[hider=Cadenza][center][hr][hr][img]https://i.imgur.com/CNARPTI.jpg?1[/img] [color=f79292][img]https://i.imgur.com/r8IZ2Ki.png[/img][/color] [b][color=f79292]"Live, learn, love, and let go."[/color][/b][/center][hr][hr] [color=f79292][B][ NAME ][/B][/color] [INDENT]Aurora Jade Donnelly-Alexander[/INDENT] [color=f79292][B][ HERO IDENTITY ][/B][/color] [INDENT]Cadenza[/INDENT] [color=f79292][B][ NICKNAME/ALIAS ][/B][/color] [INDENT]Aurora introduces herself as Rory. Some childhood friends still call her Jade.[/INDENT] [color=f79292][B][ AGE ][/B][/color] [INDENT]Eighteen[/INDENT] [color=f79292][B][ GENDER ][/B][/color] [INDENT]Female (she/her)[/INDENT] [color=f79292][B][ AFFILIATION ][/B][/color] [INDENT]H.E.R.O[/INDENT] [color=f79292][B][ APPEARANCE ][/B][/color] [INDENT]Though Rory might not be the biggest person around, standing at about five feet four and weighing about a hundred and fifteen pounds, she's got the kind of smile that'll light up a whole room. She practices that a lot, with an easy smile for everyone she meets. She carries herself confidently, always with an air of casual grace. Her dark brown hair is just past her shoulders, with a loose wavy curl, and is often styled into a low ponytail, tied with an outfit-coordinated scrunchie or ribbon. Her eyes are an odd hazel-grey, lightish but not notably one color over another; they're often shaded with a peachy pink shadow and lined with chocolate brown. Rory's daily look is generally effortlessly-stylish and summery (even in the middle of winter) - peasant blouses in cream and rose and soft green or blue, light wash jeans and stylish brown boots or flats. She doesn't often wear patterned clothes, though her scrunchies and hair ribbons will incorporate interesting textures. Most of the time, she wears little makeup - some blush and highlight and a little bit of dark liner, and a long-wear lip stain in a coral nude color. Though Rory hasn't yet invested in a superhero costume, she does have a fashion sketch drawn up. One of her friends in high school made it for her. It's designed to look like a tuxedo, but unlike formalwear, it is made of lightweight, stretchy, fire-retardant fabric, and is rather easy to move in. It is constructed to resemble an orchestral musician's concert black: there's a pleated white shirt panel, with a wing-tip collar, attached beneath a form-fitted black tuxedo jacket. She wears soft black trousers as well, and most often silver studs on the shirt and silver bowtie at her throat. She's debated switching the tux out for something similar in a blush pink fabric, to be more distinctive, but she figures the black will be easier to maintain.[/INDENT] [color=f79292][B][ PERSONALITY TRAITS ][/B][/color] [INDENT][color=f79292][b]♫ O U T G O I N G[/b][/color] Rory has a smile and a kind word for everyone she meets. She doesn't hesitate to introduce herself to new people, either; because of her insistence on getting to know people, she was a student ambassador for the Academy for Junior Heroes (and an orientation leader for new transfer students every year she was there). She made it a point to know everyone at the school by name, and made herself so impossibly, genuinely [i]nice[/i] that no one could really dislike her (even if they were sometimes jealous). She's made an impression as a very well-mannered and courteous young lady, always seeking out connections and people's favor. Some people might insist that it's scheming or power-hunger; Rory just really enjoys meeting interesting people. Her outlook on social interactions is idealistic at best, but it has endeared her to many. [color=f79292][b]♫ F R E E - S P I R I T E D[/b][/color] Unlike her sisters, who are quite happy to put themselves in the boxes of "nerds" and "rebels" respectively, Rory's never had a clique or a particular group that she really fits with. She doesn't like to limit herself to just one perspective or area of expertise; she has a moderate bit of interest in quite a lot of things. Some might label her as "flighty" for switching her electives, sports, and pre-career courses no fewer than 7 times during her high school career, but she figures she should at least try everything she has a passing interest in. [color=f79292][b]♫ D E P E N D A B L E[/b][/color] Even though her interests flit all over the place, when Rory gives her word that something will be done, it will be done. She was on student council for all four years at the Academy, in various classroom and community leadership roles, and has a pretty much golden reputation among friends and neighbors. The only reason this is possible is because she is meticulously organized, keeping all of her obligations in a daily planner - she's been playing "schedule tetris" for the last four years, and it's paid off. [color=f79292][b]♫ A R T I S T I C[/b][/color] Even before Rory discovered her musical powers, art things had long been a hobby, drawing and painting and crafting. She always has a song in her head, and fills every page in her notebook and planner with intricate doodles in the margins as a way of clearing her head. Her bedroom walls at home are covered with hand-painted, Pinterest-inspired collections of inspirational quotes and abstract doodles of flowers and overgrown bookshelves. (Her aesthetic is rather eclectic, one will notice.) [color=f79292][b]♫ A V O I D A N T[/b][/color] Rory is excellent at mediating conflicts, provided that the conflicts don't involve her. It's always been her solution to run from every even vaguely personal problem, or failing that to stare directly past it and pretend it doesn't exist. She'll leap to defend anyone else from a bully, but not so herself. Also, she hates being reminded of her family's history and holds herself to impossibly-high standards regarding control of her powers; she's absolutely terrified of "the curse" catching up with her. Despite months of therapy and years of training, Rory is rather convinced that her willpower has the structural integrity of tissue paper, and as soon as she's tempted to "the dark side" she's going to snap and go on a mass-murdering spree like her grandfather.[/INDENT] [color=f79292][B][ BIO ][/B][/color] [INDENT]Rory was a bit of a surprise to her mothers. Patricia and Eliza Donnelly-Alexander had hoped for a single daughter from their fertility treatments, or maybe - secretly, they'd hoped for twins. Instead, the two ended up with three daughters. Rory was the youngest, by thirty-seven minutes (Or by a WHOLE DAY, if you'd believe Amber when they were young) and therefore, she must have been the surprise. The three girls were the best of friends in their early childhood, inseparable and nigh-indistinguishable as youngsters. Everything was perfect; they lived a happy life in their mothers' suburban farmhouse, raising rainbuns and wreaking innocent havoc on their little subdivision. Then, in middle school, puberty happened, and with it, the three diverged. All three of them were expected to have powers; after all, there were heroes on both sides for two generations back. What [i]wasn't[/i] expected was how different they all were going to be. Marcie got epic water-and-ice powers from a few generations back, Amber got the best of both invisibility and intangibility from the Alexander bloodline. And Rory? Well, she got the Donnelly curse. After the havoc that was her sixth grade band concert, involving her section leader having a psychotic breakdown onstage (and then accusing her of mind-control on public social media posts) rumors spread like wildfire. Everyone knew her mother was the legendary Aria... which meant the legacy of her grandfather was one half-assed Google search away. Her moms had never spoken at length about her grandfather, and she'd never thought to look or ask, so she was punched in the face by the realization. "HERO Alert: Concert Hall Massacre.' 'Who is the Mysterious Maestro?' 'HERO News Break: Donnelly arrested!' She tried to keep her newfound power secret from her mothers, hiding her flute and swearing off of band or even anything musical. Her mothers, of course, found out (as mothers do.) She expected anger, judgment, fear, paranoia. Not love and understanding. Patricia was careful to do all the right things for her daughter, and to do right by all of them - though she still played favorites, just a little bit. Though all the girls were loved, Patricia held Rory to a higher standard and paid far closer attention to her than her sisters. There was a lot of therapy, but also music lessons, superpower control lessons, extra tutoring in pull-out programs so she had to spend less time with her classmates. By the end of seventh grade, Rory was ready to go back to music (although timidly at first) - her power had grown considerably stronger, but her control was also dependent on her mastery of the instrument. She had a lot of work to do. She stayed closer with Marcie than with Amber; by the end of middle school, it was like Amber was on her own planet, and no matter what Rory or Marcie tried to do they couldn't seem to bring her back. She didn't go on to the HERO school; Rory was much too eager to start there. To start over. By the end of high school, Rory had found her confidence again. Studying at the Academy, where everyone accepted her power (and had noise-cancelling headphones for emergencies) gave her the motivation she needed to become better, and to learn to use her power for good. She made a lot of friends, became the popular one of the two who were left, and took as much care of her sister in social situations as she could. The two have graduated from the Academy now, and are preparing for their first year as full-fledged, full-time heroes. Rory is determined that she won't disappoint her mothers, but there's a doubt lurking in the back of her mind - she's not sure she'll ever be trusted to be a hero.[/INDENT] [color=f79292][b]| MISCELLANEOUS |[/b][/color] [indent]Rory's Monday mornings are committed to her flute lesson with a professor at the Hahn Conservatory and rehearsal with her woodwind quintet, the Prism Winds. Assuming her bus doesn't get stuck in traffic, she's back at Hero One by ten, and stays late in the day to make up for it. Rory is the proud pet parent of an elderly albino rainbun named Mist; she's blind and mostly deaf with age now, and her pastel rainbow fur has become almost pure white. [i]Technically[/i] her birthday is actually May 12, her sisters were born late in the night on the 11th and she was born just after on the 12th, but she says May 11 so that they all match.[/indent] [hider=The Donnelly Curse] [color=f79292][B][ RANKING ][/B][/color] [INDENT]B[/INDENT] [color=f79292][B][ POWERS ][/B][/color] [INDENT]Mental manipulation through the universal language of music. Rory must use her flute; she's tried with her voice and any effect that she has is weak and unpredictable. Similarly, guitar and piano (both hobby instruments) seem to have more subtle effects on people, which could also be explained by her lack of expertise in them. While all music influences emotions, Rory's is known to have a more dramatic effect on people even when she's not actively channeling her powers. In full effect, her powers cause a state of hypnosis or enhanced suggestion where she can manipulate a subject's thoughts and implant ideas and motivations that aren't theirs. It's not outright mind control; she can't forcibly control someone's body and make them grab a knife and murder someone, but if she really wanted them to, she could convince them that it was their idea all along. Her form of mind-control is notably different than her mother's - while Patricia was able to rely on verbal suggestion, all of Rory's control over people comes from her own thoughts. She has to have an iron grip on intrusive thoughts and a laser focus on what she intends to suggest. The more familiar a piece of music is to someone, the easier it is to use it to convince them of her ideas; the mood of the music does of course come into effect as well, as do any memories a person might have of contexts using a piece. Otherwise, improvisation generally is effective.[/INDENT] [color=f79292][B][ PHYSICAL STRENGTH ][/B][/color] ■■□□□□□□□□ Rory is of average physical strength; she was an athlete in high school and even made the varsity volleyball team her junior year, but she wasn't a particularly notable athletic star. [color=f79292][B][ AGILITY ][/B][/color] ■■■□□□□□□□ Rory is ever-so-slightly more agile and flexible than your average person, as a result of marching band, color guard during drum corps season, volleyball, and one semester on the cheer team. [color=f79292][B][ INTELLIGENCE ][/B][/color] ■■■■□□□□□□ Rory was a good student, in mostly honors classes and consistently one of the top five in her grade. Not Marcie levels of smart by any means, but she isn't dumb. Plus, she's well-versed in music theory, and has a lot of miscellaneous knowledge about various things she's been curious about (and random things she's learned from Marcie's special interests over the years.) [color=f79292][B][ DESTRUCTIVENESS ][/B][/color] ■■■□□□□□□□ While Rory's power isn't inherently destructive in itself, her surroundings determine how destructive it can be; any passerby could be a potential weapon. [color=f79292][B][ LETHALITY ][/B][/color] ■■■■■■■■□□ ...we all know what Maestro did with the same power. It's been used to convince people to kill themselves or others, or even to believe that they're dying so acutely and vividly that their body's stress reaction causes a heart attack and actually kills them. Rory would never; she's horrified that the knowledge of what she could do even [i]exists,[/i] or that she has a rating this high, but - it exists. The only reason this score isn't higher is because it takes a lot of focus and doesn't have the same instantaneous casualty effect that some more overt powers do. Also because Rory would never, [i]ever[/i] even try to kill someone. Right? [color=f79292][B][ ENDURANCE ][/B][/color] ■■■□□□□□□□ As far as her endurance for using her power, its mostly reliant on how long she can intentionally focus on the music she's making - to put a general mood over a huge audience, a two-hour concert is no problem. To focus her thoughts through someone else's mind and acutely change their motivation? maybe an hour of work on one person; twenty minutes on two, less than five on a group up to six people. As far as her endurance as a person, marching band in the sweltering heat and juggling five volunteer jobs and extracurriculars have toughened her up to some both physical and mental hardships. But as far as her power making her more resilient? no. Absolutely not. [color=f79292][B][ EFFICACY ][/B][/color] ■■■■■□□□□□ Rory's biggest weakness is that her power is reliant on hearing. Noise-cancelling headphones are all too common. Someone who is suspicious of her is harder to influence. A flute isn't exactly the most inconspicuous instrument, nor is it the loudest; she's been known to swap to piccolo when she needs to project further. [color=f79292][B][ SKILLS ][/B][/color] [INDENT]Basic knowledge of most sporting events Competent kitchen skills Organization [s]more to be added later my brain is mashed potato[/s][/INDENT] [color=f79292][B][ EQUIPMENT ][/B][/color] [INDENT]An antique open-holed flute is her instrument of choice; she does have a more practical option at home, but the fancier flute has a sweeter sound and offers more precise control. A marching band piccolo, lacquered white with gold-plated keys. A well-worn, dog-eared A5 bullet journal planner, about three-quarters full of sticky notes and paper clips and other odds and ends. The cover is peachy-pink, or used to be, before it wore down to a sandy beige with use. She'd be lost without it.[/INDENT] [/hider] [/hider]