1. Can you tell us about your family, or the people you care about most?“...My father. Joseph A. Noelle, Chief Executive Officer, N.E. Industries. Forty-nine years old.
…Zora E. Noelle. Thirty-eight.. Um...I’m not exactly sure what my mother does…?
...Sisters and brothers, uh… ...”
Note the fact that Leila’s knowledge of her actual family is rather restricted, as is her knowledge concerning people in general. The fact that she rarely contacts them makes it even worse. A large portion of her knowledge of her father is in fact composed of her impressions of him as a public figure.“...people I…I don’t know? James, probably…? I don’t know what his last name is though…”
She has a hard time admitting that she ‘care about’ people, or even persuading herself that she know about what ‘caring about’ a person is supposed to mean.
James is the old man who was put in charge of managing the small portion of the living complex that contains most of Leila’s activity space, and as a result he has kind of become responsible for the girl’s daily life as a whole, keeping watch as well as keeping her companion at most times. He’s a kind man, and having worked in the mansion long before Leila’s birth and watched her grow up, James would probably be the closest thing Leila had to what would be called a ‘parent figure’.
OOC Writer speak: one of the few people she has strong emotional connections to and feels genuinely comfortable with being around. She’d almost talk to him regularly if it wasn’t that she kept straying off topic and the old man had a hard time keeping up. Still, it’s a companionship she values, whether she recognizes this fact or not. The effect that siren song had on Leila was a result of a combination of this fact, her fascination towards the universe, and her immense fear of inevitable ends and death.
More on death later.
2. What do you think of Haku?“I need to know more about him.”
Hakuren was one she first noticed to be thinking the same thoughts as she did - something that rarely happens and possibly almost never observed. She hasn’t gathered enough information to say precisely what she thinks of Hakuren because that mainly relies on her knowing what Haku thinks first. His mind has captured her interest, though, to say at least.
Speaking as the writer, I also don’t know enough about Hakuren’s character because it’s evident that Phones was withholding quite a lot of information - which I consider a good, and interesting, thing. As far as I know, however, their beliefs and outlooks on the world are vastly different, but also seem to echo each other in a rather amusing way? As for exactly what sort of chemistry shall arise as interaction continues in the roleplay, we shall wait and see.
3. Do you like pancakes?“Pancakes are great! ...I like pancakes.”
Pancakes are not an uncommon item to show up in her meals back at home. She likes them.
4. If all of the lost souls died in front of you, what would you do?“All...all of them?”
She would panic. A lot.
And then probably get killed herself by whatever was capable of killing all the other lost souls in front of her anyway.
Ugh.
5. Would it be okay for them to die in the name of science, what if they had to die for an experiment? Would you participate?“...in the name of science?... … uh ...”
Oh gosh it almost sounds like she’s seriously considering it.“...elaborate?”
It depends.
6. Do you want to go home? Anyone you're missing?“I miss home...”
She isn’t homesick all the time, however, because of all the distractions in Nowhere. The above response will probably be one she’ll come up with after a while of thought if she’s given that.
7. Do you consider any of the Lost Souls your friends?“Eh...I’m not sure. A lot of them are very friendly though.”
Allow me to just grab this chance and blot down a relationship reference then.
Ace: interests Leila in her outgoing-ness. She enjoys watching all of the action that comes from her.
Hakuren: as detailed in a previous question. Considers him a fascinating mind and person. Also find him slightly confusing.
Harper: most of the cast will probably agree he’s very likeable. Leila...kinda admires him? In the sense of acknowledging he’s a very friendly and kind person.
Inadi: doesn’t know him well enough just yet. Is currently slightly concerned about him because of the self-electrifying incident.
Jasper: no strong feelings towards her? Although I (the writer) imagine she’ll probably actually make a nice friend if they ever end up friends. Not sure why.
Leon: not sure how to feel about him, partly also because not getting to know him well enough. Thinks he kind of looks like Hakuren. Feathers earrings.
Lesley: pretty, pink, fluffy hair.
Riley: No interaction just yet, but Leila will probably be pretty happy being around Riley, both ‘action is interesting to watch’ in much the same sense as with Ace, and the ‘friendly person’ part of her personality that’s rather similar to Harper in impression.
That’s about all.
8. Leila, if one plus one is a yellow hummingbird, what is 5 + 5? What's the square root of a celery whale?“Um...uuuum……..”
...insufficient data for meaningful answer?She will be greatly interested if someone presented her a sufficiently powerful formal system composed of hummingbirds and celery and whales.
9. Are you scared of death? What if you die here?“...I don’t want to die.”
Leila is afraid of death. VERY afraid of it.
It is probably mostly due to the fact that she lived an isolated early life, and most of the handful of people who are around her she never grew very close to. Therefore for her, the only signs of her presence - the only proof of her existence, or the /meaning/ of her life, if you will - the only way for her to know she is still alive, is through...well, still knowing that she’s alive.
It’s not as trivial as it may sound: some may have loved ones who care for them and that’s all they need to feel alive, or friends, or fame or wealth or historical presence. Some can die happily because even though they are dead, the purpose of their lives remain resonant in their influence on the people around them; and from the same reasons arise the sensation of being without purpose, and the concept of ‘a fate worse than death’ - generally a meaningless existence even though being very well alive.
Leila isn’t lucky enough for that. She takes “I think therefore I am” to an extreme in the sense that (she believes) nearly no-one really cares about her being alive except herself. To Leila, the concepts of life and the purpose of life are tied together, and dying to her means losing both at once. And that makes her very conscious about being able to keep on thinking because that’s kind of the one thing she clings onto. She might refuse to admit it (or at least is still confused), but she is, in a way, searching meaning for existence, and doesn’t want to be forced to give up on it before she gets a satisfying answer.
As for the second question, she doesn’t really see the difference between dying in Nowhere and dying home - just yet. There actually /are/ people she cares about, only without being particularly conscious about it and she’ll probably only realize that when said people become the last thoughts she happened to realize before actually going.
10. How do you want to die and what do you want your last words to be?“I
don’t want to die! I… I… stop...”
Excessively thinking about death - especially the inevitability of death - is one of the easiest ways to get her very upset and uncomfortable. Please do not do that.
Out-of-character speaking, She’ll probably (in an emotional sense) desire a death that happens quickly and fairly unexpected so that it minimizes the time she spends in despair. If she can’t avoid it at least she’ll prefer not to know about it in advance.
Unfortunately, the settings of her character (as in, if the adventures in Nowhere never happened) - a quiet and protected life - means the most likely way for her to die is perhaps through any type of disease that cannot be cured, or simply of old age. An accident of sorts that ends in a fatal injury is a less likely candidate. Both of the former processes are long and will be processes that she’ll be aware of and panic over.
As for last words, there will probably be few or none. And expect no philosophy here because she is, eventually, still subject to quite strong human emotions and that is most certain to show in her last moments.
...It must be terrible to be Leila.
(Her personality and lifestyle is potentially subject to change depending on what happens through the rest of her journey, however. Exactly whether it happens, or how, I cannot be certain.)
11. Thoughts on Lesley?“Lesley is pretty. I like his hair.”
Finally a question that allows her to calm down.
And the use of pronouns reveals that Leila is aware of Lesley’s biological sex. Hard not to which his physique. Not that it changes her perception of Lesley in any practical sense, though? She’ll still pretty much like to ruffle the bubblegum-pink curls if she ever had the chance to.
12. Favorite memory in Nowhere?“...Chaotic Star!”
Seriously, that thing was awesome.
