Basic Information Name: Cordelia Lynn Holmes. Nickname/Alias/Etc: Cord, Delly, Lynn, Holmes. Gender: Female. Age: 17 Height: 5'3 Weight: 105 Status: New Student Appearance Hair Color: Black. There's a single purple strand. Eye Color: Dark blue. Ethnicity: Caucasian. Physical Appearance: Lynn's not exactly your standard eighteen year old girl. For starters, she's a bit on the malnourished side. Lynn's Caucasian, more or less pale with a faint hint of Eastern European heritage. Her hair is a dark brown, and typically bundled up in a bun or casually strung up in a ponytail, with a solitary streak of deep purple running through it. She doesn't seem to pay too much attention to it (the hair not the streak) and it doesn't have the sheen or glamour that someone who takes better care of their hair might have. Her eyes are a cold, distant blue, and when she converses with someone she (somewhat unnervingly) stares at them without blinking, holding eye contact regardless of how painfully awkward it becomes. Her face has a few freckles, but they're very faint. There's a scar on her right cheek that's hard to notice if you aren't looking closely (and looking closely at Leila would prompt a "What the fuck are you looking at?", so most people don't). She's definitely on the petite side-with the proper meals and limitless food that the Academy can provide, she's starting to put on weight (in a good way), but she's only about 5'3, weighing just a smidge over a hundred pounds. What muscle her body can metabolically afford is stretched out lean across her arms and legs, the look of a runner who's been running a little too fast and eating a little too little. Her chin is somewhat pointed, a contrast to her small round little nose, soft eyes (you can only notice how gentle they look when she's asleep, because her glare is too damned harsh otherwise) and chapped lips. A filled-in teardrop hangs just under the edge of her left eye, and it goes with her choice of dark mascara and eyeliner in a rather macabre way. Her outer arms are nicked with scars that are a little more fresh than the one on her face, and don't appear to be the typical remnants of self-harm. There's a long gash running down her right leg, from the inside of her knee to about halfway down her calf. Her back is engulfed in a rather intricate tattoo job, with the four horsemen of the apocalypse riding out on Judgment Day, and a pair of phoenixes curl down her right shoulder and chest onto her forearm, with their tails showing when she rolls her sleeve up or displays anything above the elbow. The left arm is marked by what appears to be the Angel of Death. Leila moves with cold, measured confidence, and tends to have a scowl permanently plastered across her face. She tends to dress in a way that wouldn't exactly be described as fashionable, with worn sneakers double knotted onto her feet and an equally worn, little-too-big hoodie draped over her shoulders and arms. She typically rolls the sleeves of the red hoodie up past her shoulders and holds up her jeans (which sport a few frayed, worn patches and a couple of holes, some of which are artfully held together with duct tape) with a belt that almost appears to wrap around her miniscule waist twice. Occasionally, a Red Sox ballcap will be worn on her head. Attire: Lynn rockin' that street rat look. She's got an oversized hoodie that she wears near constantly and baggy jeans that are frayed and worn in. Her shoes have been in dire straits, and there's a copious amount of duct tape on most of her possessions. Underneath her hoodie, Lynn normally wears a t-shirt (she cares very little about what these look like, so she's equally likely to be wearing a tee emblazoned with a kids' show mascot or some metal band's name written over skulls and whatnot) or wife beater underneath. She usually has a bandana on her person, which is useful for wiping off her face or serving as a mask when she's doing something she, legally speaking, probs shouldn't be. Personality Outward & Innate Personality: Fuck you, that's her personality. No but seriously Lyn does not play very well with others. Lynn's not a bad person ,per se, but she's not a good person either. Lynn's endured quite a bit without a lot of help to rely on, and the result is a cold, hardened girl who can play with the best of them. While she may not have been privy to a proper education past grade school, Lynn's cunning and sharp. She's known for pragmatic approaches to her problems: Lynn, while true to her word, doesn't bother much with the idea of "honor". She has a clear concept of right and wrong, but it's...a little more twisted than most people's. Lynn's code of morality is pretty self-serving, and allows her to steal and carry out several types of illicit activities without feeling too much in the way of remorse (she typically steals from the well-off). Lynn's lack of strong familial ties has resulted in her latching onto close friends and allies with unshakeable loyalty: while she is very difficult to befriend (mostly because she has next to no tact and laughably poor social skills) she's undeniably faithful once her trust is earned. Lynn thinks there's a special spot in hell reserved for those who let their family or friends down, and she doesn't intend on getting a seat in hell THAT deep. Lynn's pretty worldly, and very street smart-while she may not be as well-read as most her age, she can fend for herself and survive where others can't. The girl's pride and self-confidence are annoying some, but in a way, a survival trait-pushovers don't last long on the streets. Lynn takes shit from no one, regardless of how deserved it may be. While proud, her pragmatism reigns supreme: she loathes accepting charity but is open to it if there's no other choice. She's fairly cynical of the rich and any charities: she views the government and the church (doesn't matter which one, she lumps them all together) with equal disdain. Lynn's not a hardened killer, but she's by no means a coward. She can handle stressful situations and keep her cool, and also possesses a remarkable poker face. She can come up with believable lies off the top of her head and is a decent actress, too-she spent some time as a con artist, exploiting the "I'm a poor girl all alone in the cold" angle. Lynn's a tough one, and while she may not physically be able to throw down with anyone above 5'6 or so, she's tenacious as hell, and will exploit every advantage she can to win. Lynn's humanity, however, shines through on occasion. She's particularly soft towards young girls, and is generous whenever she can afford to be. Lynn does her best to avoid cursing (which is really, really saying something: she curses like a drunken, Tourettes-ridden sailor) around children and typically covers up her tattoos in their presence as well. Lynn's a firm believer in "eye for an eye" justice and isn't one to compromise easily on moral issues. Similarly, she really, really doesn't like to admit she's wrong. While the pickpocket and drug runner may not be an ideal example of love and kindness, she's altruistic in her own way...sometimes. It's not that she's actively cruel or malicious, it's merely that she's learned opening up and trying to make things better just opens you up to getting burned. Hard. She's paid dearly for mistakes in the past and is determined to avoid repeating them. While bitter and easily irritated, she does have a good sense of professionalism, and for the room and board Academy is giving her (the food, oh Christ the FOOD) she's more than happy to play the schoolgirl for a while, even if it means working with a bunch of jackoff, superhero wannabes. Lynn? Psh. Lynn could get this shit done without superpowers, understand? What, you doubt her? Bitch you best know who you're talking to-etc, etc, etc. The Academy might mean actually getting a job, getting a place to stay for more than a few weeks. Lynn wants that more than she's willing to admit. Lynn's not the most charismatic and will have difficult winning people over or acting diplomatically-she lacks the subtleties of modern society and is a bit of a "fish out of water" at boarding school. Morally, Lynn's a bit grey. Stealing, drug dealing, so on and so forth: these things she doesn't view as inherently evil. Rather, Lynn views the most important virtue as loyalty. One needs to guard one's friends and allies without fail-to the girl orphaned at youth, who watched her surrogate family be either killed or arrested throughout her life, she feels there's no excuse for letting down one's allies. Lynn's also got quite the soft spot for young kids-particularly, little girls, whom she usually tries to deter from following in her footsteps. Lynn sees her pickpocketing and stealing not as evil, but as a means to provide for herself and her friends: she tries typically to steal from the rich, and most of her actions are rationalized by "they had enough to spare, anyways". Lynn's actions do haunt her, however, and she's by no means a cold-blooded killer, despite her backtalk and frequent threats. Bitch. Hobbies/Interests: She's actually a decent singer and a pretty good rapper. She can also drink you under the table, despite her size. Lynn enjoys wandering and occasionally does sketches of the city, but often destroys them shortly thereafter to keep from anyone knowing she's a sissy little artist. She enjoys wandering around, finding high places to survey the world around her, and just relaxing and spending time with friends-of which she has very few. Skills/Talents: Lynn is a wunderkind of the illegal arts. She's good at coming up with schemes for nearly anything. Lynn can handle a knife and has been in several scrapes before, and while she may not be the most physically imposing figure, she can pull off intimidating just fine. Lynn's skilled at several illegal fields: she can pick locks, pick pockets, and pick out who's packing heat out of a crowd of pedestrians. Lynn knows how to hotwire a car and can move around quite stealthily. She's used to growing up rough, and can survive by herself and possesses incredible force of will: Lynn's one of those people who won't admit she's wrong, which can be as much of a fault as it can be an asset. Lynn's skilled at improvising and acting quickly on her feet-when confronted with a challenge, she'll respond by choosing a course of action and sticking to it. This, again, is a double-edged sword, but Lynn's been through enough stressful situations to avoid panicking when shit hits the fan-she keeps her cool and has an excellent poker face. Prized Possession: Her switchblade. Quote(s): Go fuck a landmine. If you were any fucking stupider I'd have to water your ass twice a week. You're the kind of dumbass who would go to a toilet, pull your pants down, and still manage to piss yourself. Go cut open those wrists of yours, maybe it'll lower your blood pressure, fatass. Maybe for Christmas, Santa will bring you a dick big enough for you to see. Now click your prissy ass heels three times and head back to gaping black hole that spat you out into this world. History/Bio: Where to start? Her early years are a blur. Lynn knows that she was born in Alaska, but from there it gets murky. Somehow, she wound up in the lower 48 in an orphanage for girls, unsure of what happened to her parents or how she became separated from them. She's not sure, but she thinks she was kidnapped. Lynn's since lost hope in reconnecting with her parents-and very quickly grew tired of the orphanage. Around the age of twelve, she ran away, packing a small bag and getting out of the shithole that was by no means her home. Lynn quickly found out that the real world is not forgiving on a twelve year old girl, and she was mercifully taken in by a man named Tyrelle. Tyrelle, while having benevolent intentions taking in Leila, was caught up with some rather nasty types. He did his best to keep Lynn in school, give her a place to stay and so forth (her description of the orphanage was so horrible he couldn't bring himself to send her back, and was attempting to go about adopting her), but she gradually became more and more exposed to the criminal lifestyle he had. Eventually, as you may have guessed, this lifestyle came back to bite Tyrelle, fatally so. About two years after finding him, her surrogate father was gunned down in a gang conflict, at which point Lynn...enacted revenge. She's not sure how this happened. She truthfully isn't. She remembers standing at the crime scene, seeing the one decent person in her life in a pool of blood, bloated and stiff, and...and then things get murky. Lynn's pretty sure she killed the men responsible, because looking in to the case years afterwards revealed they were dead, the killer never found. Lynn has flashes of these memories-blood all over her hands, the killers' house...she can't recall anything more. Much like the first few years of her life, it would seem some part of her brain decided that it would do her no psychological good to keep those memories around. This, however, led Lynn down a very, very bad path. Tyrelle's associates were able to take her under their wing out of respect for their friend, but they didn't attempt to shield her as he had. Lynn quickly became a very profitable vassal, being next to invisible to the cops. Her desire to belong and prove herself made her an eager apprentice, and she was running drugs, picking pockets, and playing the lookout within weeks. As the years went on, Lynn's acceptance into the gang became official, her body slowly inked with tattoos, her reputation slowly built up. Lynn, while a nomad, never having a proper home to herself, had a family of sorts, and most nights had food to eat. There were people that paid attention to her, and she was caught up in what her surrogate father had attempted to prevent very quickly. Years passed and Lynn spent time in juvy, but more time out of it. She got damned good at what she did, albeit a bit worried as her years of juvy started running out. She turned eighteen and, surely enough, got picked up for possession of a felony amount of drugs-cocaine she was taking to the other side of town. Gone was the fourteen year old girl who could deter cops with a sweet smile-in her stead was a hard looking, tattooed woman that had run with the roughest types in LA. She was taken in, but (I'm assuming this is okay), she was contacted first-it would seem the 218 noticed some irregularities with the police reports on her-and Lynn figured the Academy would at least have better food than prison.. Family: They're all gone. Relationships Relationships: [Everyone]: Seems like an asshole. [Nightlight Chick][Okay]: Is the lone exception to everyone else being an asshole. Talks a lot and lights up. Enjoyable to be around. [Doctor Scales][Tentative Fear]: Is a doctor and much bigger than me. Wary. Don't plan on pissing him off unless I want to become iguana food. [Morticia][Bitch]: Is a bitch. [Michaela Jackson]: Roomie. Seems like a bitch, but the kind of bitch I can handle. Provided we maintain a mutual policy of not fucking with the other one, think we'll do okay. Abilities Power Class: Super Duper System 1, Elemental 8. Power: Cordelia, if we're going to split hairs, has a mastery over shadow manipulation. This, however, isn't really correct. When Cordelia was very young, a lot of things happened to her that most people would classify as "extremely shitty". As a result, she did what most people do when faced with trauma they can't cope with: she shut down. Compartmentalized it. Tucked the bad memories, the things she couldn't understand away, invented mechanisms to help her understand. But instead of a teddy bear or something similar, Cordelia began to confide in her own shadow. Over time, it wouldn't be inaccurate to say she hadn't poured a good deal of her own soul into the thing. While she doesn't have anything as drastic as dissociative identity disorder, there is a genuine part of Cordelia that lingers within her shadow: all her dark memories, all the things (like her metahuman nature) that she just can't comprehend fully. The shadow is both literal and metaphorical: it's the darkness that follows behind her. With that explanation out of the way, her power should make a lot more sense. Her shadow is sentient: perhaps even more cunning and ruthless than its mistress, by virtue of being exposed to the worst things Cordelia's endured and emerged more hardened and pragmatic from them. The shadow is atavistic, primeval: it has one purpose, and that is to protect Cordelia. It's her id, her subconscious drive and instincts. It's also all of her metahuman ability. Her shadow serves as her bodyguard, constantly vigilant. It absorbs all the information Cordelia does and then some-it has no need for sleep, no need for food or drink. Cordelia's fears do not ever go away, and neither does it. Now, for its capabilities. First and foremost, the shadow is incredibly strong. It's fast as hell, extremely precise, and very versatile. Any character in the RP would be wise to avoid fighting it head-on. In close quarters, her shadow's an extremely difficult opponent to beat, and its reflexes reign supreme. Trying to land a lethal blow on Cordelia is very difficult. The shadow primarily has two forms: a two-dimensional or "ghost" form, where it appears to be just a normal shadow, trailing behind its owner. In this form, it can't cause any physical damage, but it can attack other people's shadows. Striking someone's shadow causes rather severe phantom pain, but no physical harm. It primarily uses this when it wants to send a clear message but avoid any lasting harm (the shadow is conniving, and will not attack unless Cordelia's in true danger). Its secondary form is physical, three-dimensional, and capable of causing real harm. In this form, the shadow takes on a physical form-any form. It's capable of becoming a riot shield to guard Cordelia from bullets, a six-armed man to deliver a hell of a punch, so on and so forth. What's important to remember is that Cordelia's shadow is not only physical, it's spiritual. In the same manner that it guards her from convention harm, it seeks to protect her emotionally and psychically. Anything truly horrible that occurs to her, for example, rape, would be absorbed by the shadow, wiped from Cordelia's memory. It would leave a hazy, fuzzy gap in her memory-there are many, and Cordelia questions what sort of brain damage she's undergone that resulted in this. This shields her from suffering from the PTSD that she should be dealing with, although some remnants still remain (Cordelia has trouble sleeping and often has nightmares where the truth peeks through). The shadow is also a constant guardian-it is not a biological entity, and as such is constantly on watch. Her shadow is also surprisingly gentle with her-it will occasionally comfort her when she is sad, or listen to her when she needs to vent. Her shadow is capable of speaking to her, but it only does so very rarely. Her power also manifests in some minor ways. In shadows or darkness, Cordelia receives a slight physical buff. This mostly amounts to her being far quieter and a little more dexterous-she doesn't become Manny Pacquaio when the lights go out or anything. It does, however, make her harder to catch at night. Additionally, her power gives her a boost to strength and stamina, by passively drawing on the darkness around her. This mostly works to counteract her malnutrition: she's stronger than she should be, but by no means a physical powerhouse. In terms of raw physical strength, Lynn's still bottom-tier. Her vision's not as impeded in the dark, and her senses are a bit honed. Weaknesses/Limitations/Drawbacks: First and foremost, range. Her shadow is only capable of affecting the area immediately around her: if it's further than what her shadow could stretch to naturally, then it's in the clear. Outside of six or so feet (depending on the lighting), the shadow can't touch you. As a result, ranged attacks are very much preferable when dealing with Lynn. Her shadow also is sentient-she cannot control it. If Lynn is getting her ass beat but not dying, or in danger of dying, then the shadow will probably refuse to do anything. It's dire circumstances that cause it to flare up-all those other circumstances? She's on her own. Unless someone's got an intent to kill Lynn (or she manages to sweet-talk the shadow into helping her, which is rare), it will likely avoid getting involved. Additionally, her shadow's capabilities are not finite, and it's unable to multitask efficiently. If it focuses on guarding her spiritually, as it does whenever she's not fighting for her life, Cordelia's past stays nice and repressed. Once it starts throwing punches, it has to divert more focus onto the physical aspect of things. The result being that Cordelia's psyche becomes increasingly shattered as the shadow has to fight harder to defend her. At times, adrenaline can repel this until after the fight. At other times, she'll be unable to function at all, crippled by the cognitive dissonance of suddenly [i]knowing[/i] everything, several years' worth of memories flooding her mind like water gushing through a broken dam. If she can get to safety, the shadow can resume its psychiatrist duties and keep her functioning normally. If she's in a prolonged fight, however... The final weakness is another psychological flaw-her dependency on the shadow. A few times, she has been exposed to herself (for lack of a better term), and while she doesn't remember what she saw, she remembers it was horrible. If Cordelia were able to undergo therapy, open up and resolve her issues, she'd be able to fine-tune her power and use it consciously. She is, however, driven primarily by her fear, both of death (she doesn't expect to live past twenty) and of whatever it is the shadow guards her from. The shadow is her psychological crutch, the equivalent of turning to alcohol or drugs in order to cope. Removing it quickly would render Cordelia catatonic, and as such any power nullifying abilities will make her dead weight. Additionally, this means the process of her learning more about her powers and what she's capable of will be painstakingly slow, as she'll have to resolve quite a bit of baggage before she can function without the shadow. Other: She eats a lot to make up for lost meals. Very street smart. Doesn't play with others, but will display sympathy if given the opportunity to do so without losing face.