[hider=Tuyen Doan][CENTER][img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/b3RmLjk2Ljk3NzdiZC5WSFY1Wlc0Z1JHOWhiZywsLjE,/ls-klandestin-demo.regular.webp[/img]
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ-vzd9U7Ns[/youtube][/CENTER]
[i]“This all feels like a sick joke. Maybe I’m just dreaming. I hope this is just a nightmare.”[/i]
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[sub][color=9777bd]Tuyen Thị Đoàn[/color]
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[color=9777bd]She/her[/color]  [b]|[/b]   [color=9777bd]17[/color]  [b]|[/b]   [color=9777bd]Vietnamese & Korean-American[/color]  [b]|[/b]   [color=9777bd]5’1”[/color]  [b]|[/b]   [color=9777bd]114lb[/color]      
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[color=9777bd]Insecurity[/color]
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[color=9777bd]Skills & Talents[/color][/sub]
[i]"Oh, no, I don’t really have any talents. Sorry."[/i]
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[sub][color=9777bd][b]Creative Escape ⫻[/b][/color] Tuyen has a vivid, overactive imagination. She channels this into her writing, the one thing she really excels in. Her non-fictional writing, such as essays, is nothing to laugh at, but fiction is where she really shines. She’s written a lot, and has worked on various novels since she was a kid. She doesn’t think any of them are that good - but the talent is there whether she believes in it or not. She also devours books just as much as she writes them.

[color=9777bd][b]Faking It ⫻[/b][/color] Tuyen is excellent at hiding her problems. Outside of the obvious grief that comes with losing both parents, everyone thinks she’s just fine. Unassuming, but a happy and normal teenager. It’s easy for her to pretend to be happy. She’s been doing it for so long now. 

[color=9777bd][b]People Appeasing ⫻[/b][/color] Tuyen is a people pleaser, in the situations that she’s actually around people. She’ll do anything they ask, and even do things they didn’t ask for just to please them. This is beneficial when it comes to preventing people from being mad at her, making sure she doesn’t suffer from the horrendous silent treatment or falling outs that happen so much in high school. Importantly, though, this doesn’t help resolve conflicts. She’s just talented at giving into people in a way that reduces the damage to herself (even if only for a short while). 
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[/cell][cell][sub][color=9777bd][b] Appearance[/b][/color][/sub]
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[i]"I wish I didn’t need to look in the mirror to make myself look presentable.”[/i]

[indent]Tuyen is short, adding to her unassuming appearance. She’s got a flat, stocky build- minimal curves, but not a lot of weight to it either. She’s had to scrounge for food and feed herself the last few years, after all. Her straight black hair falls to her shoulders, with neat bangs that go to just below her eyebrows. It frames a soft face filled with soft, undefined features. Her eyes are practically black too, double lidded but with an epicanthal fold that makes it clear she's Asian. She wears a pair of circular metal rimmed glasses. They help hide the dark bags underneath her eyes. Tuyen wears makeup, but it’s always minimal- covering up perceived flaws without drawing more attention to herself. 

She takes after her dad mostly, something her mom’s family uses against her constantly. But she’s almost always found with a smile- even if it can be a somewhat nervous one. The straight scars on her upper thighs tell a different story- some fresh, some years old. They’re always covered up by her clothes. Tuyen tends to favour longer skirts with a shirt tucked in or simple dresses worn over t-shirts or jumpers. When she doesn’t feel like a skirt, she’ll go for wide legged pants. She doesn’t tend to have colour preferences, but often she goes for more muted tones and simple patterns. Nothing too flashy. She almost always wears a pair of converse, which she’s spent a while scraping the money together to replace her old and falling apart shoes. [/indent]

[/cell][/row][/table][sub][color=9777bd][b] Psychology[/b][/color][/sub]
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[i]"It’s nothing a bit of positive thinking can’t will away."[/i]

[INDENT][color=9777bd][b]MAIN GOAL  ⫻[/b][/color] Tuyen wants to escape the life she feels trapped in, though she doesn’t feel she’ll ever be good enough to. Her goal is simple enough- graduate high school, go to college, and move away from her aunt and uncle. Maybe then she’ll stop living in other people’s shadow. Maybe one day she could be a published author. It feels incredibly out of reach. Everything does, beyond her current state.

[color=9777bd][b]PHILOSOPHY  ⫻[/b][/color] You have to keep going, no matter what. Tuyen believes in putting on a brave face and smiling even if things seem helpless. This philosophy classes with how she feels about herself and her life, but it’s still something she’s trying to live by.

[color=9777bd][b]SECRETS  ⫻[/b][/color] Sometimes when she looks at Vicky Prescott, she feels something more than friendship. It makes her feel disgusted with herself, and she keeps that and her actual sexuality locked up inside her. She doesn’t let anyone know about how bad her self doubts are. It’s obvious that she struggles a bit socially, but everything else is carefully hidden behind forced happiness and positivity. She doesn’t want anyone to know how much she needs validation from others, what her family thinks of her, or what she thinks of herself. Her depression is another secret, and the self harm stemming from it is only in places she can keep carefully hidden. Not to mention that her shadow– no [i]she[/i]– killed people while trying to survive the party. Nobody knows, because it was so chaotic, just as no one knows about the shadow itself. 

[color=9777bd][b]SEXUALITY  ⫻[/b][/color] Tuyen wants to believe she’s straight. She’s had a boyfriend before, mostly because she never expected anyone to want to go out with [i]her[/i]. But she didn’t like him. She’s never liked a boy, not in the way she’s had crushes on girls. But that’s just not right, because she [i]is[/i] straight. She just can't accept herself as anything else.

[color=9777bd][b]FEARS  ⫻[/b][/color] There’s a lot that Tuyen fears. She fears failure and the judgment that follows. Will she always be this worthless? She’s scared she’ll always live in someone else’s shadow, while not being able to see a future where she doesn’t. She’s even more terrified that she’s going insane. Her shadow talks to her, she’s seeing things, what else could it be? 

[color=9777bd][b]REPUTATION IN CORNELL  ⫻[/b][/color] Friendly but forgettable. If asked if they know Tuyen, most people would probably say ‘who.’ If someone pointed to her, they’d go ‘oh, that girl.’ She isn't an outsider by any means, having lived her whole life here, but she's just a face in the crowd. Anyone that bothered to get closer will know about the happy, caring Tuyen. But she’s most well known in relation to others- the younger cousin of the much more popular and incredibly smart Min-Jun, friend slash lackey of school queen Vicky, ex-girlfriend of John Miller (least popular member of the football team, who only really dated her because of the group she’s sort of part of). 

[color=9777bd][b]FLAWS  ⫻[/b][/color] Tuyen is severely lacking in self confidence. She, quite frankly, hates herself. Her self perception is distorted from years of emotional abuse from her relatives. She’s been told how worthless she is, how she’s a failure, constantly compared to her much smarter cousin and even blamed for her parents’ deaths. Of course she believes it, leading to someone who’s only grown more insecure as she grows up. This has developed into a silent, functional depression- the kind that she can hide under long skirts and smiles, but creeps in at night when she’s alone. Now she’s never alone, with her shadow always tormenting her. 

Her doubts aren’t just for herself, but for the others around her too. She’s a wallflower who doesn’t try to talk to people because she doesn’t believe anyone would want to talk to her. She’s always friendly when someone approaches her, but always assumes they’re just being polite. In the rare friendships she has, she believes that they’re just doing it to be nice, out of the kindness of their hearts rather than her being worthy of the friendship. After all, why would anyone want to be friends with her? And because she feels she doesn’t deserve the friendship, but desperately craves it, she’ll go along with anything they say no matter how detrimental it is to herself. She hides all her problems underneath a cheerful facade, rather pretending everything’s alright than letting the cracks show. She doesn’t want to affect the others around her, after all.  
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[sub][color=9777bd][b] Backstory[/b][/color][/sub]
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[i]"You don’t need to feel sorry for me. There are people out there who have it much worse than me."[/i]

[indent]Tuyen was an accident, but a welcome one (to her parents, at least). Her mother, Yeon-Seo Lee, was a native to Cornell, with strict and overprotective parents who ran a small business. She’d escaped to university in a bigger city in Pennsylvania. Her father, Liem Doan, was in the final year of his masters degree, having come to the States from Vietnam to study. They’d only been together for a few months when a contraceptive failure resulted in Tuyen. Unsurprisingly, Yeon-Seo’s parents weren’t happy about a child out of wedlock. 

To appease them, Tuyen’s parents rushed to marry before she was born, moving back to Cornell. Liem dropped out of university to get a job in the steel mill. Then Tuyen came into the world, to a loving mom and dad- even if they hadn’t expected a daughter so early. They were happy, but Yeon-Seo had always been sickly. The pregnancy took a toll on her, exacerbating other chronic issues resulting in her deteriorating until she passed away when Tuyen was only two.

Her dad did his best to raise her, but with no financial help from either side of the family, he had to work long and hard hours to keep a roof over their head. But the one thing Yeon-Seo’s family did was ‘look after’ Tuyen while he was away at work. Sometimes it was her grandparents, who treated her like dirt and put her to work as soon as they could. The rest of the time was spent with her aunts- the much older sister of her mom, who’d respectably married and had a child at the ‘right time.’ This child was Min-Jun, Tuyen’s one year older cousin. 

But the gap between them was much wider than their age. Min was incredibly smart for his age, obedient, the kind of kid adults adored and he had plenty of friends his age too. Tuyen was none of these things. She was loud, energetic and struggled with school. She was constantly compared to Min and belittled by her aunt, uncle and grandparents most of the time she spent at theirs. The only person who treated her well [i]was[/i] Min. He treated her like a younger sister, and they were close. But she was eternally in his shadow. Any care from her mom’s family was conditional on her being as perfect as him- or [i]more[/i] perfect. After all, she’d killed her mom. She should at least make something of herself, even with her dad’s genes dragging her down.

Her only solace was her dad, who loved her unconditionally. When she was eight, he lost his job at the steel mill as it started to scale back operations. It wasn’t a job he was attached to, but it was a stable one that connected him to the larger community. But there was nothing he could do about it, still needing to put food on the table. After a short period, he managed to get a job as a trucker. 

This meant he was away longer, sometimes for days if he was given longer jobs. Tuyen spent even more time with her mom’s family. She didn’t cry when her grandfather passed away when she was nine, or when her grandmother followed him a year later. Being at her aunt’s wasn’t much better, but at least Min was there. The emotional abuse took its toll, however, causing her to grow into a quiet and insecure preteen unlike the bright and happy young child she’d been. 

But she endured it silently, because even at her young age she knew how difficult it was for her dad. She didn’t want the time they had together to be anything but happy.

Halfway through her twelfth year, the worst happened. After working longer than he should have to make some extra money, Liem fell asleep at the wheel on his way home to his daughter. He swerved onto the wrong side of the road and crashed into another car. It was a severe crash and he died before he reached hospital.  

It felt like her whole world had collapsed. She was taken in by her aunt, and suddenly there was no escape. No dad that loved her. She didn’t have any support anymore, apart from the thirteen year old perfect cousin she was constantly compared to. She couldn’t even dwell in it, because her aunt wouldn’t accept that. 

People pitied her at school, but it only lasted so long before she blended back into the crowd. She’s managed to get through the almost five years since. The grief is always there, and her self doubts have escalated to self hatred and an unhealthy dose of depression. She copes by pretending to be happy, forcing an outwards positivity as if that will purge the negative thoughts, along with other unhealthy coping mechanisms. At least she has a friend, and that friend has a whole group of friends Tuyen is sort of part of. 

It was that friend that dragged her along to a party in an abandoned warehouse. It seemed that [i]everyone[/i] from school was there- at least everyone going into junior and senior year after summer. Tuyen was doing what she did best- running errands by getting Vicky another drink so she could stick with her then-alive boyfriend- when all hell broke loose. A horrendous creature that tore through drunk teenagers. 

It wasn’t the only thing that slipped through the tear. A weak, fading Apparition known as the Shadow followed close behind. In the Pit it was starved, torn down from its original strength by other Apparitions. But here it could feast. And it found the juiciest meal of all- Tuyen, with all her self hatred and insecurity. As she stood there panicking it adjoined to her, erupting into life as a horrendous creature from her nightmares. 

It didn’t fight the monster that had slipped through. It only stopped Tuyen from being killed by it, giving her the chance to run. But it left its own trail of blood behind on the way out. Anyone who got in the way was torn out of it. Tuyen’s horror and guilt only encouraged it. She survived, but at what cost? 

She fled back home- a cold empty home, with the rest of her ‘family’ travelling to help Min settle into his new student life at Harvard. It's difficult to not isolate herself completely as the horrible creature that’s attached itself to her whispers poison in her mind. [i]She must be going insane.[/i] She's been even quieter than normal, and while she made it in for the first day she skipped the rest of the first week, only leaving her house to go to her part time job at the diner. But excuses are running thin, and she doesn't want her aunt contacted, so after most of the first week off she forced herself back in. She's doing her best to draw even less attention to herself now.
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[sub][color=9777bd][b] Abstraction[/b][/color][/sub]
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[i]"I don’t know what it is. Maybe I’m losing my mind, or maybe my shadow really is haunting me. I just want it to stop."[/i]

[indent][color=9777bd][b]TYPE ⫻[/b][/color] Adjoined.

[color=9777bd][b]ABSTRACTION  ⫻[/b][/color] The Shadow, a shadow-like Apparition born from negative thoughts and emotions that sometimes manifests to help her, but otherwise tortures her.

[color=9777bd][b]ABSTRACTION DESCRIPTION  ⫻[/b][/color] The Shadow is a semi-sentient Apparition that’s latched onto her negativity and intense self doubts. It constantly taunts her, torturing her with the feelings of dread and insecurity she has inside. It feeds into her self hatred and tells her horrendous things that she can’t deny. It feeds off her negative emotions, especially her insecurities, and is motivated to drag her down further. 

Unlike many adjoined Apparitions, the Shadow is always visible to Tuyen, rather than disappearing into her when dormant. In its inactive state, only Tuyen can see it (aside from paranormals with certain magic). It takes the shape of her shadow, a perfect doppelganger of her. It actively protects her from psychic intrusion by filling the intruder’s minds with screams. It can cloud Tuyen's vision by creating illusions, and fooling her into believing things that are not there, or hiding things. With enough focus, Tuyen is able to suppress the Shadow for a period of time, and get some peace - but it'll always return.     

It can also manifest physically when it chooses to, appearing to anyone that isn’t a Blind. Its default appearance is a solid, black shadow version of Tuyen. However, its most basic magic is the ability to manipulate its own shape. It’s limited only by Tuyen’s imagination, up to twelve feet. It can either keep its form as a shadow of Tuyen, or it can become some horrific monster, whatever is spawned from her imagination. In this form the shadow is strong, able to throw a fully grown man around like it's nothing or flip over a car with sheer brute strength. It can grow claws, teeth, and all manners of appendages to harm people. The Shadow will only manifest when it wants to, or if Tuyen is able to plead with it. Normally it’s only interested in tormenting Tuyen rather than helping her. However, Tuyen is the perfect victim for it to feed off, so it will protect her from dying without being asked. Anything more than that? She’ll have to beg.

[color=9777bd][b]LIMITS  ⫻[/b][/color] While it’s adjoined to her, the Shadow has essentially taken the part of Tuyen’s shadow. It can’t move away from her, always needing to remain physically tethered to her in some way. It can extend out from her, but it’s no more mobile than she is, making her its weak spot thanks to how they’re connected. It can grow to ten feet tall, strong enough to throw cars, and its ability to change its shape is only limited by Tuyen’s imagination. Tuyen cannot control the Shadow. It does as it pleases, sometimes listening if she begs, but often not. There’s a chance that getting over her insecurities and fears could allow her to control it, but it’s just as likely to weaken the Shadow and make it useless. 

[color=9777bd][b]WEAKNESSES  ⫻[/b][/color] The Shadow is semi-autonomous and unreliable in response to commands. Its protection is inconsistent, sometimes ignoring threats, delaying reactions, or acting against Tuyen’s wishes. When distracted or hostile, it can misinterpret reality, blocking her view or creating illusions that cause her to stumble, trip, or collide with obstacles.

Since it is connected to her body, Tuyen’s movements directly influence the Shadow. Any attack that immobilizes, restrains, or displaces her reduces its effectiveness. Prolonged restraint, pinning, or confinement limits its physical manifestations, leaving her vulnerable to harm it cannot prevent.

The Shadow relies on Tuyen’s negative emotions for sustenance, which also empower it. Efforts to suppress fear, anxiety, or self-doubt weaken her perception and awareness. In contrast, spikes of dread increase its influence and unpredictability. Emotional overload can cause erratic behavior, indiscriminate attacks, or hallucinations trapping her.

Its physical forms are formidable but bound to her imagination. Focus issues, exhaustion, or injuries diminish its size, strength, and versatility. If Tuyen is unconscious, incapacitated, or mentally compromised, the Shadow may stay dormant, leaving her unprotected, or act unpredictably, risking herself and others.

The tether makes it vulnerable—environmental factors like sunlight, reflective surfaces, walls, or anti-paranormal wards can limit its reach or disrupt its form. Its attacks depend on what can physically extend from Tuyen, making long-range combat difficult.

Additionally, relying on the Shadow reduces Tuyen’s independence. She hesitates to act decisively, considering its potential reactions. Overuse, pleading, or dependence can cause hesitation, paralysis, or misjudgment in combat, turning the Shadow from an ally into an unpredictable threat
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[sup][color=9777bd][b] Other[/b][/color][/sup]
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[i]"Of course I can do that for you. I’d be happy to."[/i]

[indent]Tuyen is fluent in Vietnamese and Korean, though her Vietnamese is a little rusty now.

She sometimes plays in the softball team just to fill in numbers when actual team members are sick (at Vicky’s behest, obviously). Or the year they just didn’t have enough people. She’s average, which is just about enough to not completely drag the team down.[/INDENT]
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