[hider=Carmen Hernandez][center] [img]https://i.pinimg.com/564x/6d/28/0e/6d280e1290f5e6b3992054369caacd8d.jpg[/img] [img]https://txt-dynamic.static.1001fonts.net/txt/b3RmLjcyLmI2MmI0MS5RMkZ5YldWdUlDSkNZV0psYkNJZ1NHVnlibUZ1WkdWNi4wAAA,/stringlabs.regular.png[/img] [u][h2][color=b62b41]B A S I C S[/color][/h2] [/u] [/center] [u][b][color=b62b41]N A M E [/color][/b][/u] Carmen María Hernandez [u][b][color=b62b41]N I C K N A M E / A L I A S [/color][/b][/u] Carm (preferred nickname), C, Car [u][b][color=b62b41]C O D E N A M E [/color][/b][/u] Babel [u][b][color=b62b41]A G E (G R A D E) [/color][/b][/u] 15 (Sophomore) [u][b][color=b62b41]P L A C E O F B I R T H [/color][/b][/u] Miami, Florida [u][b][color=b62b41]G E N D E R [/color][/b][/u] Female (she/her) [center][u][h2][color=b62b41]A P P E A R A N C E[/color][/h2][/u][/center] [u][b][color=b62b41]P H Y S I C A L D E S C R I P T I O N [/color][/b][/u] Carmen could perhaps best be described as petite. She's smaller than the average girl her age, and is more often than not the smallest person in the room. However, just because she's small doesn't mean she doesn't have any muscle or any curves on her. In fact, Carmen is slightly curvy, although she's still filling out. She's not particularly buff, but she's certainly more lean and toned than the average teenage girl her age. Carmen's skin is a light, tawny brown. She has a few scattered pimples on her face, but it's far from acne. Her hair is a deep brown, almost black color. It has thick, bouncy curls. Even though her hair would be long if straightened, Carmen's hair goes just a bit past her shoulders. She could put it into a ponytail if she wanted, but if she's not exercising she prefers to have it down. Her doe-like eyes are a deep, ochre brown, and are framed by long eyelashes. [u][b][color=b62b41]H E I G H T [/color][/b][/u] 5'0" [u][b][color=b62b41]W E I G H T [/color][/b][/u] 123 lbs [u][b][color=b62b41]E T H N I C I T Y [/color][/b][/u] Colombian-American [center][u][h2][color=b62b41]P E R S O N A L I T Y[/color][/h2][/u][/center] [u][b][color=b62b41]P E R S O N A L D E S C R I P T I O N [/color][/b][/u] Most people, immediately upon meeting her, would describe Carmen Hernandez as [i]smart[/i]. It's certainly an apt evaluation. She is a bright young lady, able to memorize facts and vocabulary and tiny idiosyncrasies with lightning speed and accuracy. She spouts off information like an encyclopedia, and she's quick to complete puzzles. When she tells other people about her subjects of interest, her words are big and her tone confident. She is sure she knows this. She [i]knows[/i] she knows this. And, through that, people become confident in her knowledge, too. Carmen prides herself on her intelligence more than anything else. If you asked her and she answered honestly, she'd probably say it was her best trait. But what underlies this intelligence is a lot of insecurity. Carmen's deepest fear is that she is not good enough. Smart enough, pretty enough, social enough, athletic enough, whatever- that base instinct of hers simply tells her that she whatever she does is not enough. Which is a maddening feeling for a girl who is labelled a genius. So she studies and works at her passions to the point of obsession. She can spend hours upon hours working at something, refusing to stop for rest or even to eat. It's been described as scary by those who have witnessed it, but to Carmen it's just another facet of her personality. It's not necessarily tied to her insecurity- it's just something that she's always done. She slips into a task or a project and loses herself in it, forgets to come up for air. It's one of the reasons she's such an unstoppable force of learning. All this comes with a cost, however. Carmen cannot work forever. She always crashes at some point or another. And her crashes are [i]ugly[/i]. She's not a party animal, but she has been known to get horribly depressed and anxious. She manages to conceal them well enough, but her crashes are one of her greatest shames. It's almost as if she can't set sustainable expectations and goals for herself! She also has a tendency to put all her self-worth into one entire thing. Carmen could also be described as a giant nerd. She loves to read, and watch cartoons, and study her favorite subjects [i]Especially[/i] linguistics. She has spent years of her short life learning languages. Although, oddly enough, this hasn't made her any better at actually talking to people. In what is possibly the worst trait ever for a spy, Carmen is socially awkward as hell. She and the instructors have worked hard to train herself out of it, but it still peeks through occasionally. It comes out more as being adorable than anything, but Carmen often makes embarrassing social missteps. She compensates for this by being nice as hell. She's a giant sweetheart, and unabashedly expresses love for her friends. She's a bit too honest, however, and often says things that probably shouldn't've been said. Due to all this and frequent rejection, she's actually quite shy and bashful, and prefers her books and her studying and her turtles to actual people. She doesn't make for the most exciting friend, either. She prefers her books and her studying to doing stuff, and she's probably the last person to suggest anything fun. [u][b][color=b62b41]L I K E S [/color][/b][/u][list] [*][color=b62b41][b]Languages[/b][/color] Languages are Carmen's fucking [i]jam[/i]. Her two native languages are English and Spanish, but she's fluent in 3 more, conversational in 3, and a novice at 3. She's been obsessed with linguistics since she was a kid, and her obsession shows no sign of stopping. Which is good, because it's what got her into Prom in the first place. She often spends hours reviewing flashcards and talking to herself and trying to find conversation partners. [*][color=b62b41][b]Turtles:[/b][/color] Carmen has two red-eared slider turtles, who she loves. They're named Shelley and Pakha. Did you know that there are 356 species of turtle? She sure did. [*][color=b62b41][b]Coffee:[/b][/color] For a 15-year-old, Carmen has a raging coffee addiction. She can be found with a cup of joe in her hand at nearly every hour of the day. ... And sometimes night. [*][color=b62b41][b]Grades:[/b][/color] The validation that a good grade gives makes Carmen extremely happy. There's nothing more reassuring than an A+ on that report card. [*][color=b62b41][b]Learning New Things:[/b][/color] Whether it's about cultures, languages, wildlife, or even something completely unimportant, Carmen loves to learn. She seeks out information like a cat seeks out treats- unrelentingly and like she'd die without it. [*][color=b62b41][b]Organization:[/b][/color] Whether it's color-coding, organizing by theme, or just a lot of neat little boxes, Carmen enjoys a good, organized space. Plus, some really cool colored pens and flashcards. [/list] [u][b][color=b62b41]D I S L I K E S [/color][/b][/u][list] [*][color=b62b41][b]The Cold:[/b][/color] A Florida girl at heart, Carmen cannot stand any weather below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. She's never even seen snow, for God's sake! This might become a problem. [*][color=b62b41][b]Interruptions:[/b][/color] When Carmen is in the zone, interrupting her is basically a death wish. This goes double for missions, too- she hates when they're dragged off track. [*][color=b62b41][b]Barbecue:[/b][/color] How could anyone like tangy, messy, over-flavored, over-cooked meat? Texan food sucks. [/list] [u][b][color=b62b41]G O A L S [/color][/b][/u][list] [*][color=b62b41][b]Languages:[/b][/color] Carmen wants to be fluent in at least 3 more languages by the time she ends high school. Even with the Neural Sync it's a difficult task, but one she's totally committed to! Thousands of flashcards will probably be sacrificed to this pursuit. [*][color=b62b41][b]Study Abroad:[/b][/color] Carmen would really like to go to a top-rated university anywhere except the United States- preferably in a place where they don't speak English! And then she'd like to... well, whatever. Work for the CIA? Get a PhD? She's not entirely sure. [/list] [u][b][color=b62b41]F E A R S [/color][/b][/u][list] [*][color=b62b41][b]Failure:[/b][/color] Carmen's greatest fear is that she'll fail. Fail at learning languages, fail a class, fail a mission, lose a match, whatever. There has always been a niggling belief at the back of her mind that she is simply not good enough. Everyone believes she is a genius, so if she fails it's the end of the world. [*][color=b62b41][b]Needles:[/b][/color] It's weird and dumb, but Carmen is deathly scared of needles. Every time she has to get a shot she either has to be held down screaming or she passes out. [/list] [u][b][color=b62b41]S E X U A L P R E F E R E N C E [/color][/b][/u] Carmen's never really been interested in dating, but she thinks she's bi? Maybe? She tries not to think about it- her parents would kill her if they found out she was dating. Especially a girl. [center][u][h2][color=b62b41]H I S T O R Y[/color][/h2][/u][/center] [u][b][color=b62b41]B R I E F B I O [/color][/b][/u] Carmen María Hernandez was born in the city of Miami, Florida. Her mother and father were both fairly recent Colombian immigrants at the time, having came to Miami just a few years before she was born. Her father, a civil litigation attorney, was named Juan José Hernandez, and her mother was a preschool teacher named Claudia Hernandez. The couple married in their early 20s and, shortly after having their first child, Andrés, left their home of Bogóta, Colombia because of civil unrest in their home country. The young couple settled in Miami with their infant son and, a few years later, had Carmen. Following Carmen were a surprise set of twins, Emiliano and Nicolas. Only Carmen's father had a good grasp of the English language, so they spoke Spanish at home. Carmen learned Spanish first and English soon after. They're her two native languages, and she grew up speaking both. Carmen was an odd child. Her parents knew the importance of a good education, so they read to her every night and ensured she had a good grasp of language. But they quickly learned that Carmen was progressing at a lightning-fast speed. She said her first word at 8 months of age, started to speak in full sentences by 2, and taught herself to read picture books by 2 and a half. By the time she entered kindergarten, she was already reading chapter books on her own. Her parents were blown away. She must be a genius, they thought. Carmen received constant praise, testing, and more and more challenges. By the time she was 6, Carmen could read at the college level. She could write better than any other 2nd grader, and was constantly lauded for her achievements. She could best high schoolers in terms of intelligence, even. But she was [i]bored[/i]. No amount of instruction or books could satiate her thirst for learning. So she got on the Internet and looked for things to learn. Her third language, after English and Spanish, was French. She read a book about Paris, and fell in love with the city and with French culture. She was 6 when she started studying French, and Carmen quickly learned that she was fantastic at learning languages. It was fun, and challenging, and there was so much to learn, so she focused all of her energy on that. Her parents were skeptical at first, but supplied her with a lot of the materials she needed. By 7, she was at an intermediate level in the language just through self-study! Her parents were flabbergasted- but wanted to push her even further. If she could do this, what else could she do? They hired her a French tutor, and convinced her to learn a fourth language of her choice. Carmen was more than happy about this choice, and, after a lot of deliberation, chose Mandarin as her fourth. Soon after, her parents took her out of school and decided to homeschool her. A mind like hers couldn't be wasted in a public school! So Carmen was homeschooled, and pushed harder than ever before. Wanting to get her out of the house, her mother enrolled her in tennis lessons. Carmen wasn't too into tennis, but her mom insisted, so she did it anyways. She was more into languages. And turtles. At 9, Carmen got her first turtle, Shelly, whom she LOVES and TREASURES and adores and that turtle was probably her only friend. At 10, she was fluent in French and approaching fluency in Mandarin, so she took on a fifth language- German. Also at this age, she started to appear in some local magazines, newspapers, and TV segments as a "child genius"- a 10-year-old who had taught herself 3 languages apart from her own! People ate this up. Carmen never quite made national news, but she did make plenty of local news, which... put even more pressure on her. If she wasn't smart, how could she live up to all these expectations? By 13, she had achieved fluency in German, but she was still working at Mandarin. It was [i]so hard[/i]! She had been working at Mandarin for nearly five years, and she still wasn't good enough. She was getting frustrated- so she doubled down. Along with her regular studies, she crammed as if studying for an exam. And then, she decided to throw Russian in there for good measure. It was a good challenge! That was where she started to crash and burn. She started to struggle. Carmen's focused brain did not view failure- or even anything less than a tremendous success- as an option. So she pushed, and pushed, and pushed... until she shattered. Suddenly, doing anything was a challenge. Carmen, a 14-year-old styled prodigy, lacked the energy to even get out of bed in the morning for [i]months[/i]. She was furious at herself- she had failed. She was a failure. Her parents, concerned for her mental health, started debating putting her back in public school. Around this time, her father received a truly amazing job offer from a firm in Swindon, Texas. Although they were loathe to leave the community that Miami offered, they were unable to refuse, and so moved. Just entering high school, Carmen was enrolled in Millard Fillmore High School. It was her first school in 8 years, and she was understandably nervous. She had left her few friends behind in Miami, and had no one but her twin brothers (who were 3 years younger than her), and her older brother (who was a senior when they moved) with her. Besides for her brother, who DEFINITELY didn't wanna talk to her in school, she was alone. On maybe her third day of her freshman year, Carmen was called to the principal's office out of the blue. She wasn't entirely sure why, and everyone yelled at her retreating form when she left English class, but it had to be for something good! On that walk, though, she was grabbed by a shadowy figure and, before she could react, she was unconscious. She awoke in an interrogation room, facing an intimidating Russian lady. (Russian! How cool! I bet she speaks Russian... maybe she'll practice with me!) Carmen was scared in that moment, but what that lady said intrigued her. There was a spy organization based in the school, and they wanted... her? Logically, Carmen should've refused this offer, but... if this lady was telling the truth, this was a purpose for her. She could use her totally useless skills to help the world. So she said yes. Ever since, Carmen has been a member of PROM. She just got out of her freshman training year, and has hardened up a bit since then. She's learned to fight and talk to people [s]and maybe a little torture[/s], and the Neural Sync really helped her with her language learning! She finally achieved fluency in Mandarin, and is approaching fluency in Russian, and added four more languages- Arabic, Japanese, Korean, and Hindi. PROM is really insisting she focus on Arabic, but the others are... well, okay. Its stressful, but it's cool. What teenager wouldn't wanna travel the world and also kick ass? [center][u][h2][color=b62b41]S K I L L S E T[/color][/h2][/u][/center] [u][b][color=b62b41]T A L E N T S [/color][/b][/u][list] [*][color=b62b41][b]Language Mastery:[/b][/color] Carmen is fluent in five languages (English, Spanish, Mandarin, French, and German) conversational in two (Arabic and Russian), and a novice at three (Portuguese, Japanese, and Hindi). She probably knows the most languages among the PROM agents, and is often a designated translator. [*][color=b62b41][b]Intelligence:[/b][/color] Carmen learns and disseminates information at a rapid pace, and can easily maneuver her way around puzzles, riddles, and basically any problem. [/list] [u][b][color=b62b41]G A D G E T S [/color][/b][/u][list] [*][color=b62b41][b]Multi-Colored, Multi-Use Pens:[/b][/color] In what seems to be a hallmark of a study addict, Carmen has a variety of pastel and regular-colored gel pens that she keeps with her at nearly all times in a cute little [url=https://ak1.ostkcdn.com/images/products/16677470/Zodaca-Green-Turtle-Pencil-Case-Toiletry-Holder-Cosmetic-Bag-Travel-Makeup-Zip-Storage-Organizer-eb999fe2-46df-400c-af79-8c13f45aaefd_600.jpg?impolicy=medium]pencil holder[/url]. These pens do contain ink, and Carmen frequently uses their ink for normal purposes, but the pens actually have two cartridges. The ink one is easy enough to activate, but the other requires a special touch. Each contains a special poison, tranquilizer, knife, or serum meant to make Carmen's job a bit easier. They're discreet, and she can stick someone quite easily with one. This is ironic, considering she's deathly afraid of needles. That's why none of them are meant for use on herself! She also has a pen that's just a communicator. [*][color=b62b41][b]Translator Watch:[/b][/color] Sometimes, Carmen forgets a word. That's alright! Everyone forgets a word. That's why she has her handy-dandy translator watch. If she flicks a button on it, it can discreetly listen into the conversation and accurately translate everything the person is saying. It uses context clues to figure out what she might need to say back, and supplies a useful translation. It's discreet. And the watch is a cute pastel blue! It also tells the time... and it has a Tamagotchi. [*][color=b62b41][b]Eavesdropper:[/b][/color] Carmen can easily attach a small gadget connected to a pearl earring earpiece on someone's shirt or maybe drop it in a plant. The small thing is nearly invisible, but it records and transmits audio directly to her earpieces, allowing her to eavesdrop on nearly any conversation. This is especially helpful because it records audio and allows her to translate things she doesn't necessarily understand later. [/list] [u][b][color=b62b41]O T H E R [/color][/b][/u][list] [*] Carmen's birthday is on April 28th, making her a Taurus! [*] Her codename comes from the Old Testament story of the Tower of Babel, which, in Abrahamic traditions, is the origin of humans speaking different languages. [*] Carmen is on the JV tennis team at MFHS. She is terrible. [/list] [/hider] [hider=Grading][center][u][h2][color=b62b41]G R A D I N G[/color][/h2][/u][/center] [u][b][color=b62b41]S T R E N G T H:[/color][/b][/u] C [sup]Definitely couldn't bench-press a man, but she could bench-press a good 30 pounds. Certainly stronger than most other normal, unathletic girls.[/sup] [u][b][color=b62b41]I N T E L L I G E N C E:[/color][/b][/u] A+ [sup]With an estimated IQ of around 150, Carmen is a certified genius. She's the smartest person in most of her classes, and generally knows a lot about a lot of things. She has an easy time with school.[/sup] [u][b][color=b62b41]C L O S E Q U A R T E R S C O M B A T:[/color][/b][/u] C+ [sup]She can punch someone just fine, and she's been rigorously trained in martial arts just like any other PROM member. However, she isn't... amazing at it. She can be easily beaten in a fight by anyone that's remotely better.[/sup] [u][b][color=b62b41]F I R E A R M S:[/color][/b][/u] D [sup]Carmen has been trained in firearms, but [i]really[/i] doesn't like them. She has shit aim, and the noise more often than not startles her. They also just sort of unsettle her. She carries one, but prefers other tools.[/sup] [u][b][color=b62b41]C O N C E A L M E N T / D I S G U I S E:[/color][/b][/u] A- [sup]Knowing ten languages makes it a bit easier to disguise herself than it is for most, and Carmen has no issues keeping cover. However, if she's put into a compromising situation she quickly self-destructs.[/sup] [u][b][color=b62b41]S T R A T E G I C T H I N K I N G / L E A D E R S H I P:[/color][/b][/u] B- [sup]Carmen can make up a good strategy in a snap, but actually leading is where her issues come into play. She's not assertive at all.[/sup] [u][b][color=b62b41]M E N T A L A G I L I T Y/I N T U I T I O N:[/color][/b][/u] B+ [sup]She's a rather rigid thinker, but, due to her intelligence, thinks on her feet alright.[/sup] [u][b][color=b62b41]H A C K I N G/C O M P U T E R O P E R A T I O N:[/color][/b][/u] D+ [sup]Do not put this girl in front of a computer and expect her to know how to do anything other than Google or Microsoft Word.[/sup] [u][b][color=b62b41]O B S E R V A T I O N / I N T E R R O G A T I O N:[/color][/b][/u] B+ [sup]She has never been comfortable with interrogation, but has been extensively drilled on the topic because of her unique skillset. She often serves as a translator or a substitute interrogator in interrogations. She observes speech quite well and body language to a lesser extent.[/sup] [u][b][color=b62b41]L I N G U I S T I C S:[/color][/b][/u] A+ [sup]Linguistics is where Carmen's star shines. She's fluent in English, Spanish, French, German, and Mandarin; conversational in Russian and Arabic; and is a beginner learner in Hindi, Japanese, and Portuguese. Learning languages is her [i]thing[/i]. She's fantastic at it, and it's the skill that got her into PROM in the first place. She's the designated translator of the group, and often takes over communications in foreign countries.[/sup] [u][b][color=b62b41]T E A M W O R K / C O O P E R A T I O N:[/color][/b][/u] B+ [sup]Carmen works well with most people, and has an easy time deferring to other people's leads. Maybe too easy, though- she might be too meek of a team player.[/sup] [/hider]