Montana "Ana" Kensington - human

Basic Information

Birth Name: Montana Brandy Kensington
Aliases: Montana, Monti, Ana, Brandy, Kenni, Monki
Place of Birth: Buffalo, New York, USA
Agereal and apparant) 22. Born 1/17/1983
Male/Female: Female
Current Occupation: Librarian
Past Occupation: (If different from above) Student

Appearance

Hair Color: Dark brown
Length and Style: Shoulderblade length. When working it is usually tightly braided with small ribbons tying off the ends; when not working it's down and straight.
Eye Color: Warm, chocolatey brown
Skin Color: Tanned caucasian (with lines)
Height: 5'5"
Weight: 140 lbs
Nationality: American
Race: Human
Body Type: Medium frame, curvy

Description (if an NPC) or name of your creator(if a PC):

Personal Questions

1. Describe your character's personality: Ana (as she refers to herself) is a quiet observer, a steadfast listener. She's more likely to sit and listen to people ramble on for a very long time, interjecting or speaking only when her comments truly matter. Before she left home, people in the same room were likely to stop speaking to hear what she had to say. She is meticulous, but not necessarily fastidious, and revels in a bit of disorganization from time to time. She is slow to trust, but those who earn her trust and respect usually keep it.

2. Describe how your character would appear to a stranger (I.E. typical dress, way they carry themselves etc.) Ana typically wears light-colored buttondown shirts or polo-style shirts, usually under a sweater or cardigan, with pressed dress slacks or long skirts. She tries to avoid pointed heels but likes heavy or chunky heeled shoes and platforms. Sneakers are always a plus, but not for work purposes. Her shoulderblade-length dark brown hair is typically tightly braided (with assorted ribbons tied at the ends - "I like star-spangled ones this month, and yes, I know it's almost Christmas"). She avoids heavy make up and uses light shades of brown and a very vague shade of pink lipstick or clear gloss. Her soft but strong voice carries little accent ("Except when I say things like cawfey") and lends itself to raspiness when she gets emotional or firm.

3. What does your character like? Ana has a narrow range of likes, probably stemming from the sheltered upbringing she had. She loves books. She also seems to be a bit of a computer nerd, having discovered quite early the promises of the Internet. She played an online game called Everquest for several years, but has since moved on (with several stops on the way) to a new game in which to roleplay called World of Warcraft. She likes to read fan fiction online, though avoids fan-written fiction where characters "get together." ("Because Joanie and Cha-chy never should have gotten together, on TV or in print!") She likes to listen. Ana likes scarves, sweaters and gloves, and during cooler months it is rare to not see her with the three in some fashionable combination ("Usually topped with a matching knit hat, thank you, because the tips of my ears always get cold."). Discovery and Sci-Fi are two channels she would watch on TV ("If I had cable!") but she contents herself with occasional news and stories from Internet sites. Likes flowering (or even just green) plants to make a desk, room, or whatever look more... alive. Likes to drive to see new places.

4. Dislike? Poorly written fan fiction, bad roleplayers ("And! bad actors, I won't watch Brad Pitt just because everyone seems to think he's Apollo on Earth with a side of Nice Ass!"), erotic fiction ("Because it's just not... realistic"), men who think that woman are put on this Earth just for their pleasure, men who think with their penis and look at breasts before eyes ("I'd wear one of those 'My eyes are up here!' with an arrow, t-shirts, if they weren't so tacky"), obnoxious people ("I enjoy listening but YOU are not letting anyone else speak. I think the person next to you wants a turn.") Mustard, bee stings, shellfish ("Lobster, shrimp, crab, crawfish... But luckily I like and can eat clams."), and needles. She hates her epi kit, and in fact hates needles for any reason. She hates scrapbooking and honestly doesn't understand why you'd go through so much trouble to make the presentation look better than the picture. Seems to be allergic to artificial pine scents, which give her a migraine. ("Yeah, lemon-scent please, thanks much.")

5. (For humans) Describe what abilities you see your character having if they were turned. Bonding, Glamour (Illusion), Perception, Shapeshifting

6. What are your fears? Ana is afraid that her predilection for listening will cause her to miss opportunities by not speaking up at the opportune moment. She is also very very wary of being unknowingly fed mustard or shellfish, as she is mortally allergic to both. She is also afraid of ("Live") ducks. ("You know, as in not painted, not statue, if you get too close they flap and squack at you... Beady eyed little bastards. And I don't care what Emilio Estevez said in 'Mighty Ducks'. Nope. No way, no how.") She's afraid any relationships (friend, business, or romantic) she begins will end as abruptly as several have in her recent past...

7. What is your character's strengths and weaknesses? Due to her basically living with books, computers, and video games, she has poor unaided vision and requires glasses for reading, driving, and most day-to-day activities ("Thank God they're not coke-bottle. I don't think I'd be able to hold my head up if they were."). She was extremely shaken both by the loss of her parents as well as her best online-friend ("Refuse to think about it right now, thanks") and is slow to befriend people.

Hobbies & Skills Having listened to people so often for so long, Ana has become an avid lip-reader. She attended Stony Brook, a State University of New York, and graduated summa cum laude as an English major. She's a fair typist ("Fair! I can type almost ninety words a minute, thank you, and none of that sounds 'fair' to me!") Also considers herself a horticulturist ("Well, I like to keep plants around the house, and they generally stay alive!") Can create flowers out of aluminum foil. Computer skills; comfortable with gaming, operating systems and basic maintenance.

Abilities
Flaws

Cosmetic Traits(These must be minor, see the rules) Ana has a series of tiny scars in the pattern of a fish bone along her left chin and part of her jaw. They have mostly faded with time, but can be viewed under direct light or if she flushes (as they remain pale.) She has a unique-looking U-shaped scar on the webbing near her thumb, and an almost H-shaped scar on her palm.

Quirks and Habits worthy of mention As Ana is allergic to mustard and shellfish, she does not allow anyone to order her food and virtually grills the server for ingredient information. She will also visibly avoid ducks. Talks to plants. Loves roses but sniffing them directly makes her sneeze. Occasionally drives aimlessly. ("Maybe some day I'll tell you about my drive to Dayton, Ohio, for shits and giggles.") Turns on her favorite music and dances in the living room, either "just because" or for cleaning purposes. ("Nineties and aughts pop, please and thanks, with some oldies thrown in.")

Personal History (Please be detailed, this creates your basis for your character)

Ana was the second child born to John and Frances Kensington. John was a programmer for a tax firm in Buffalo, while Frances was a horticulturist for a local garden.

When she was three, her older sister - then six - died from an allergic reaction to peanuts. She was immediately tested for allergies and it was discovered she would react to mustard, shellfish, and beestings. Since then, she has carried an EpiPen kit at all times.

Her parents, obviously, were devastated by the loss of their first child. Immediately thereafter, they began sheltering Ana, disallowing most fieldtrips, sports, and activities, indeed even playing outside, until she was almost a teenager. Ana's love of books and plants was nurtured during her young years. ("Dad would come home with books... Mom would bring home a few plant clippings and I'd grow them and hang them in my room or put them in a corner somewhere. Sometimes, especially during the summer, my room looked like a miniature jungle!")

Her father did take Ana on occasional walks around a lake near their home in Buffalo. It was on one of these walks when Ana was about five that she was bitten by a "duck" on the webbing between her left thumb and forefinger, then again on the fleshy part of the heel of her palm. Ever since, Ana has had a deep hatred of ducks. ("Bastards.") She has a unique-looking U-shaped scar on the webbing near her thumb, and an almost H-shaped scar on her palm. Of course, her father has since tried to tell her that it was a swan that had attacked her ("Oh, but swans are so pretty!") but Ana fixated on the ducks that had been nearby. ("Fixated nothing! A duck BIT ME dammit!")

After Ana's eleventh birthday, Frances Kensington died after her car was hit head-on by a drunk driver one night after work. Ana's father went into shock and eventually became an alcoholic. Somehow, he was able to keep most of his addiction outside the home, but there were a few instances of broken furniture or dinnerware. One such incident led to the tiny scars on Ana's chin.
("He'd come home drunk. I don't know how he even made it the four miles from work, let alone from the car to the door, because he couldn't stand when he came in. I helped him onto the couch and made a stir-fry chicken dinner... And when I was done he came in, decided he didn't like it, and decided to throw the wok and a knife at me. I dodged the knife... but not the wok.")

Ana entered the Girl Scouts when she was twelve, at the behest of a school-provided mentor. Her mentor had known how difficult it was to grow up with such allergies, and knew most troops were prepared to handle the eventuality of anaphylaxis. ("As prepared as they can be for not being a hospital, that is.") For three years she went camping every other month, and even to a week-long Jamboree, with no incident. The summer of her fifteenth year, Ana was stung by a bee and had to be taken to a hospital... But nearly died because ("someone") broke her epi kit. ("Really, I'm not bitter. Accidents happen, teenagers are immature, and while I had expected... better... from that person I'm still here to forgive her, and she knows I don't hold her accountable. She knows better now.")

It was in the hospital while recuperating she overheard some of her leaders speaking about how they were glad Ana was part of the troop - strictly because it kept her away from her father a few times a year.

When Ana left the Girl Scouts the summer after her Sweet Sixteen ("Which actually wasn't so sweet... My best friend's mother had tried to make it special for me... Until my father appeared... Okay okay he drove into their back yard after completely missing the driveway and landed his car in their pool.") her father was convinced to attend AA meetings and dry up. He mostly succeeded... Eventually John began dating a neighbor, who introduced Ana to the wide range of fantasy and sci-fi books in her personal library. ("Previously, I'd only read things like Sweet Valley High, or Babysitter's Club, and even though a lot of what I read in those books eerily mirrored my own life, I still bought each new title... So I was quite enamored of Julie when she introduced me to the likes of Piers Anthony and Anne McCaffrey.")

The Internet had become a fast-growing medium in Ana's freshman year of High School. She began making her own websites ("Nothing fancy, just to show off friends' writings or art") but as her father would not allow a computer at home ("Even though he worked with them all day") she remained after school repeatedly for Computer club as well as Drama, Library and Writing clubs.

Ana graduated from High School near the top of her class in 2001. For her school's Graduation, three computers were given out... Ana won the last. And as Ana was now 18, she played the Adult Card with her father who allowed it into the house. It was immediately thereafter she discovered the wonders of online gaming, and became almost dangerously addicted to Everquest. Staying up late playing, skipping homework... It wasn't until her end-of-semester grades in College came through almost all Ds or Fs that she snapped out of it and almost totally gave up gaming. Ana cleaned up her act. ("And my room.") She uninstalled Everquest, sold her account ("Yeah, it hurt to do it, but I knew I wasn't coming back. I let myself slide into a pit my own father had, and I knew that was a bad, bad thing. But I got a new car out of it!") With the proceeds from that sale she purchased a used but good condition yellow Jetta. Spring break 2003 was a period of re-evaluation and many meetings with the Dean of the college.

Ana turned her grades around in Summer and Fall '03, and Winter '04, and graduated ("Somehow!") summa cum laude. She worked at the School Library in Spring and Summer '04, picking up more about being a librarian as well as working with computers. The end of Summer 2004 found Ana driving cross-country in her "new" car ("I'd only put six hundred miles on it in a year... I figured she wanted a run. She? Oh, I named the car Mocha. I know, I know, yellow jetta does not Mocha make. Leave me alone, thanks.") Stops in Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas ("Where a lucky slot machine pull paid for a couple fixed flat tires, a comfy air-conditioned bed, and a eventually a new computer..."), and San Francisco ("I got a room that overlooked the Golden Gate Bridge. It was so pretty!")

Fall of '04 changed, though, as she learned of another new online game called World of Warcraft. Swearing to herself that she would not become addicted as she had to Everquest, she purchased the box in November.

Immediately she made "friends" through the game, and the guild she joined became close Real Life friends. ("As close as you can get living thousands of miles apart but still send each other pictures and call to chat on the phone.") She even met her best friend, Olivia, through the game, and the two eventually spent more time talking on the phone than online.

Ana's father was killed in a freak accident involving a school bus, a garbage truck, and some black ice, on his way home from work shortly after Ana's twentysecond birthday. Ana buried herself in her work and her gaming, though used it strictly for escaping the pain... Until Olivia called to talk. ("She called me YELLING! Scared the piss out of me. Helped wake me up. She did invite me to a Halloween Ball, but I just wasn't able to go...")

Olivia called Ana early December 2005 to invite her to a charity Gala Ball for Christmas, and even maybe to spend a few weeks of vacation time. This time, Ana readily agreed. She packed up her computer, some books, two weeks' worth of clothes, locked up the house that had been shared by her and her father for most of her life... and drove away.

When she arrived, though, Olivia wasn't at the Nachton Gas station they'd agreed to meet at... and after several unanswered phone calls Ana decided to try to find Olivia's apartment. The buzzer went unanswered... but the door was open. The elevator ride was short, the feeling of forboding unmistakable. And when Ana turned the corner to look into Olivia's hall-end apartment, the blood made her run screaming.



OOC Checklist

Player name (online is fine) Rachyl
Other Characters you play: Rachyl, Connie
How you came to SA (Other board, friend, etc) TAC
Have you read all the Rules? Yupperooni
Do you understand that this is an adult board with adult content (sometimes graphic and violent in nature)? Definitismo
This board is adult only. Are you over the age of 18? Yup, and getting further away every year