Shiraz Malbec (L.C.)

[LadyDrakkard]

Player Nickname: LadyDrakkard

Name: Shiraz Malbec
Codename: L.C. (short for "Lost Cause")
Age: 23
Date of Birth: July 7

Height: 5'1"
Weight: 120 lbs
Hair Color: Dark Brown
Eye Color: Yellow
Place of Origin: Southern California
Nationality/Race: American/Caucasian
Classification/Origin of Powers: Mutant

Status: Trainee? Student?

Occupation: N/A

Personality Profile: Quiet, shy and lacking in confidence and self worth. Is weary of others due to her past. Is easily taken advantage of and, dependent upon the situation, manipulated. Often will not speak unless spoken to first, preferring to stay in the background and not draw any attention to herself. This is easily accomplished as it often feels as if she is invisible, which she isn't in any physical sense. Is actually a very caring individual and extremely loyal when kindness is directed at her. She rarely (if ever) has an opinion about much of anything. Is very relaxed and easy going when not in the presence of humans. Animals will almost immediately put her at ease and vice versa.

Physical Description: Petite but balanced in proportions. Fair skinned with medium length, straight hair that hangs over one eye. She is completely human in appearance. Plain. Basic. Fond of jeans and v-neck, long sleeved t-shirts and sweaters as well as dresses on occasion. She likes being barefoot but will wear socks or comfortable slippers when cold and basic slip-on shoes when necessary.

Reference image.
Disclaimer: The ears are inaccurate as I made this image via a game character creation. It looks, more or less like what Shiraz looks like only with make up.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/ ... -12-18.png


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General Power Information: Has trouble relating to people but can communicate with animals.

Ability One: Can actually speak to and understand animals. To start with, she can only communicate with domesticated animals. She can speak to wild/feral animals and have them comprehend her. However, she cannot understand any response they may give her, almost as if they speak a different language. This is only circumvented when she is in dire straits and instinct kicks in.

Ability Two: Enhanced instincts. She can hear and smell better than average, not to any sort of extensive degree but better than all but the most talented/powerful of humans. Shiraz is capable of "feeling" when things shift in her environment that most other humans are oblivious to.

Ability Three: Despite her usually anxious demeanor, she tends to exude a calming effect over those near her. It's not infallible by any account and she has no control over it currently. There is nothing concrete about it’s origin, whether it's pheromone or energy based or both. It can affect humans and animals alike. It may also cause aggression in animals.

Drawbacks & Weaknesses: Loud noises and certain overwhelming smells can cause her to clam up and retreat.

Will freeze up when anxious or confronted and made to feel uncomfortable. This can also be a detriment with her third power, as any animals that are in a certain radius of her will key into her discomfort and possibly attack who-/whatever has caused it. While this has saved her in the past, it was also the cause of many problems.

Becomes drained (mentally, emotionally and physically) if exposed to too many people at once as well as too much drama.

Essentially, her low self worth and anxiety are enough to debilitate her and keep her from succeeding.

She may also enter a state of either catatonia or feral abandon when pushed beyond her limits mentally or emotionally. If she happens to enter a "feral" state she will viciously attack who- or whatever has caused this. It will usually end up badly for her as she is not strong or talented in any sense but it can be entertaining or scary, depending on one's opinion of her.

Skills: She is obviously good with animals. She enjoys reading and is a fairly good piano player. She has had a sheltered life and is open to building new skills that may be useful once she feels safe and comfortable. Will tidy up unprovoked and act as a servant of sorts unless forced to stop doing such. Also has minimal skills at skinning/scaling and gutting small animals (she did not kill them prior to this).

Background: Shiraz Malbec was born to middle class alcoholics, hence her first name. Her surname was an unlucky accident that her parents decided to capitalize on. She was taken care of physically: fed, clothed, educated, well kept. Her mental and emotional needs were not met, however, as her parents were drinking when they weren't working. It was up to her to take care of the house and the like, often succumbing to abuse in any form. Nothing she did was good enough. She had no say in anything and was expected to do well in school while also maintaining her parents' standard which were subject to change at their whim.

She had always loved animals but never allowed to keep any. She was ridiculed for talking to stray animals or neighbors pets. Her school peers pretty much ignored her as did most other people, which only furthered her need/want to be around animals who seemed to flock to her.

Shiraz was booted from her home after she turned eighteen. This lead to living on the street for a year. A very disturbing and traumatic year. At some point someone from a church found her (assumed she was a runaway or possibly a prostitute) and offered her a place at a youth program shelter. Sounds great, right? Wrong. After she had become somewhat comfortable within a year of being there and people being kind to her, she was discovered speaking to a stray dog she had befriended in the alley behind the church. The people running the youth program didn't think much of it at first until one of the other residents decided to follow Shiraz around, under the assumption that she was weird and needed supervision. To cut a long story short, an unsanctioned exorcism was performed. It was grueling and lasted for a week before they decided nothing could help her and asked her to leave at the behest of the other residence being "scared" of her. After barely recovering, Shiraz left. Sadly, the dog she had befriended had been removed. What this meant she didn't even want to think about.

She spent the next two years on the street moving parks to park, occasionally taking a bed at a homeless shelter (without religious affiliations). After a while, anywhere she could be alone. She attained quite a few followers, by way of animals. Whatever money she managed to bum or food she was able to scrounge up was always shared with any of the animals around her. They would also bring her "gifts" in the form of killed prey and food stolen from people on the street. This baffled her at first but quickly became part of street life. When you have nothing to lose the already dead squirrel, rat or fish could easily be cooked even if it took her awhile to acclimate to skinning and gutting them. It never felt right to her but her animal friends insisted that she do as she needed. If nothing else, she attained a great immune system and an "iron stomach". When this first started she spent most of her time in secluded areas so any sickness that occurred wasn't obvious to strangers. She stayed in Southern California as the temperate climate was consistent and living outdoors was manageable. Plus, the beach, one of her favourite places, was always near. Just so long as she avoided humans.

One sad day, she needed to go into the nearest city. Several of her animal friends followed her and she was so used to their presence that she didn't even notice the weird looks she got from people as she walked by. To anyone who observed her, she would speak a normal sentence as if talking to another human. There would be no response other than an occasional noise or reaction from one animal or another, and she would respond back as if hearing someone speak back to her. At some point, someone called the police who came out and spoke to her. She initially refused to tell them she was speaking to the animals but relented once they told her she wasn't in trouble. It's true. She wasn't in trouble with the law. She was in trouble in terms of being brought in with the promise of finding her a bed at a shelter where she could shower and have a meal (not religious as she made that very clear).

Her gullible nature took hold (also the promise of an actual shower) and she was evaluated by a psychiatrist who decided she was schizophrenic and needed to be committed for further evaluation and medication. The medications had adverse effects that caused her to become catatonic, feral in behavior or compound her already poor inhibitions pertaining to self harm. This got her put into a padded room and left on the drug cocktail that made her catatonic. At some point, she was weaned off the drugs and put into the care of a doctor who actually treated her as a person. She had been committed for about a year and a half at this point and it took a few months of the new psychiatrist coaxing information out of her. At some point, she asked if she could prove to him that she could speak to animals. He was dubious at first but figured it could not hurt. Cutting an already long story short, he was convinced and decided to put in a call to Cobalt Hill.

Criminal Record: Outside of being taken to the police station and offered a cell to sleep in overnight before being taken to her new "shelter" she has never been in any sort of trouble with the law.

Quirks, Extras, Random Character Facts: Generally refuses to drink alcohol for fear of becoming like her parents. May be coaxed into it by someone she trusts, which is currently a non-existent list.
Also fears religion in any form, though will not tell anyone else not to have a religion.
Socialization is another fear. She will come around if given enough time and kindness. Likes to sing when she is alone and is actually fairly personable and well adjusted once someone takes the time to get to know her. Breaking through her self defenses will land someone a loyal, caring, gentle friend who will listen and empathize.
Her sense of humour has atrophied some but, with work, can easily become a source of joy. She is known to randomly say things that no one expects her to say and garner a laugh. She secretly loves this because she enjoys making others genuinely happy.
Is fairly intelligent. Learns and conforms quickly, unless actual socialization is involved.
She is fragile mentally and emotionally but very resilient physically. Can take a lot of pain before it affects her. Also tends to heal up well when sustaining cuts, punctures, etc.