Here's my character pitch:


[hider=Character Pitch: Leah]
Name: Leah Carr

Age: 21

Gender: female

Appearance: Leah is willowy and tall, 5’9”. She doesn’t have much womanly curve to her and is quite flat-chested as well, but she makes up for this seeming lack of femininity with her wardrobe--she often wears light, colorful dresses and skirts. She keeps her hair down most of the time, usually draping it over one shoulder.

[img]https://authoritynutrition.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/young-brunette-enjoying-cup-of-coffee.jpg[/img]

Personality: Leah is shy and seems cold at first, but warms up to those she trusts. She keeps to herself in unfamiliar situations, preferring to observe rather than participate. She is suspicious of anyone who openly and deliberately seeks her friendship. Her trust is hard-won and easily lost. Once lost, it is nearly impossible to get back. However, outwardly she is friendly and even bubbly--to her, it costs nothing to be nice. She believes telling someone what you really think is the sign of true friendship and trust, so to those Leah considers friends, she holds nothing back. Tact is reserved for strangers. Brutal honesty is for those you care about, because anyone who knows the real you and keeps coming back for more is someone you can trust.

Strengths: diplomatic, witty, moves gracefully, is a fair artist, observant

Flaws: paranoid, emotionally closed off, distrustful, has more “flight” than “fight” responses in tense situations

History: Leah grew up as the only child of two career-driven, inattentive parents in an upper class home in New Mexico. She was very popular at her elite private school for her friendly demeanor and natural beauty. But she found that sometimes being popular only won you the appearance of friendship--not true friendship. In her senior year of high school, her parents were out of town, so she attended a classmate’s Sunday night party, complete with underage drinking and a distinct lack of adult supervision. Her boyfriend of three weeks, Jared, had been a bit rough with her lately in their frequent make-out sessions, but Leah was naive and thought nothing of it beyond lightly smacking his shoulder when he went too far. A few hours into the party, Jared suggested they find a quiet room to hang out in, and she agreed. Both teens had been drinking, but Jared, a 6’4” quarterback, held his alcohol much better than Leah did. 

Once alone in the locked room, the two inevitably starting making out--but this time, Jared took advantage of their isolation and the extremely loud music. He beat and raped Leah. Jared left the party shortly after telling people he’d just broken up with her and that they should leave her alone for a while, because she was “being bitchy about it”. Bruised and bleeding, she stumbled out of the room when she felt she could stand again and asked her best friends for a ride home. They obliged, and on the way, Leah told them what Jared had done. But her friends didn’t believe her. They thought she was lying to get back at Jared for breaking up with her. However, the girls didn’t accuse her of lying outright. Instead, they comforted her, telling her everything would be okay and that they would confront Jared with her at school the next day. Slightly consoled, when Leah arrived at home, she took a long shower in her en-suite bathroom and went to sleep under her lace canopy. 

The last few months of high school were torture. Her former friends told the whole school about Leah’s “lie”, and in one night everyone had turned against her. She suffered her peers limitless, sneaky cruelty until she graduated, at which point she enrolled in an art college several states away. Painting, drawing, sketching, sculpting--every form of art she could get her hands on gave her refuge from her trauma. She hid herself from the world and retreated into paper, paint, pencils, and clay. She is currently in her junior year, pursuing an art degree.
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