@TheMadAsshatter actually in real life it's more around 3 hours XD but I intentionally shrunk the distance between the two towns. So this is like an AU to the real world. YE SHALL NEVER HAVE GEOGRAPHIC ACCURACY! THIS ISN'T NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC! but you can still join if you so wish it. This is a flexible thread and I am more than willing to help you out any way I can :)
@Ace of flames01 Everyone, partner or not, will somehow have their hands full with her. That's the beauty of this character :P. I've found playing your polar opposite's really fun :P And I will get onto to discussing relationships with people :)
Our characters both live in seedy apartments in Ann Arbor. Want that to be the same building, if they don't end up paired together? I think being neighbors would be a little too easy if they were paired, though.
@Ace of flames01 I got my sleep back :) Before I kept nodding off while trying to write things, and it wasn't just this.
I know some parts are kind of long, so I'll shorten them if needed. It's been a while since I've actually written something like this for a character, so at least I enjoyed making it, right?
See ya, time to eat dinner! Food <3
Zephillla Natalie Sebastian
February 3rd, 1996 (22 years old)
Female
heterosexual
Nah. Of course not.
Show a picture of the partner you are assigned to by the GMs.
She is a part-time worker at a lab of ornithology. Temporary positions such as the visitor center assistant and one of the researcher/writers for the organization's magazine often springs up. However, don't expect that to be year round. Half of the time Zephillla is trying her hand at brand-new art styles as well as experimenting / refreshening older ones. She sells prints online and hard copies among or linked to any of her connections. During summer she auditions for a theater play or two, depending if she gets cast. Otherwise, Zephillla's studying.
Launching off with her body's exterior, the female's skin is slightly darker than the average light-skinned person, the result of her Hispanic roots. She's of average height and weight the majority of the time, getting lighter or heavier in an exceedingly short amount of time every so often, although more exercise is certainly required since the past four years to get her bachelor's scarcely left room for free time compared to what she had before. The last two years improved. Anyway, she developed a habit of forgetting to brush her hair in the morning despite taking a morning shower. In the afternoon her black hair may, sort of, 'poof'. (Photo in the references beneath.) It generally turns out all right for winter, because of the cold; summer is a different story. Humid air presses down on powerless Zephillla. And that barely starts on the jackets! Before anyone wades into that territory, a quick briefing on that. Zephillla's hair is medium-length most of the time. Half of the time the young adult gets obsessed with a specific hairstyle or length, partly spending time on refusing to cut or just trim her hair, and partly jumping on the chance to cut it at every time possible. We come around to the jackets. She owns many various ones; that is undeniable. Zephillla obviously depends on them a smudge too much for comfort. Some have open thumb holes. These each serve a specific purpose. The oversized ones seem to be best toward winter, fall, and the beginning of spring. They may also serve as something her hands can fidget with. Jackets made with smooth material that traps heat is meant for exercise, obviously. Whatever the case, there's a running theme throughout this clothing: pockets. Think of it like that pitch black closet in the one's corner of the room, the objects inside pockets as the 'monsters' lurking in one's vivid imagination. Suffering in the heat of summer whilst being unable to wear her jackets is a recurring nightmare swinging around every year. Alright, moving on.
Silver is Zephillla's favourite color and type of jewelry. More than gold. It reminds her of the moon and, at least in her opinion, it's a real strong colour in terms of being able to endure attacks. Half the time she'll be wearing earrings. Gold ones, from her grandfather. Alas, he passed away; mercifully, he was healthy physically and mentally as an elder. Nevertheless, even if he did live exceptionally well, it didn't mean no one missed him.
Then there's the last few details. Zephillla has dark brown eyes and medium-sized dark blue glasses, the kind whose lenses darken up to act as sunglasses for snow/ice or sunny days. She mostly uses them while heading to a new place, meeting acquaintances, or teachers. And, she prefers comfortable clothing over other people's preferences, occasionally being the odd one out because of that. Her nails on her thumbs are cut to a point. Doing this became a habit pretty early, about 12-13 years old. Like her opinion on other things, she appreciates things more from their usefulness than other reasons. She hasn't put makeup on herself yet or dyed her hair, so a tattoo or piercing on her skin (besides her ears) has a less than zero chance of happening. Dresses with natural colours, a cheerful red, a wise grey one, and so forth, are her favourites.
Maybe in another dimension Zephillla would be a 'normal' human being in society; not that one exists. She was diagnosed with bipolar II disorder the autumn before turning 19, so she has various sides to herself, with two main extremes on either end. One must dig deeper to shed some light on who she is - remember, Zephillla herself doesn't have a clue - and while doing that, one comes to the conclusion that her disorder contributes to and is part of her. Eliminating it changes the person in question, and in this case, that's Zephillla.
Zephillla is an ambivert leaning slightly more toward the introverted side. She has learnt how to meta-think 'properly', also known as thinking about thinking. Theories about life and other divisions of humanity come from looking at the larger picture. Sometimes it's a random thought drifting in the breeze that she snatches out of the air and explores. Other times it's quite intentional, having racing thoughts and following her own train of thought very closely. They're generally ideas that are coldly rejected by the crowd. Such as whether humans are zombies- not physically, but in their actions. Death. Interesting controversies circling the globe. She was never the typical gossiper chattering on and on about the latest wrong thing some president or parent did/said. Her thoughts travelled along the lines of, 'If you aren't going to do anything about it, how is that going to change something?' The rest of the conversation would be contradicting that idea. 'Information is useful is tight situations.' It's worth adding that this conversation is, most of the time, with herself. Usually, Zephillla is recalling information or plans she has in the back of her mind during breaks or in the middle of the sentence she was speaking. All these distractions tend to cause her to speak rapidly or stutter. See, it's not always because of nervous thoughts.
Leadership holds a vital place for Zephillla. With a large percent of her family being doctors, teachers, or engineers, offering a hand to other people, no matter how minuscule, is past natural. It's required. If not, her feelings of self-worth drain by a zillion points. 'Paranoid' may be another correct word, too. She tends to stretch things to the extremes; that way of thinking is clearly a result of her bipolar disorder. Between trying to change people's situations for the better and being very suspicious about them, one can remark that Zephillla makes decisions using her heart and mind equally. That is, if she makes any decision at all. About half of the time Zephillla does have a strategy and half the time she'll wing it. There's a fifty-fifty chance. Back to the leadership role. She may or may not chastise someone for their actions if it won't affect something/one in a significant way, or if Zephillla owes them something. She's more self-centered, having a 'you don't bother me, I won't bother you, so then we'll be in agreement' type of rule, focusing on creating allies for herself simply for the benefits. The section between timidness and confidence is often ventured, crossed over, mixed together, folded over, whichever. Zephillla's not shy, she's bored; Zephillla's not confident, she's reckless, her mind flashing that she has nothing to lose to her body/mouth, so might as well wing it. Results from these on-the-spot decisions come up with various situations. Admittedly, some are negative ones besides the positive. In the case where her response was incorrect or foolish, Zephillla engulfs herself with regret for the matching/'appropriate' number of hours.
That young adult biting back comments? Yes, that sounds about right in Zephillla's description. She slips a mask on around other people, although she generally lets herself run free on the internet. Another thing: after moving so many times, change is really her closest friend at the end of the day. She feeds off it.
✔ Fish (food) and lemon pie (dessert) ✔ Anything to do with English / literature / writing / reading ✔ Creating things ✔ Theater ✔ Laughing at clever puns / jokes / sarcastic remarks ✔ European things & Europe ✔ Cold or chilly regions where it actually snows ✔ Tea ✘ Over-dramatic people or actions outside of theater (she considers it unnecessary) ✘ Gossipers talking badly of people ✘ People and things who don't care and harm the environment ✘ Most things that are 'the norm' ✘ Distracted and/or irresponsible team members ✘ Anything repetitive ✘ Pop music about love and couples ✘ Coffee
Travelling for sure is her main hobby. She has a tendency of avoiding urban areas, rather much preferring the freedom of roaming suburban and rural regions. If there's one thing Zephillla doesn't lack, it's QUESTIONS! Exploring her planet. Hiking and long-distance jogging also makes the list along with that, although it is worth mentioning she isn't a great sprinter or runner at all. Hanging out in either the library or a bookstore is another top favourite; the scent of so many pages topped with deep writing is simply intoxicating. She generally grabs a bite to eat and reads here, half the time using library computers to write, research, or do other relaxing activities. Museums are yet another attraction, and depending on the weather, Zephillla plays with her cat indoors or outdoors.
Six months after she was born, Zephillla and her parents moved into the outskirts of Ann Arbor. They moved from one north corner of Ann Arbor to a bit north of the middle of Holland, seven years later. Zephillla considers this her true hometown. Her dialect was gained through that place, as well as good friends, truly great close friends, and two best friends. Two years after that, they changed neighborhoods, going south. The sudden switch jolted her. It was the trigger to the beginning to a wearisome childhood journey that would seep into her teenage years and beyond. No friends were made, just classmates. Two years passed and the family of four moved yet again, this time to a gated community. It wasn't top-notch - that wouldn't be necessary - but it was safer than other dwellings. Her family moving this much was the effect of her father's job thriving well enough that he got called to work from other hospitals. Purely by coincidence, Zephillla and her best friend there were joined up by a teacher. Zephillla was actually supposed to show her to-be-friend the ropes, since their first day of school was delayed about a day or two.
Is number two Zephillla's unlucky number? Or could it be silent revenge from even numbers, since she's fonder of odd numbers? No quantities of thinking'll prevent these next two years, and honestly, it was another major portion of what molded Zephillla's core. That year was the cutoff year where all the students in that grade from the district would have to choose and change schools, being separated further. This young lady chose to pursue the elegant French language; meanwhile, her closest friend chose Spanish. They acquired new friends from their new groups, the latter having a more enjoyable time with it. Zephillla retreated to her computer to gain 'real' friends. She could be herself there. In school, she was forced to either remain the one isolated, intelligent kid for the rest three years, or to somehow get the advantage of friends. It was around this where confusion rolled in. She only intended to 'use' her friends to keep her reputation and get assistance, if, say, she took a sick day. And indeed, when speaking of her three friends she did use that word ('use') without reminding herself every five seconds. However, while being in their presence, Zephillla laughed a real laugh along with them, content, barely thinking of manipulating them. Maybe the girl was simply yearning for people to surround her and would latch onto anything to do so.
Two-thirds of the way through the school she encountered the possibility of homeschooling. After wrapping up that year, Zephillla started to run away for small chunks of time, bringing books to teach herself. Proving herself, looking at it from higher lens. It led her parents to embracing the concept of homeschooling up 'till 18 years of age. Not because Zephilla proved herself, but because it'd block her from running away completely. Be mindful of the fact that she had information, attained from the internet, at her disposal.
18 years old. It struck Zephillla. She moved as southeast the bottom borders of Holland. (Zephillla had grown to relish change instead of fear it.) She'd been uneasy about living close to water, but not for drowning reasons; Zephillla moved smoothly in water. Aquarius was her horoscope, and she could swim...water represented her. Zephillla was afraid of herself the most. What exactly is unknown. On a similar note, turning 18 never meant she automatically absorbed random knowledge and direction in her life. Ha! As if. Having more freedoms, after being trapped under the vigilant gaze of her parents, sounded phenomenal. Inspired, Zephilla began to gather material from her earlier years and take notes to produce a film, pieces of art, and writing, about her history so far. Just for kicks, she could compose music to set the tones and mood. Enter the artist's block. Due to it all being notes, setting a time and place to accomplish her self-assigned project wasn't required. Zephillla's studies kept flowing. Thinking and retrieving material/information from her past were supposed to be enough hindrances. That path took another route; she lagged behind on the ideas she felt were right. Stressing on her life and other factors (dealing with being bipolar, for instance) deprived her of much needed sleep. And in the event that Zephillla did hit the hay, nightmares plagued those next days. It felt like she was playing awful mind games with an unknown force. SO when the dreams of a stranger dotted the dream horizon...let's say she was increasingly skeptical of her sanity, at least. Hell, it probably left Ann Arbor when she did and walked off a cliff.
Mother (59)
Father (58)
Younger Brother (18 1/2)
Born in a family of four, Zephillla has a brother younger than her by about 4 1/4 years. Her father is a successful transplant surgeon and her mother an fairly good ENT (otolaryngologist) with some interests & volunteering on the side.
She was also the one who convinced them to adopt a hamster when she was nine. Later, a decision crept upon her then ten-year-old self: exchange her beloved rodent for two siblings? They would keep each other company, or so the young'un thought. It wasn't too long after that they displayed aggressive behaviors toward one another and were forced to be separated. At fourteen years of age, Zephillla adopted a sky blue Budgerigar parakeet, since it was the grey duckling in the cage. All the others were green. When she finally began working at the place for her ornithology interests instead of merely a volunteer (18 years), the parakeet eventually became one of the organization's pet companions, and she allowed him to be. The following year, Zephilla adopted a female black and white kitten she named Domino... Domino is almost three years old now.
Excellent imagination, she can craft words or art with this skill.
Gets inspired/motivated easily.
Peacemaker and usually fair leader in a group (due to her personal 'eye for an eye' rule); people who know her look in her direction for assistance or for keeping secrets.
Gets discouraged easily.
Distractions affect a ton, whether it's a random thought, an object, something happening around her, or even a person.
She's confused by her own self, often contradicting herself and her ideas, therefore depending on support to nod at her.
Has a difficult time paying attention to the present directly (at a smaller scale), right then and there, half the time tormenting her with stress.
(example of preferred types of dresses & example of Domino's affectionate acts toward Zephillla)
”Somewhere in the world there, is a father and a mother And the father is a son, who has a mother The mother has a daughter who gets married to the brother of a mother And they all just tryna multiply with one another
'Cause that's just the way of the world It never ends till the end, then you start again That's just the way of the world That's just the way of the world
Somewhere in the world, they think they're working for themselves They get up everyday to go to work for someone else And somebody works for them and, so, they think they got it made But they're all just working to get paid the very same
And so, they keep on twiddlin' them thumbs Skiddly-dee-da-dum"
Name Pronounciation :: Zeh-feel-yah Reason Behind Name :: There's three 'l's in her name because she's the third with "Zephi___a" as a name. The first was named Zephila. Her mother was the second, named Zephilla. Then there's herself, Zephillla. Don't worry, there won't be a fourth. Heh. Ethnicity :: Hispanic
Note on Education :: She's going to take a gap year after wrapping up her current year. Extra References ::
Zephillla after lingering in a humid and/or uncomfortably warm room, or after sweating. Her hair not only tangles up, but also poofs outward.
Hair in wind, clearly without sweating [much], tears circling like sharks on the bottom of her now-bright eyes.
Hairstyle during the middle phase.
Quote with a side photo of Zephillla, chest heaving, covering her face with her hands in despair.
Hairstyle during the middle phase.