Keran Valkesh
Age: 16
Gender: Fnord
Personality: Calm, timid, patient, quiet... All words no one in their right mind would ever use to describe the human espresso depository that is Keran. Hyperactive, playful and easily bored, she is the kind of unruly students that experienced teachers get nightmares about at night. Blessed (or cursed) with a seemingly endless amount of energy (not to mention a remarkable propensity for using it) she bounces about through life like a demented Chihuahua on amphetamines. It is unclear where exactly all of her boundless energy comes from, but the prevailing theory is being stuck in a perpetual sugar rush for the past 14 years.
Although she can be surprisingly insightful at times, the ADHD coffee addict will generally tend to do her best to avoid getting involved in serious conversations, deflecting personal questions with witty banter. Despite her generally cheerful disposition, she is notorious for her dark and often inappropriate sense of humour, always delivered with the same joyful demeanor as she uses for everything else. Perhaps as a side effect of her power, she has very little respect for other people's privacy, and will often find herself eavesdropping on conversations to feed her nearly insatiable curiosity.
Appearance: Volumptuous isn't exactly a word many people would use to describe Keran. Boyish and androgynous, she has a very modest figure by almost any standards, and is frequently mistaken for a boy as a result. She has pale olive coloured skin and raven black hair, which could be considered the only real indicators of her Armenian heritage beyond her name. Her physique is lean and athletic, extremely flexible yet mostly devoid of any significant curves. Her bust, while fairly modest, is still relatively well developed, although she typically dresses to conceal that fact. She generally wears loose, masculine clothing, selected primarily for practicality over aesthetic concerns.
Biography: Keran was born a little over 16 years ago in Hill Valley, California, to two Armenian parents who had immigrated to America several years before she was born. Raised in the colloquial melting pot that is the American Suburbia, she was quickly assimilated into the local culture, although her parents always insisted that she speak Armenian at home. Her father, a pediatrician by trade, was a very kind and patient man, with a dry, serious wit and his nose always buried in some book or another. Her mother, who stayed at home to take care of her, was a good natured and creative woman, who worked on her paintings in her free time. Despite technically being the eldest of three children, it could be argued that she was in many ways raised as an only child, with her younger brothers both being 6 years younger than her.
Although they weren't particularly wealthy, her parents wanted the best of education for their children, and worked hard to put her (and, later on, her twin younger brothers) through an expensive private school. She initially had a lot of problems staying put and listening in class. Described by her teachers as "unruly" and "disruptive", she struggled a lot with her schooling until the age of 12, when she was diagnosed with ADHD, at which point her parents were able to put in place adequate measures to help her learn. Her grades displayed a dramatic increase, although she always kept her reputation as a class clown (reputation which she worked very hard to uphold).
In spite of enduring stereotypes, she got along fairly well with her parents, even in adolescence. Both being very liberal and understanding people, they always had a very "laissez faire" attitude towards parenting, trusting her to remain responsible. It wasn't until she was 14 that she first began manifesting her powers. Unlike with some others, it wasn't a particularly traumatic nor even impressive experience. In fact, she didn't even become aware of them until after a month, when she woke up while using them. Being 14 years old, of course, she thought it was absolutely awesome, and proceeded to practice with them in secret, using them to sneak around places she wasn't supposed to go to and eavesdrop on other people.
Power:
Umbrakinesis: (Not actually Umbrakinesis, that's just how she describes it.) Keran's primary ability. She can essentially control and manifest what appears to be pure, solid darkness, which can be used for a variety of things. She can manifest prehensile tendrils to grab things with, shroud herself in shadow to become less visible or wrap it around herself to cling to walls, pick locks or levitate, for example. Constructs she makes using her power will be fairly insubstantial, and will dissipate when exposed to 2000 lumens or more of direct light. The brighter it is in general, the harder it will be for her to use her powers. They aren't really shadows in actuality, however, only specialized psychokinetic constructs which do not reflect light. So far, she will be unable to manifest her power without maintaining a physical link with the constructs she creates, and will have a maximum range of 15 feet with her tendrils. They have a maximum total lift capacity roughly between 400 and 500 lbs, although they usually tend to be fairly fragile to damage.
Skills & Weaknesses:
+ Sneaky.
+ Athletic.
+ Can speak Armenian and ASL with relative fluency.
+ Thinks she can speak French (Took one year of French class, back at school).
- Easily distracted.
- Overly curious.
- Impulsive.
- Doesn't actually speak French (Trust me on that one...)
- Has difficulties using her power in direct sunlight (10 000 lux or more).
Note: Female pronouns used for writing convenience.