no pomegranates! (![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} seedsofgrace) wrote,@ 2011-12-31 01:30:00 |
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| Entry tags: | !character info |
Biography
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CHARACTER NAME: Persephone PB NAME: Dianna Agron PANTHEON: Greek IMMEDIATE FAMILY (MYTH): Zeus (father), Demeter (mother), Hades (consort/husband), Melinoe & Zagreus (children) IN-GAME FAMILY: Joseph & Sarah Beiler, 14 brothers and sisters, Emily (twin, deceased) ALIAS: Annika Baylor (née Hannah Beiler) Both Hannah & Annika mean "Grace" AGE: 19 BIRTHDAY: March 21 HEIGHT: 5'6" POWERS: Life - the ability to increase or decrease the life/energy of nearby flora. An unintentional side-effect is that it can cause either euphoria or nightmares in nearby people if they are sensitive. Death - the ability to summon and communicate with the ghosts of those not crossed over. HISTORY: Wikipedia Article | Further Information BACKSTORY: Born in Lancaster Pennsylvania, Hannah Beiler was raised in a claustrophobic, close-knit Amish community. Not knowing any differently, she enjoyed the everyday life of simplicity and hard work combined with gentle and joyous family life. One of fifteen children born to Sarah and Joseph, she learned to work in both the home and the field but always seemed to love being out doors in the forest where everything was green and alive. Shortly before the Amish tradition of Rumspringa when the young people would leave the community to go experience life with the "English" who were allowed technology, alcohol, and other things considered morally wrong, Hannah began to suffer a series of disturbing and eventually terrifying dreams. In her dreams she sat in the forest at the edge of her favorite stream picking flowers when the earth split beneath her and she fell for what seemed forever into a chasm filled with the dead. Over and over she woke crying in the night with her mother's concerned eyes glittering by candlelight and heard her parents whisper in the darkness of the evil that must have entered their daughter somewhere in the woods. Sarah didn't know what to do with her daughter until the day she came upon Hannah in the fields singing to the stalks of wheat. All around her the green of the harvest brightened and the rows her daughter sang along went untouched by blight or pests. Silently following behind her was the shadowy figure of her twin sister who had died at the age of 5. She told Hannah to leave with the others at Rumspringa but not to return with the youth who wanted to take part in the traditional baptism and lifestyle of their community because she was evil. Tearfully, Hannah did as she was told, running into the "English" world, a world she would never have stepped foot inside had she had a choice. It was a struggle to assimilate into that world and she found she needed to change a lot about herself and how she thought in order to fit in. She took an intense interest in technology and discovered a passion for photography. On her 18th birthday she re-christened herself Annika Baylor and with the change in name came the complete realization of her former self. It was shocking to the pious girl to remember a life as queen of the underworld, the goddess of spring, and a deity whose worshipers prayed for safe passage into the after life. It was nearly impossible to reconcile this life with the life she had been (re)born into and so she began to seek answers to the many questions and fears that came with it all. It wasn't long until she found Montenegro U. It was with some relief that she steeled herself against her recent and long ago pasts, applied, and was accepted into the agricultural science program. She has since thrown herself into her studies but not without keeping her eyes open for new opportunities to branch out and become more than the mousy Amish girl she had been raised to be. But part of her will always long for the simpler, purer way of life. PERSONALITY: Having been raised in the Amish life, lived 3 years in the outside "English" world, and remembered a past goddess-hood, Annika a dichotomy of introvert and extrovert. She is usually even-tempered, proper, and even a little backward. Vulnerability is a struggle for her but she longs to be close to others. Alternately, she can be very upbeat, snarky, and a great cheerleader of others' accomplishments if she wants to be. She finds the parallel between her current life and her past life as Persephone to be uncanny and at times comforting. She draws strength from the fact that she is no longer under the constraints that Persephone was pulled into as Queen of the Underworld for half the year. She would much rather live the life of the Goddess of Spring the year round and will do whatever she can to avoid being trapped into a life like Persephone's past again. Because of this she is reluctant to summon or communicate with ghosts. The times she has done so accidentally have triggered fear and unhappiness for her because of the memories they unearth. Her greatest weakness is that she is still so naive about life and people. There are shades of memory of the souls she interacted with in the underworld as Persephone but because she would rather not look into that part of her past, she sometimes misses the clues people's behavior and body language should give her as to their motivations. Therefore she can be somewhat gullible and easily led. Her greatest strengths are her adaptability and fortitude. She is able to overcome her inner demons to continue moving forward or, at least, make the best of the situation she is in. And every so often she has a boost of what she likes to call memory power which is merely the memory of who she once was reminding her that she was once far stronger than she is now. DISTINGUISHING FEATURES: None unless you count her ray-of-sunshine smile complete with dimples. OCCUPATION: Student, undergrad majoring in Organic Agriculture and part-time waitress at the Garden of Eatin'. EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES: None yet but would like to join the photography and gardening clubs. HOUSING SITUATION: Floor 3 A-Wing or wherever assigned JOURNAL-TYPE ENTRY: So really life isn't too bad today. I know yesterday I was complaining about the incident in the caf and how I now have a massive dry cleaning bill (I still maintain that I smelled pomegranates in there somewhere). But today, when I was leaving Medieval Lit, I saw the most beautiful bird. Full, black wings looked radiant with hidden rainbows in the sunlight. Its eyes seemed intelligent and I thought of Edgar Allen Poe instantly. Of course, as soon as I'd thought of him, the bird took flight and I couldn't even get my camera from my bag quick enough to catch an action shot. How am I ever going to get enough of a portfolio before trying to get into the photography club if I'm always too dumbfounded by what I see to get a picture of it? Anyway, the bird, even though it was dark and led to some macabre and poetic thoughts, reminded me of the big funny scarecrow Joshua had put up in our fields. It was pretty forbidden to make likenesses of anyone so he got into a lot of trouble publicly when Papa realized its resemblance to our neighbor, Old Eli! In private, Papa said Old Eli never looked better than with a few crows on his shoulders to talk to. We all laughed and it was a very good day in spite of everything. Mama served honey on the warm bread she and Mary made earlier with the twins and we sang by the fire until the littlest ones fell asleep in our laps. I wonder what tomorrow will be like. I have to give an oral report in Econ that I am so not prepared for because I'm having the nightmares again. I'm afraid to find out if Hades is here because I really don't want to open that can of worms and go fishing. Definitely not fishing. Anyhow, I've met so many nice people, so many great profs. I think this place is going to be a safe haven after all. Whatever happens (including more pomegranate hallucinations!) LOG-TYPE ENTRY: "You're just a little bit backward, aren't you?" she remembered Anthony saying to her. Why of all times did that thought come back to her? She was standing in front of the class, all eyes on her as her breath seemed to come in short, chokes rather than actually normal breaths. She'd shuffled her index cards more times than anyone else who had stood up in front of the class to give a report and she knew that she looked panicked because that girl in the front row was batting her eyelashes in that lazy, amused way she did when anyone around her was in some sort of misfortune. "Yes, I am backward," she admitted and then flushed a bright scarlet as she realized she'd actually said it out loud instead of beginning her report. The class tittered but the prof, leaning with legs crossed at the ankles against his desk, waved his hand idly and they were quiet again. "Annika, you seem unprepared. Do you need an extension?" "No," she wavered, eyes flicking to her cards. She knew this. She'd memorized it and done it in front of the mirror so many times that she really didn't even need the cards. What was her problem? It was the eyes. They were doorways to a million souls that reminded her of things she was not interested in facing. But she could do this. Oh yes, she was going to do this and it would not kill her but make her stronger. With that thought, Annika squared her shoulders, tossed back her blonde hair, and smiled confidently with a tiny hit of memory power. In a clear voice she began, "Land is the source or matter from which all wealth is drawn..." |