks up everything and vents into a little word file on her computer, which is certainly not the most ideal thing to do. It takes a long time and a lot of patience for her to trust you.

Envious -- She can't help it. She hates it, but she seriously can't help it. Crystal girls in general are the worst, and in general anyone who outwardly flaunt their wealth, their processions, or their oh-so-loving family. Darryl wishes she could have had those things, too, and shows of excess in particular really get to her. She does an attempt to at least not let anything show, bit her lip and continue on her way, but sometimes too much is too much, and she'll likely to bombard as many verbal expletives as she can think of before stomping off into a huff, leaving everyone wondering what the hell just happened. While Darryl likes to claim loud and clear that she doesn't want or need a family... deep down, she does, but doesn't think this is possible, given the way that she is, and her envy stems down from a bit of insecurity. If no one wanted her back then, why would anyone want her now ?

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: A redish-purple, around #64116b in range. They're smaller than your usual female animeish eye, more akin to a male's.

Hair: Powder blue, short, messy, often spiked with gel if she can get access to it. Her longest bangs are kept at shoulder length. Mostly, Darryl's hair has a tendency to do whatever the hell it wants, whenever the hell it wants.

Face: Round in shape. Her skin is dark, coffee ish in color.

Clothes: Uniform. If not, men's t-shirt (probably rather worn and baggy), jeans (also showing a massive amount of love, and excessive wear and holes on the knees), and old, beaten up army boots. She has rather small breasts, and a near-complete lack of hips. With those two things together, Darryl can easily be mistaken for a rather pretty boy rather than a woman.

So why is Darryl is at St-Magsdalena's ?
Darryl's mother is... less than exemplary. Well, that's the nice way to put it. She's a drug addict that just can't seem to quit no matter how much help is thrown her way, a prostitute who also distributed for a dealer, and was considered abusive with how little care she gave her daughter. Darryl was removed from her care when she was 4 when her mother was first arrested. She was returned to her at 10 after her mother had served her prison time and claimed to be reformed, but she fell right back into her old habits soon afterward. At that time, it was Darryl herself that called the police, and she was then removed from her mother's care permanently. Even if she hadn't been, Darryl would have rather ran away that go live with her mother again.

Darryl was conceived when her mother was high with one of her clients who forgot protection, and she simply couldn't afford an abortion in time - neither her mother or Darryl herself know who her father is, or has any way to track him down. She also has no living relatives, so Darryl went from foster home to foster home, never ending up being adopted by anyone since she had quite a string of landing into homes that wanted a true little girl and well... got Darryl instead. That, as well as her ability to get in trouble and, well, break herself in creative ways, made it that she was passed over in favor of calmer young girls that preferred make-up and barbies to skateboarding their way down a flight of stairs. Her former acting outs (she used to be even worse on the trust front, as well as lashing out as the slightest provocation - the former still remains, through the latter was worked out of her system at St-Mags) also didn't help.

When she turned 14, she was placed into the Seminary in order to at least give her some sort of stability, which is where she was finally able to calm down slightly and develop into the young woman is she is now. As far as she is concerned now, she doesn't need to be adopted - she's 16, 18 in two years, so what's the point. She doesn't need a family... or so she claims.

Is Darryl a trap on purpose ?
Not really. She's just really tomboyish. She's a woman and considers herself a woman, but largely prefers men's clothes (she find them more comfortable, and generally cheaper) and short hair, which is easier to maintain - spike it up and you're good to go. There is also a bit of subconsciously trying to distance herself from her mother even more, in a way.

For her name, well. Darryl is technically unisex, and with her mother's track record, Darryl is just glad she wasn't named Sunflower or something equally stupid.

At school, this isn't even an issue - it's a girl-only school and the uniform is more form-fitting than most of what she'll wear. If someone gets confused, she usually won't bother to correct them, because she finds it amusing.

Family

Kathleen Spencer in her mid-thirties. Darryl's mother is not an angel - far from it. She's an unrelenting drug addict, made her living with prostitution and small time dealing, and became pregnant when she was just barely older than her daughter is now, and couldn't get an abortion in time. She wasn't directly violent toward her daughter, but she fulfilled her barest needs and that was it. She eventually got arrested, through. which removed her daughter from her custody. She did manage to get her back once, but then fell back right into drugs. Darryl simply doesn't care to see her mother again, or even to know what she's up to now.

Nothing is really known about Darryl's father, other than he was probably one of her mother's clients and that she was probably high when she was conceived. As far as she knows, Darryl's father isn't even aware of her existence.

As far as Darryl is concerned, if she's asked, she has no family.

Bring on the crit, lovely people. <3

There is a lithia is my thread <3 !

To me, interests and hobbies are kind of similar things ? But that might be my lack of english showing. She does fiddle with things when she gets the chance, which is how she repaired her laptop, yeah. Ill see if I can add that.

For her two virtues, I meant it as Boldly Going being determination and drive, even when the odds are stacked against her - she doesn't get discouraged easily, and will work hard if she feels like it's worthwhile, not just with school, but with everything she does. Optimistic is just that she's seen pretty bad things, gone through pretty bad things, so her definition of bad isn't exactly the same as someone who had a better upbringing that she had ? She just doesn't dwell on the bad a whole lot, I guess. She'd rather focus on the positive. Im gonna add that, I think.

Yeah, her weapon is a big question mark for the moment until I get the final word from Mouse. I do have an alternate weapon planned in case the sphere doesn't work out, and im willing to remove the floating part if it's too much - I was just going for the technology aspect, since I figure Mercury probably had a lot of floaty things at it's prime. XD It can't really be powered by her magic, or else she would have to be constantly touching it, wouldn't she ? It also can't float at page because it's just a hollow ball. Also as a general note, she can't control it's movements - it would just float at her side until she needed it. If the knights have the same concept of subspace than the negaverse agent does, I will probably nix the floating because it becomes pretty pointless.

Thing is, she wasn't always that way. She wasn't always optimistic, or did her chores. It's things she eased into as she grew up. She was pretty rebellious when she was younger, and her thrill-seeking would definitively be a turn-off to anyone who might have thought to adopt her. Broken bones, getting in trouble, and so forth. It's a combo of bad luck and her own behavior that made it happen.

At this point, she doesn't see the need to be adopted at all. She's 16, 18 in two years, so what's the point ? She can take care of herself just fine, and has herself fooled that she doesn't really need anyone. What I do plan on doing is, in rp, she will probably come to have a few close friends who will earn her trust, and she will identify with those people as her family of sorts.

While Darryl herself doesn't really see the point, I personally am quite open to an older character actually adopting her IC, or to plotting with someone to say their family adopted her - I think it would make for a rather amazing plot point, especially if they managed to make her open up and trust them.

Thank you <3

I don't mind the idea of the sphere floating so long as it's only when channeling your magic -- however, that'll leave it more open for an opponent to knock it out of the way!

As far as Hesperis' magic goes, it's a bit much if you can deflect ALL of the damage that's dealt to the target, imo. For the Squire stage it would make more sense if only about a quarter ~ a third of it is dealt back to the opponent, and for Knight maybe around half?

Better ref get~

heart