[hider=Clara Kane] [center][h1][b]Clara Kane[/b][/h1] [img][/img] [h1]╚══════════════╝[/h1] [i]"People say Religion makes no sense, which is probably why every culture ever discovered has one."[/i] [h3][ [b]Age[/b] 34 | [b]Height (in feet)[/b] 5’4 | [b]Ethnicity[/b] | [b]Pronouns She/Her[/b] | [b]Weight (in pounds)[/b] 150 ][/h3] [h1][i][Yearning.][/i][/h1][/center] [h3][u][b] APPEARANCE [/b][/u][/h3] [i]"She looks like she wishes she were wearing a tweed jacket with patched elbows,” ~ Anonymous (failing) Student. [/i] [indent][indent]A short trim woman with chocolate brown hair. Her brown eyes are spaced slightly too far apart giving her a perpetually curious look. A little to gawky and awkward to be conventionally attractive her cheerful face and absolute enthusiasm for whatever she is currently working on combine to give her a certain wholesome appeal. Her skin is pale with a dusting of freckles and frequently peeling due to sunburn incurred during field work. She dresses conservatively for the most part striving to project a professional and knowledgeable demeanor. As a result of a drunken mistake during her early twenties, Clara has a tramp stamp in a celtic trefoil design. [/indent][/indent] [h3][u][b] PSYCHOLOGY [/b][/u][/h3] [i]"I just want someone to look at me the way that woman looks at 16th century alchemical texts." ~ Professor Jacob Strout[/i] [indent][indent][indent] [b]MAIN GOAL ⫻[/b] Experience something truly supernatural. [b]PHILOSOPHY ⫻[/b] The more I wan’t something to be true, the less likely it is to be so. Unfortunately. [b]SECRETS ⫻[/b] Clara is a member of a group that traffics in stolen or questionabley obtained artefacts. She was introduced to this by her professors at Columbia. [b]SEXUALITY ⫻[/b] Bi-sexual (closeted) [b]FEARS ⫻[/b] Cold water, spiders, the slow entropic death of an utterly quotidian universe. [b]REPUTATION ⫻[/b] As she is not a member of any local church Clara is seen as a little suspect. This is exacerbated by all her fancy book learnin’. Still she pays her bills and tips well. [b]QUIRKS ⫻[/b] Clara is a gifted artist and she dabbles in painting, charcoal sketches and various other mediums. [b]FLAWS ⫻[/b] Clara struggles to believe in things including herself. Her troubled childhood has left her with a deep sense of unworthiness and imposter syndrome. Clara is also prone to being dismissive of others in an attempt to validate her own self worth. [/indent][/indent][/indent] [h3][u][b] BACKSTORY [/b][/u][/h3] [i]"History is a gossip that never shuts up."[/i] [indent][indent]Clara is the daughter of a Baptist Minister, she grew up in Missouri but has worked hard to eliminate any trace of a southern accent. She grew up in difficult circumstances with a controlling and abusive father surrounded by those who felt their pastor could do no wrong. She sought refuge in books and managed to find some measure of peace in burying herself in the pages of her father’s extensive library as well as the local public library which became a sort of sanctuary for her. As Clara matured ... well lets just say that it was one of those situations on the news where where a pious man might be charitably described as 'not living up to his ideals'. The situation put so much stress on Clara's mother that she eventually snapped and shot her husband and then herself. The situation and the communities reaction to it poisoned Clara against the faith of her childhood forever. After this tragedy Clara was sent to live with her Aunt in Araminta. Aunt Eveylyn was everything her father hated, a former hippie and member of the communist party, atheist, lesbian, flag burning, Obama voting, abortion having liberal. Clara loved her immediately. Everylyn also recognized and fostered the girls scholastic abilities, providing her with tutors and access to the best schools and programs. Clara graduated second in her class and studied History at Columbia, eventually earning a Phd in History with a focus on Alchemy and its role in the Christian Occult traditions. She has returned to Araminta to care for her aging Aunt and is currently working as an adjunct professor at the local university teaching history and comparative religion. Though she is in outlook entirely secular Clara’s long association with the history of the occult has left her longing for something in it to actually be true. The strange occurrences in Araminta have fired her imagination. Although terrified by the apparent serial killings she has been conducting interviews with witnesses and individuals that have seen the Black Shuck using her skills to conduct an amateur paranormal investigation. She saw the swarm of moths first hand when her prius was involved in the pile up, though at some distance from the epicenter. Though she is afraid, she finds something exhilarating in this proximity to the bizarre. [/indent][/indent] [h3][u][b] SKILLS & TALENTS [/b][/u][/h3] [i]"You’ve got to give it to her, when it comes to books and batshit, she knows her stuff."[/i] [indent][indent][indent] [b][Bookworm] ⫻[/b] If it is in a library or on JSTOR she can find it and give you an opinion. [b][Expert] ⫻[/b] She has a Phd in the History of the Occult and a theory about the Voynich Manuscript she can't wait to share. [b][Antiquarian] ⫻[/b] A familiarity with the old and the strange. A black phone book with the numbers of other such enthusiasts. [b][Well to Do] ⫻[/b] Is having money a superpower? Objectively yes. [b][Lying] ⫻[/b] She is not exactly lying she is careless with the… you know what she is lying but she is very convincing! [/indent][/indent][/indent] [h3][u][b] EXTRA-NORMAL ABILITIES [/b][/u][/h3] [i]"To paraphrase the Poet, shit is weirder than we can even imagine."[/i] [indent][indent] For now, leave this part blank. [/indent][/indent] [h3][u][b] OTHER [/b][/u][/h3] [i]"I paid nearly a hundred thousand dollars in student loans to be able to tell you what a palamcist is so sit down, shut up, and look interested."[/i] [indent][indent]Author of Rosicrucianism in America. Author of Paracelsus from Alchemist to Chemist. Author of Folk Belief and Alchemy in the Ozarks. Author of Transmutation - Folk Magic in the Catholic Tradition Briefly a member of a Wiccan Coven, unfortunately, there was more sex in the sex magic than there was magic.[/indent][/indent] [/hider]