[hider=Malena Tessaro] [hr][hr][center][IMG]http://i68.tinypic.com/3502qm8.png[/IMG] [img]https://i.imgur.com/gBi2IkX.gif[/img] [color=indianred][i]"Your heart is the softest place on earth. Take care of it."[/i][/color] [/center] [hr][hr] [IMG]http://i67.tinypic.com/2lnd4wz.png[/IMG] [color=indianred][b]NAME[/b][/color] [color=rosybrown][indent] Malena Tessaro[/indent][/color] [color=indianred][b]OTHER NAMES[/b][/color] [color=rosybrown][indent]Her friends call her either [b]Mal[/b] or [b]Lena[/b], her brothers usually use the latter, most guys do for some reason. Her grandmother refers to her as [b]Magdalena[/b], of which the name Malena originated.[/indent][/color] [color=indianred][b]AGE[/b][/color] [color=rosybrown][indent]20[/indent][/color] [color=indianred][b]GENDER[/b][/color] [color=rosybrown][indent]Female[/indent][/color] [color=indianred][b]SEXUALITY[/b][/color] [color=rosybrown][indent]Heterosexual[/indent][/color] [IMG]http://i65.tinypic.com/2lctc93.png[/IMG] [color=indianred][b]PERSONALITY[/b][/color] [color=rosybrown][indent]Malena is kind with a good heart. She has a warmth to her that puts others at ease and which makes it easy for them to confide in her. It is a task she takes on willingly as she needs to be needed. She thrives on taking care of others, to see them happy makes her happy. As perhaps a contradiction to her caring nature Malena is very introverted. She often disappears for a while, to someplace where she can be alone, to sort out her thoughts and feelings. Even when around others she keeps up a well practiced facade. It's tough to know what she's thinking as her expression remains largely the same, like a beautiful statue. Rarely seen sad or angry, she is a serene and steady presence to be around. Only a handful of people who are close to her can see through the cracks and figure out what she's really thinking. She can come across as secretive, while that may not her intention. She has a hard time letting people in and she is very particular on who she decides to share her life with. She is plagued by crippling self esteem issues. Growing up people always said she was too kind, too pretty, not cut out for the job she wanted, decisions were taken out of her hands before she could even entertain a thought. She doesn't believe in herself or her ability to achieve the things she wants. Complimenting her is like throwing a paper ball through fire, it will have gone up in flames before it reaches her. It's not a feigned modesty, nine out of ten she really doesn't believe you. You wouldn't be able to tell though, she is great in faking a smile and saying thank you. She is what people would call an old soul. Often feeling misunderstood on multiple levels. Malena is deeply spiritual and takes comfort in her beliefs. In many ways she's lost, lost on who she is outside of her family and lost on what she wants in life. She takes a back seat, waiting for others to take the initiative. Malena is an enigma, with multiple incomprehensible contradictions. Her friends often joke her personality doesn't match the way she looks, but looks aren´t everything, Malena knows that. While it has helped her or rather forced her to deal with her shyness, it was also cause for unwanted attention. If you didn´t know her you would think she´s constantly playing hard to get. She´s gotten better at it though. If her own discomfort wasn´t enough encouragement to deal with guys hitting on her, her inability to make physical contact will do the trick just fine. [/indent][/color] [color=indianred][b]APPEARANCE[/b][/color] [color=rosybrown][indent] Malena is a petite young woman with a pear shaped figure, narrow shoulders and a wider hip. She's 5'4'' and weighs around 120 pounds. She has a classic face with a fine nose, full lips, well groomed slightly arched brows and warm brown eyes. Her hair is thick, dark and reaches down to her mid back. She usually wears it down and wavy. Malena is into clothes, make-up and fashion but doesn't follow any trends. To her dressing up is more a medium to express her personality, a way to make her feel good about herself. Her style is very feminine and elegant, soft muted colors, floral patterns, off the shoulder tops, wavy cardigans, flowing dresses. She wears minimal make up, jewelry and sticks to what she knows looks good on her. Less is more. She is never seen without a pair of thin cotton gloves, in an effort to contain her ability. She passes of her wearing them to having chronic dermatitis.[/indent][/color] [IMG]http://i67.tinypic.com/bhh8co.png[/IMG] [color=indianred][b]ABILITIES[/b][/color] [color=rosybrown][indent][u][b]Life-Force Absorption[/b][/u]: The power to absorb [i]life-force/energy[/i] and utilize it in some way. Malena's ability is tactile requiring skin contact. She absorbs health and vitality removing it from the source and into her body. The source does not need to be (super)human, it would also work with plants and/or animals. Using the absorbed energy she is able to gain various advantages, ranging from healing herself to temporarily using powers absorbed from other superhumans. She can also transfer energy from one source to another, healing her target, or giving them an energy boost. The strength and effectiveness depends on the duration of physical contact. If the target submits to the absorption it is relatively painless and you´ll be left feeling slight dizzy. If they resist it will be painful and very draining, possibly deadly for both parties. While her target my be completely drained Malena can´t contain that large an amount of energy without redirecting it somewhere else immediately. If she doesn´t, well who knows what will happen.... [b]Current level:[/b] Malena doesn't know most of these things. She's used her ability rarely, usually on accident. She knows she can heal herself and other people from minor injuries, scrapes, cuts etc. She's afraid what will happen if she holds on for too long and isn't very keen to try. [b]Limitations:[/b] Her ability is constantly active, rendering her incapable of touching others without the absorption process taking place. Her inability to control her ability is psychological, a result of the combination between her introvert personality and low self esteem. It´s like her ability is a manifestation of her returning need for exclusion, as it limits her physical closeness to people around her. At the same time it forces her to deal with her issues, if she ever wants to learn how to control it. As for her absorbing other abilities and using them, it´s not as easy as it sounds. First of all she doesn´t know she can do this, and second absorbing an ability doesn´t mean she knows how to use it, or worse be able to control it.[/indent][/color] [color=indianred][b]SKILLS & WEAKNESSES[/b][/color] [color=rosybrown][indent][list] + [b]Basic nursing skills.[/b] Malena is a freshman nursing student. She knows how to apply bandages, basic wound care and first aid. + [b]Alternative medicine.[/b] As a hobby Malena has studied alternative medicine, including herbal medicine. She can recognize most commonly used plants and can tell the difference between poisonous plants and ones that are safe to use. + [b]Calm composure.[/b] Malena is generally a calm and serene young woman, and she remains that way in stressful situations, keeping a level head. - [b]Self esteem issues.[/b] She as mentioned before suffers from extremely low self esteem. Doing something she hasn't done before will trigger such strong feelings of fear and anxiety she'll often refuse to do it. It will take a lot of patience and numerous reassurances to convince her she isn't as useless as she thinks she is. - [b]Physical prowess (or rather lack thereof).[/b] At 5'4'' she isn't very strong or intimidating. She has the average strength of a young woman her size. [/list] [/indent][/color] [color=indianred][b]BACKGROUND[/b][/color] [color=rosybrown][indent]Malena grew up in a close knit Italian immigrant family, living in a quiet suburban neighborhood. It was a very mundane town for a child to grow up in. The community was strongly religious, many people having lived in the sleepy town for most of their life. Her immediate family was made up out of her father, mother and two older brothers. Malena's father was a buyer for a large firm dealing in chemical storage. Her mother worked in a health care centre as a receptionist. Both jobs were located out of town and both of her parents worked full time, to ensure she and her brothers had a good education. Most of her extended family still lived in Italy, save for her maternal grandmother and her children (Malena's aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews).The Tessaro family was known around town as a hard working family, a loving couple with well behaved children. Her childhood was fairly uneventful. She had a sheltered upbringing, her parents making many of her decisions for her, her brothers protecting her as if she was made of glass. As she got older Malena started to see her family wasn't all that perfect, her aunt was in deep financial trouble, one of her brothers dropped out of school and her parents were arguing more and more each day. At 17 her mother was diagnosed with lung cancer. A terrible blow which brought the family even closer together. She delayed going to college to take care of her mother, alongside her family. As her mother's illness got worse Malena slowly but surely took over her mother's role in the household. It was during this difficult period that her ability manifested. She kept it a secret, faking a skin disorder. Malena didn't want to add on to their problems with some freak medical affliction, at least that's what she thought it was. After two long years of fighting against cancer her mother passed away. Struck with grief the family lived on auto pilot for many months. For the next half year Malena started to work from home, selling baked goods for parties and birthdays, while figuring out her next move. She decided to confide in her grandmother, a wise and experienced woman. While her grandmother showed her understanding, her brothers and father did not. They didn't understand why she hadn't used her ability to save their mother. After the initial anger her brothers came around, but her father held onto his resentment. His grief also drove him to date multiple women, creating an even larger distance between him and his children. Despite all this Malena enrolled in nursing school at 19. Her life exists mainly of school and taking care of the household with an absent father and two older brothers who are in between jobs. She struggles with her newfound reality, way more than she lets on. [/indent][/color][/hider]