I hope I'm not too late in joining in. It's a great story and would love to be involved. [hider=Swan] [center][img]http://i.imgur.com/7ReEate.jpg[/img][/center] [b]Name:[/b] Swan [b]Alias/Nickname:[/b] The Ugly Duckling, Queen Odette, Gingerbread’s Ice Queen [b]Tale:[/b] The Ugly Duckling / Swan Lake [b]Physical Age:[/b] Late 20’s [b]Actual Age:[/b] 212 [b]Height/Weight:[/b] 5’6” / 125 lbs [b]Gender:[/b] Female [b]Physical Appearance and Attire:[/b] Swan is a tall, thin woman with pale blonde (almost white) hair and a pale complexion. She has an ethereal beauty due to her delicate appearance, which would lead many to (falsely) believe the woman to be physically weak. As befitting her rank as the lieutenant of the Tales’ Underworld’s most vicious crime bosses, Swan dresses in a crisp black pantsuit with white shirt and tie. She also never goes anywhere without wearing her long white trench coat, one that is belted snugly around her slim waist. [b]Personality:[/b] Swan has a quiet, cold persona. She takes her job as The Gingerbread Man’s lieutenant very seriously and treats everyone except her employer with polite disdain. She never seems to lose her temper or cool, and is capable of ignoring even the most vicious of insults. Her aloofness and seeming inability to be affected by emotions has earned her the nickname “Gingerbread’s Ice Queen,” even though she isn’t related to the Snow Queen at all. [b]Background:[/b] Swan started her early life as the Ugly Duckling. Everyone at the pond treated her badly, even her family, due to her appearance. Much of her childhood was spent being beaten and insulted by the other animals of the pond, and she was always cold and lonely. Eventually, after one long winter, she emerged from the snow reborn. Gone was the ugly duckling, and in her place was a beautiful swan. All the animals at the pond were so in awe of her beauty that they made her into their queen. Although throughout the years the former ugly duckling reigned over the pond justly, she secretly hated all of the animals around her, remembering all their past hurtful words and abuses. Then one day, a human prince named Siegfreid arrived. Although many of the animals fled from him afraid, the Swan Queen did not. She had instantly fallen in love with the handsome young man, and quietly lamented that she and he could never be together due to her being only a swan. To her surprise, the Prince approaches her and places a kiss upon her head. She is suddenly engulfed in a bright, golden light, and upon the light’s vanishing she finds herself transformed into a human woman. Prince Siegfreid explains that she is actually Princess Odette, the daughter of the king and queen of a nearby kingdom. Odette’s parents had an agreement with Siegfreid’s, that their children would be wed in order to unify the two kingdoms into one. Unfortunately, such a union was to the detriment of the evil sorcerer Rothbart. Upon Odette’s birth, Rothbart’s foul magic transformed the infant princess into a swan egg. The wizard then stole the egg and placed it upon a duck’s nest, where Odette would hatch and be none the wiser to her royal (and human) heritage. The prince goes on to tell her that her parents as well as his family never gave up on her, and continued searching for her for years until a few days ago when he was passing by a nearby village whereupon he heard the local hunters speak of a beautiful swan who lived at this pond. And with his bride found, Siegfreid put all his love into a kiss, a love so pure and genuine that it shattered the evil curse Rothbart had put upon her, transforming Odette into her true self. The prince and princess embrace and kiss each other in joy, and both looked forwards to the long, happy life they were to have together. But alas it was not to be. As soon as the curse broke, Rothbart knew. He could not allow the two kingdoms to unite, so he transformed himself into a great gale so that he may travel the long distance from his dark tower towards the pond. He fell upon the prince and princess, showering them in snow and hail, freezing them with arctic winds, and blinding their eyes and ears with thunder and lightning. The brave Siegfreid tried vainly to fight off the vile sorcerer, but his sword could do no damage to the storm that Rothbart had become. With all hope lost, both Odette and Siegfreid decided to take their fates into their own hands and take their own lives by diving into the dark depths of the pond; although they would die, they would be together forever and away from the cold grip of the evil wizard. And so, both of the young royals tossed themselves into the cold, chilling water of the almost frozen pond, grasping each other and awaiting the reaper to take them. Unfortunately, Odette felt panic at the last moment. Although her love for the prince was great, her desire to live was greater. And thus she broke away from Siegfreid’s arms and swam to the surface, leaving the prince behind in the cold dark depths. Her last memory of him were his dark blue eyes, the orbs shining with hurt and grief at her betrayal. Rothbart’s laughter was the last thing Odette remembered as she ran away from the pond that was her home. The evil wizard found delight at the events that transpired and let her go; after all with the prince dead then the two kingdoms would never unite. Within a few years, both Odette and Siegfreid’s parents would die of grief, leaving no heirs to take their place. Both kingdoms were torn apart by the greedy nobles who sought to take the crown as their own. Odette ran, and has been running ever since. Over the years she has grown more bitter and resentful, both at herself for her cowardice and at the world for its unfairness. In order to survive she worked various jobs for various employers, most of said work being less than legal. She has served as bodyguard, smuggler, thief, mercenary, and killer. Now calling herself Swan, she built up quite the reputation as being a cold, ruthless and, most importantly, effective problem solver. Eventually her path led her to joining the exodus to the mortal plane where she came under the employ of The Gingerbread Man. She proved herself an impressive minion, and thus rose to become the crime boss’s right hand. [b]Skills and Abilities:[/b] -Cold Heart: After a long childhood of bullying and abuse at the hands of the animals of the pond, Swan has grown a thick emotional shell. She is extremely slow to anger and is not easily riled. She can maintain a calm demeanor even when physically attacked, allowing her to coldly calculate the best way to survive an engagement. -Underworld Savvy: Over a century’s experience dealing with criminals and their ilk, Swan is well versed in the ways of thieves, rogues, and murderers. She has many contacts in the criminal underground as well as in both the Tales government and the local mortal Police department. -Twice Cursed: Swan is no stranger to magic. Not only had she been cursed by the powerful sorcerer Rothbart, but she has a current curse active that was put upon her by the Devil himself. Such powerful magics have had an effect on her physiology, such that now her body has become very resistant to curses. Any attempt by hedge wizards or witches jinx her has been met with failure; even simple glamours can’t be cast on her. [b]Starting Items/Trinkets:[/b] -White coat: Swan never travels anywhere without her signature trench coat. The garment is a brilliant white, the same color as swan feathers. It has been enchanted to both repel dirt as well as mend itself if damaged. -LeMat Revolver: Swan’s main weapon is a customized LeMat revolver. Its barrel and cylinder have been converted to fire seven cartridged .44 rounds. The lower barrel remains unchanged and can be loaded to fire a single 20 gauge shotgun shell. -20 gauge rounds: Swan carries several spare shotgun shells in her belt. Most contain regular lead balls, but she keeps a couple loaded with silver on her person just in case she runs into more “esoteric” enemies. -Seven .44 Zamiels: Seven magical bullets that Swan came into possession of after meeting the Devil in a dark forest. These legendary bullets are said to always hit their mark. Sadly, all this power comes with a price. Though six of the bullets move at the shooter’s will, it is said that the seventh moves at the Devil’s. Thus every seventh shot is guaranteed to cause misery. After the seventh bullet is expended, the gun is magically reloaded with the bullets once more. Anyone other than Swan shooting these cursed rounds causes all the bullets to fire with the Devil’s will. [b]Weaknesses and Flaws:[/b] -Physically Weak: Although skilled in combat due to her centuries of experience, Swan is not that impressive physically. In fact, she is somewhat weaker than most Tales. She can easily be overpowered by stronger Tales, as well as overwhelmed by superior numbers. - Alcoholic: Despite her dour nature (or perhaps because of it) Swan spends her off-hours in her room drinking herself into a stupor. Although she never lets her bad habit get in the way of her work, her addiction to alcohol is great. She often drowns herself in whiskey in order to fall asleep, though thanks to her nature as a Tale she never has to worry about debilitating hangovers. -Zamiel’s Curse: Swan suffers the Devil’s curse with every seventh bullet she fires. Every seventh shot hits a target she was not aiming for, and often hits something or someone to do the maximum amount of misery to her. The cursed bullet has hit allies, innocent bystanders, her employers, and even Swan herself. What’s worse is that Swan can not prepare for it, as she is cursed to lose count of how many bullets she has fired. Even counting the rounds in the cylinder or having someone tell her the number of her shots will not allow Swan to know when the seventh bullet will be fired. [/hider] Also, I hope I'm not overstepping bounds by writing in some gang bosses. The Gingerbread Man is going to be somewhat vital in Swan's story but I can change it if I need to. EDIT: Added pic.