Avery "A.J. Barnes | 23 | Junior | Female
Omega Psi Phi Vice President | Homosexual | Pre-Law Program | Political Science
There's really nothing 'sororal' about Avery and for those who take a bit of pride in maintaining the illusion of 'beauty' or 'what proper Omega Psi Phi's should look like' Avery's natural gifts and rather effortless presence and style has certainly caused ire if not jealousy. It starts, as these so often do, with her height. Avery is naturally tall - which is certainly quite the asset - with thin, long arms, and legs that, while shapely, aren't as long as she would like. She isn't waifish, just slim with softer, almost boyish curves which goes in line with her overall sense of style and physique, when she isn't dressing up for the occasions.
It continues, of course, with her head - specifically what lies atop it. Avery's hair is a natural muddy brown and always has the appearance as if it just saw a professional stylist for a washing and a touch up. Lustrous and medium cut, Avery's hair just might be the favorite thing about herself physically - except for when it gets in her face which it used to do fairly often before she settled on a shorter length.
Avery's facial features are rather sharp, with her jaw line being very well defined down to her chin. Wide, light brown eyes, thin eyebrows, and a smallish nub of a nose make for a cute face on an otherwise piercing looking face. When Avery smiles it's always with a bit of a mischievous grin that still nevertheless shows off her immaculately porcelain teeth that rest just behind her thin, coquettish lips.
The same care is given with her day-to-day which would see her more feminine attire skirt a dresscode if this had been a high school or thereabouts. Her skirts hover precariously over the 'too short' line (with her excuse always being "You try finding a fitting skirt when your legs go to the moon"), though on most days she'll be found in pants and a blouse with a matching jacket - often leather - to finish the ensemble which is certainly its own sort of style. She shifts rather comfortably between a more professional sort of elegance and the more flirty, overtly feminine articles of clothing as easily as one snaps - though anyone with eyes can see she vastly prefers the pants and blouse with heels than dresses and skirts, which she has out of obligation rather than genuine interest.
β Thunderstorms. There's something just soothing about them.
β Unsalted cashews. She can eat an entire can of those things without thinking.
β Scented candles. She has way too many.
βThe oeuvre of Ryan Reynolds. His brand of type casting vaguely quippy every-man just has a timeless sort of appeal. If she weren't gay she'd probably go for his type.
β High fantasy novels. There's just something enjoyable about swords and sorceresses and manipulative nobles.
β Butts. Just butts. Who doesn't like a good butt.
β True crime documentaries and fiction
β Meat and fish and dairy products, being an ovo-vegetarian and lactose intolerant
β People that chew gum loudly. Really just gum in general.
β Snow. Cold weather is fine, but not if the snow makes it overly difficult.
β Cigarettes. Even though she's been known to smoke regularly.
β Lies and the lying liars who tell them
β Drama starters and those who encourage it
β Acoustic led droning indie rock. If your song has a voice going "Hey" then she's turning it off.
- When handling paper of any kind, looseleaf, book pages, money, whathaveyou, she always has to lick her finger before flipping through it.
- Eats most meals alarmingly quickly
- Snaps her fingers like all the time. Like all the time.
- Giving advice to her sisters
- Stargazing
- Playing the piano, thank her mother for forcing her to get lessons
- Rodents. They're quite gross.
- Losing her memory
- Hospitals. So unnerving.
- Is quite a kleptomaniac and has stolen from wallets and purses before, including stealing money from her father.
- Has been quite manipulative in getting one night stands to sleep with her.
There's a word for people like Avery and it radiates from her damn near the second she walks through a door. Confidence. She might not be the top of a list of 'hottest sorority babes' or whatever, but she's possessed of a swagger and sense of self all her own. Even when she was pledging in her Freshman year she came off more like a mother than a sister, having the veneer of experience that likely had more to do with her gap year than it did actual genuine experience. But Avery has since developed a persona stemming from her utter strength of identity. She knows who she is, and no one can take that from her.
Of course she's not perfect. She's actually quite selfish at the worst of times, and her gift of the gab has worked both for and against her. While she does care for her fellow sisters, some people can't seem to shake the vibe that she thinks less of them, and there are several rumors that potential pledges get scared off because of her - all unfounded, of course, but while some sorority sorts have the reputation of being a bitch, better to be the bitch you know than the one you don't.
Avery can be quite manipulative, it's what makes her so effective at problem solving, but she's still quite insightful which is a good quality in someone who puts themselves up as a candidate for leadership. It's not uncommon to see Avery showing up to events with a new girl on her arm - often an underclassman - which only served to solidify the more negative aspects of her personality. She's got a bit of a hedonist streak in her but only to the point where she enjoys the company of women in her bed on weekends; if it weren't for that she'd damn near be a shining example of good morals in that she doesn't drink and she only smokes rarely and casually.
Avery in her first and second years was more like an older sister even as she was a little sister within the sorority. Now that she's a junior and in a position of power within the house she's more like the young, cool mother that will offer a hug and advice but also be incredibly biting. She's exactly the kind of person you want backing you up in an argument.
Avery was born in Chicago to a pair of starving artists. Her mother was a budding comedy writer and actor who was part of Second City while her father was a sous chef at a Polish eatery. Avery was unexpected. Her father was laughing boisterously during a Second City show and caught the eye of Avery's mother. After the show they met up. They had drinks. They made mistakes. But none as big or expensive as Avery Jane Barnes - A.J. to those she chooses to let call her that. Her parents never wed despite trying to make a go of dating and raising their child together but when there's not love but lust at the basis of a relationship it's hard to transition to the other. It was commendable, in a way, that they even tried. But when Avery's mother landed a writing gig on a somewhat well known comedy program, she didn't take Avery or her one night stand along with her.
Avery and her father relocated down south. Her father's chef gig didn't pan out - him not really being trained in that manner of cuisine didn't help matters - but he found work with his brother selling cars in Mississippi. A single father with the support of family meant Avery didn't feel like she had a particularly difficult upbringing, which was a small comfort. She did find it odd how her father often got misty eyed when watching a weekly sketch comedy show but she didn't pry until she was about sixteen and well on her way to being a future heartbreaker of her own.
Avery isn't quite sure what drew her to the world of law, but it might have been due to hanging around a car dealership and reading the fine print in many of the contracts the salespeople just breeze over. Her uncle's dealership taught her many useful things: how to read the fine print, how to sell people on damn near everything (which is a skill she uses to this day to sell herself or sell others on hooking up with her), but most importantly how to lie with an honest smile. If she wasn't so determined to become a lawyer - or worse: a politician - she would make a hell of a saleswoman for some shady pharmaceutical company or thereabouts.
While it's not quite Harvard, Avery applied to many colleges when the time came and settled on Pennbrooke which wasn't exactly known for its stellar law program, but the way she saw it if she could lawyer her way through a school like this then she could hack it at any law school even if it wasn't some Ivy League institution. It wasn't out of a desire to be a sorority girl that saw Avery pledging, but a belief that being part of an organization stressing sisterhood and unity and all that jazz would make for good references and in the eventual autobiography.
Avery vied for the President role but lost out in the end. It stung, yes, but to the credit of the board she didn't always seem to have the house at the top of the priorities. She's slotted well into the Vice President role, however, and offers to shoulder the burden and handle some more of the paperwork and disciplinary aspects of the job while maintaining an open door policy for potential complaints - in case the President is too busy doing her hair or something.
While Avery says she's all about the sisterhood and all, it's hard to shake the feeling that she's just being a car salesperson. Telling everyone just want they want to hear.