Benzaiten

OBLIVION

@Gisk I agree, I don't see Mel and Billy really mingling. She would have seen him perform for the school like most people. And she would remember that one session he was in if he attended D&D club once.

OBLIVION

@Prisk That sounds good. Mel wouldn't have thought anything of the fling other than they had that attraction and went with it once and that was that. But Natalie would have stayed in her mind nonetheless. Melanie would have probably only written essays for Natalie and no one else because she kind of liked her in a way and it didn't bother her. She also wouldn't have had time to do it for more people or on a very regular basis cause she was always busy tinkering and studying.

I think Melanie would consider doing it again (meaning with Natalie). Which puts us at an interesting starting point for them IC. She wouldn't admit it, even to herself, at this point, but I can see Mel being rather quick to fall back into that feeling from back then, whatever spur-in-the-moment heat it was. Depending on how things play out IC, she might backtrack then and realize she has played that up in her head quite a bit.

OBLIVION

@Prisk Dope. Should we discuss how they reacted after that fling? And for the grade thing, well Mel is a liiiiittttleee bit controlling when it comes to her work - which back then included her grades of course. So she would have happily done all the work herself to ensure it's up to her standards and she wouldn't have judged Natalie for "taking advantage" of her cause this way she didn't have to deal with someone messing up her grade through some stupid group project. So it would have made a lot of sense for Melanie to be fine with doing group projects with Natalie. Though she would insist on meeting up at least 2-3 times before handing in the work to bring Natalie up to date on what the project was about, what she had to present and how to, etc. So Mel would have actually ensured Natalie got away with it just fine in front of teachers and Natalie would never have had to worry about Mel snitching or letting her look "dumb" in front of class cause Mel didn't care about those things.

And though Mel had high academic standards for herself, she never held others to it. So she really didn't care if people decided to cheat in school, including paying others to write essays for them. She was entirely neutral on that front. She didn't have a "moral standard" attached to that academic passion, there was no feeling of superiority over those who cheated or who weren't as enthusiastic about their grades as her. She didn't even care for any academic recognition outside of her own grades.

Edit: As for after graduation, I'd say that Melanie probably had times where she looked up Nat's name and checked her social media. Mel wouldn't really be on social media herself, just occasionally have that sudden "I wonder what she's doing now" once in a while. She wouldn't admit this though. (Though maybe she accidentally left a like somewhere and Natalie noticed, who knows...)

OBLIVION

@Salsa Verde Alright! Then Meir and Mel would have been something like loose friends. I'd imagine if Sara and Meir were very close, it makes sense that at times they met with Mel to hang out, so Mel and Sara would also be lose friends or at least acquainted through Meir. What do you think @banjoanjo

Edit: They could have also been a friend group of 3 with Meir and Sara being much closer and Mel just kinda being the secondary friend.

OBLIVION

MELANIE—@Benzaiten
I'm thinking that Melaine gained some good standing with Natalie in some PE class duo/team sport or competition thing. Then, whenever this bullying cycle began, Natalie would let any remarks from her buddies slide, but then sort of 'apologize' for her not doing anything about it AFTER the cycle ended. Let me know what you think about this.

@Prisk

That's totally fine with me. For Melanie's character it also could work if they'd gotten a bit closer (maybe due to getting along in PE quite fine and then seeing each other at a party or during a group project) and ended up having had sex / kissed that one time. But that's just what would work for Mel, cause she would have gone with the opportunity if presented with it. I could also see them getting along fine whenever Natalie wasn't surrounded by her other friends, so maybe they sat together in a class or two and would talk sometimes, or Natalie could have been in some group projects together with Melanie because Mel was a guaranteed way to get an A and have someone else do the entire workload. And she wouldn't even have complained about it.

@Benzaiten

I think outside of Sara, Melanie and Meir would have the most personal relationship by virtue of both having gone to MIT. Maybe it fizzled out towards the end since their majors branched off towards senior year or maybe it didn’t and they still talk regularly. Either way lmk.

@Salsa Verde

Yes, I think that makes sense. Would he have been in some of her classes during MIT? Would it make sense that they sometimes sat in quiet companionship in the library or somewhere, both at Ritman and MIT, to work on their class assignments? I'm not quite sure what their relationship would have looked like. It doesn't seem like they have similar interests beside doing well in their studies.

OBLIVION

@Salsa Verde Will there be a relations sheet we should fill out or shall we make our own sheet or shall we just discuss relations, no sheet needed ?

OBLIVION

Melanie Cavill

█ MELANIE CAVILL

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▼ PERSONAL DETAILS ► Age - Twenty-Five ► Gender - Cis-Female ► Sexuality - Unsure (female leaning) ► Nickname - Mel, Engineer (parents) ► Occupation - Research & Development Engineer ► Qualifications - Ritman High graduate summa cum laude MIT graduate summa cum laude Master in Mechanical Engineering ► Residence - Manchester, New Hempshire ▼ PHYSICALITY ► Scars - Small scar on her left thumb from roughhousing with a dog (it was an accident, he didn't mean to hurt her); a scar on the inner side of her left foot from when she dropped a powertool ► Tattoos - 09.05.2005 on her left wrist, her sister's death date ► Piercings - Ears, though she doesn't ususally wear any ► Style - Melanie prefers comfortable clothes. Tank-tops, hoodies, and her jeans jacket are her go-to items. She will usually wear jeans and sneakers. In terms of colors, Melanie is rather bland: black, gray, white, blue, anything that is more muted. For her, clothes are for keeping your body safe and warm, she does not need to be fashionable. Though she can dress up whe she goes out, she won't dress up often. ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

LIFE AT RITMAN Melanie Cavill was an exceptional student, focusing mainly on science and mathmatics. Though she was far from the worst off student in the food chain of Ritman High, Melanie had her fair share of bullies. As some students would get bored with their usual targets, they'd turn to her instead. This resulted in a seasonal bullying cycle that would last for 3-or-so months before she would mainly be left alone again. Then rinse, and repeat. Melanie spent most of her time at Ritman in content solitude in one of two places. When she wasn't doing her homework early in a corner of the school's library or reading up on something, she could mostly be found playing Dungeons & Dragons with the school's D&D club. And while that surely made her more of a target, Melanie was never the bullies' main subject. Perhaps that had to do with the fact that she would be a favorite pick for anyone's team in PE class and on occasion could be found playing ball with some of the boys. Far from the nerdy stereotype, Melanie was exceptionally fast, enduring and really good at a lot of sports they'd put students through. Thus Melanie fell on a weird enough place on the "nerd -- jock" scale that she was mostly left alone. However, it also meant that she didn't really belong to either group. Since solitude was her go-to anyway, Melanie didn't try to change or fit in. She was content with her place in High School. PSYCHE Melanie has always been a person enjoying her solitude. She was fine with the few friends she had, enjoyed the activities she invested time in and found that her ideal work-life balance usually consisted of more work than "life". Especially if that work was self-proclaimed. Melanie always loved to tinker. She would spend many hours taking apart all sort of household items as a child, driving her parents mad. Growing up on a small farm, Melanie was used to taking care of their equipment and animals, finding the work with horses especially rewarding. Melanie is a kind soul, someone who will take your secret to the grave, who can sit for hours and let you talk without interjecting and who will come to your house at three a.m. without any questions asked. But she is also someone who is extremely determined in the pursuit of her career, often making it hard to keep in touch with friends and family. She thoroughly enjoys her work and hobbies to the point where she sometimes isn't sure how much she really needs other people. Though whenever she disappears into one of her solitude-holes for some months, she always notices that she is indeed still human with human needs, one of those being human connection. Having been fine with being by herself most her life, Melanie has grown accostumed to not needing to deal with other people's opinions. At times, it can be challenging to get Melanie to cooperate or consider another point of view if she has already made her decision or is fixated on one path. Melanie also tends to rather shake her head and leave a situation than deal with misunderstandings as she has a rather low tolerance for social interactions. Being as smart as she is, Melanie is definitely not a teacher. She will often refuse to explain what she is doing or how she is doing it unless she considers you in her league about the subject at hand. This is not out of a feeling of arrogance but rather out of intolerance for needing to explain herself or to guide someone's mind through her thoughts. She does not like being slowed down and thus is not the person you wanna ask for help if you need it explained rather than just done. The darkest hour Melanie has ever faced started on the 5th of September 2005, when her 10-year-old sister died. Mel was eight at the time. Though her sister had been diagnosed with cancer two years before, it still came as a shock when she finally went. The girl had appeared to have been doing better but a sudden attack on her immune system left her to a fatal end. Her parents, naturally devasted, tried their best to still be there for their other daughter. Melanie was taken care of as best as possible. Though she received therapy alone and together with her parents, some rough years followed in which the family struggled extremely, especially financially, seeing as the loss of their daughter hindered their capabilities to provide a stable income, but the community helped them out on the farm, helped with Melanie and assisted them financially until they caught their footing again. The sister in question, Alaina Cavill, was the sweetest girl you ever did meet. Though she was undoubtedly a cheeky person, she had her charm turned up to a million. There was never a person who met her and did not instantly like her, at least that was true for the adults. Alaina did get along with other children pretty well, too, but she seemed to always prefer the attention of grown-ups, with the exception of Melanie. Though they fought like any other siblings, the two had a strong bond. With Alaina having been born deaf, communicating with other children outside of the deaf community was a hassle. Though she had hearing aids, they usually gave Alaina mad headaches and migraines, so she would rarely use them. As they grew older, Melanie was quick to step up as an interpreter for her sister whenever needed; that being especially when they were outside playing with hearing children. And though Alaina died at the age of 10, Melanie and her parents still use ASL to communicate at times, keeping Alaina's influence on them alive. ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

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POWER Electrokinesis, the ability to create, shape and manipulate electricity, a form of energy resulting from the movement of charged particles (such as electrons or protons), allowing control over electric fields, all charge carriers (Ions, Electrons, Protons, and Positrons), electronics, and electromagnetic forces. Melanie is capable of discharging electricity from her hands. This has the potential to shock, paralyze, burn, or even stop hearts in severe cases. Every bit of electricity Melanie releases comes at the expense of her own energy and will weaken her. The more power she exerts, the likelier she gets to cause damage to herself. This may come in the form of burn marks on her hands or severe high-frequency sounds in her head causing nausea, migraines and potentially blackout. Being capable of feeling the flow of electricity if she concentrates on it and is in close enough proximity, Melanie can also control, direct and influence existing electrical charges in the world. She could affect the functionality of phones, traffic lights, security cameras, and other electronic devices. She may be able to increase or decrease an amount of electricity and/or electrical powers, amplifying or reducing current, amperes, and voltage. ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

- ▼ STRENGTHS ► Her power can be easily directed with the use of conductors. ► Mel can anticipate the flow of electricity and energy, she has a feeling for how to connect wires, how to place certain parts to create the outcome she desires. This helps her with her tinkering. She could potentially create items considered a bit "sci-fi" if she had the time to work on them. ► She could potentially use an electrical charge to restart a heart. But she hasn't tried and hopes she never has to. ▼ WEAKNESSES ► Though the used gif implies it, Mel actually can not summon lightning bolts from the sky or create thunderstorms at will. ► She can not absorb electricity to store it in her body. She can produce it and control it to some extent but she can't take electricity from the outside world into her body. ► Though the electricity she produces herself isn't usually harming her, she is not immune to it. If rerouted back to her somehow, Melanie would suffer the same effects as anyone else. ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

Relationships

MELANIE CAVILL

"The universe is indifferent. It doesn't care about our stupid little plans or our fragile little hearts."

M E L A N I E . C A V I L L
"The Tinkerer"
Melanie's relationship to herself is mostly positive. She has no crippling insecurities and rarely feels the need to overcompensate for something, although her focus on always keeping busy and achieving the next thing might be interpreted as such. She has always had a deep love for tinkering and building things and has to this day kept that hobby as her main free time activity. Alongside tinkering, she finds D&D and gaming relaxing, both things that keep her mind thinking and running instead of shutting it down. Slowing down her thoughts seems to be something she is incapable of. Melanie has a healthy sense of self and pride. She doesn't feel the need to compete often as she doesn't strive for external validation. She finds a lot of safety in the fact that she had always known who she is and what she likes. This leads to her being rather slow to accept confusing feelings. The idea of indulging in romantic or deep connection is frequently being pushed back into a corner of her mind. If such thoughts occur, she tends to overindulge in her tinkering to an extent of losing sleep. If something scares her, it is loss of control. And what quicker way to lose control of oneself than to engage in romantic behavior?

⚜ Acquaintances || ☯ Neutral || ☮ Friends || ♫ Best Friends || ♥ Crush || ⚤ Boyfriend/Girlfriend || ☠ Disliked

☮ M E I R . A M O S . M A G G I D ☮ @Salsa Verde
Meir was a friend to Melanie. Their shared interest in academics meant they understood each other's passions on a different level than others could. Though he was closer to Sara, Meir and Mel got along just fine and would hang out occasionally. This continued when they both got accepted into MIT. They started to lose contact gradually when they stopped sharing classes with each other and eventually it fizzled out after graduating from MIT. Mel knows he is a teacher at MIT and Meir knows Mel is an engineer. But since she moved to Manchester after graduation, they both didn't manage to uphold communication.

⚜ ☯ W I L L I A M . B I S H O P ☯ ⚜ @Gisk
Melanie didn't really know William Bishop. She knew what everyone knew about him: He was a musician and he performed in front of the school sometimes. That was it. He did attend one session of Dungeons and Dragons during High School. And he was a pretty decent player, Mel would have been okay with him coming back but he never did. Does that make him an acquaintance? Mel didn't really think about him after graduating from Ritman High. She doesn't even know he made it in the music industry.

☮ S A R A . Z H O U ☮ @banjoanjo
Sara and Meir being as close as they were meant that Mel automatically got to know Sara through her friendship with Meir. They formed somewhat of a friend group, the three of them, hanging out on occassion, though Sara and Meir always had a closer bond to each other than to Mel. They shared an academic passion and thrive that lead to them naturally becoming friends. Melanie admired the way Sara went at a problem and got it done! Just pure efficiency. From Melanie's perspective, Sara seemed to have a foot in every extra-curricular known to mankind at one point. She may have asked Melanie to join the science decathlon once or twice - God knows she has the wits for it - but Mel wasn't one to join any school clubs, the D&D club being that rare exception. After High School, contact fizzled out as neither of them was very good at keeping in contact when there was no regular activity they shared.

⚜ ☯ J A C K . D A N I E L . W I L K E R S O N ☯ ⚜ @nodogs
Melanie had multiple run-ins with Jack during their High School days. Mostly this was when Mel came out of her solitude cave and joined some of the sporty types in a game of soccer or basketball or whatever else they were playing that season. She never joined any team, but she would play ball with them occasionally and it just so happened that sometimes Jack could be found hanging around, too. During those rare moments they circled the same people, Jack and Mel would not share many words. Some teachers would nudge Melanie to help Jack with school work, probably in an attempt to get Jack to care more, but the one time Melanie gave in and actually offered to meet up for something like tutoring, Jack declined. And Mel never asked again. Though she never shook the feeling that there was much more lying under that brooding surface than what Jack showed. After High School, Mel only saw Jack once more. During one of Melanie's family visits to Delton, she drove past Ms. Sullivan’s house and saw Jack cleaning windows.

⚜ O L E A N D E R . O K O N E D O ⚜@Aeolian
Melanie always thought Oleander was a rather cute individual and she could see a lot of potential in him. He seemed like someone really good to cuddle with, watch movies with and do all those friends and romantic things Mel never experienced during High School. In that way, she kind of envied him a little. But naturally, she didn't let herself think about that. And Oleander always seemed a little too insecure to really embrace the things that made him wonderful to be around. Due to Melanie not really being able to manage those emotions and just being prone to solitude, they never became the friends they probably could have been if she just put some more effort into it. Oleander turned out to be the person that hugged Melanie most, outside of her closest friends and family. And she enjoyed that. In an attempt to do something to initiate a friendship, she asked Oleander to join the D&D club once but it was declined. It probably would have been better to ask him to the movies but Melanie wasn't that emotionally smart back then.

☯ M A R C O . V A L E N S I ☯ @udonoodles
Melanie didn't know Marco but she knew his music. On occasion, she would get keys to unoccupied classrooms so she could work on her subjects in peace. One of those rooms was right next to the music room. Melanie always enjoyed hearing Marco play, it was a welcome background sound for when she studied. But at some point, Marco started to show up to the music room less often until he finally stopped coming altogether. Mel never talked to Marco and the only reason she could put a face to the music was that Marco had performed in front of school regularly. She vaguely knows that he had some health stuff going on but that is the extent of it.

♫ D A N T E . I B A R R A ♫ @Laertes
Dante was a breath of fresh air. It was just so easy to spend time with him. At first, Dante's over-enthusiastic attempt to make friends with her sat wrong with her, she wasn't sure what to make of it. But oh boy, thank god he didn't give up as easily as Melanie would have, cause the friendship they formed was one Mel definitely needed back then and cherishes to this day. Their shared interest in gaming made it easy for Melanie to hang out with the boy and gradually get closer to him. And so he became her best friend during high school. Sadly, once college started, both of them had less time for gaming and lived on opposite ends of the USA. They still have contact but it has decreased significantly over the last 7 years.

?? ♥ ☮ ⚜ N A T A L I E . M I L L E R ⚜ ☮ ♥ ?? @Prisk
There is always that one person during High School, isn't there? For Melanie that was Natalie Miller. It started out as a convenience agreement. Melanie disliked group projects, she needed all the work to be up to her standards and couldn't handle dealing with other students when it came to her academic success. Natalie disliked doing schoolwork and didn't care as much for her academic standing. They soon formed a lose convenience-based "friendship" where they would partner up for group projects so Melanie could do the work and just give Natalie the required information to seem plausible in front of the teachers. Whenever teachers thought Natalie used, paid, or even blackmailed Mel, they both backed up the same story. It was really beneficial to both sides. Though there was this little thing where Natalie's "friends" (why did she hang out with them!?) would occasionally get bored of their usual targets and find Melanie an interesting torture subject. It never lasted long though and the more benefits Natalie got out of their acquaintance ("friendship"?), the more those plastics left Melanie alone. They went on to get along quite well, at least whenever those other "friends" weren't around. During the years, some sort of physical attraction developed. It all found its climax when the two of them had a fling right before the end of High School. After High School, Melanie would google Natalie's name and browse her Instagram once or twice a year out of curiosity about where Natalie's life had led her but other than that, Melanie didn't think about her too often.

☯ S A M U E L . S A B I S T O N ☯ @Rockette
Melanie can't say she ever knew Samuel. He sat at the back of class, never bothered her directly and they didn't really run in the same circles. She knew he was a pained individual with troubling emotions by the way he presented himself and seemed to not care. Those who didn't care in loud silence always had something going on. So she stayed away from him. Emotions really weren't her thing, be it those openly displayed or those deeply buried and burned.

☠ T R Y S T A N . K I E L . Z A R A G O Z A . S A L A Z A R ☠ @The Man Emperor
There was something about this person that Melanie disliked, though she couldn't quite place it. At first, she just thought it was another smart kid who would be at the end of the plastic's mercy and then go on to make something of himself after school. But Melanie noticed that something was different about this boy. Not only did he seem to assemble a group around himself - which was fine; people stuck together in high school for protection, she knew this much - but he seemed to have a keen understanding of the intricate web of social relations that Mel had only ever seen displayed by those who abused that knowledge to bully others. Though she never talked to Trystan, she heard things said about him. Pairing those things with her gut feeling, Melanie stayed away from him. She would still be wary of him upon meeting him again.

Perils of Xepreath - Character-driven Adventures

Aren

_{Interactions: Tarot, Sen Rak Location:Toremont Inn Features Used:--}

---

"Oh beautiful, long time no see", the Changeling chimed as they stretched their sore back by pulling their arms up high above their head. The open window let in the warm morning breeze as Aren shoved their head outside to take a deep breath of air. The sun had already risen, it must be drinking hour for their companions. "Shall I find you where I usually do?", they spoke into the empty air. Aren and their companions, three lovely people - some more lovely than others -, had been summoned, so to say. And for the night, had stayed in the Toremont Inn, a two-story building even they could afford.

They put their arms on the window sill and let their head hang low, stretching those sore neck muscles. The inn was a nice enough establishment, Aren surely had seen worse. Though they had been in this area before on their travels, Aren had never stayed at this inn. At least not to their memory. The last time they came through these parts was a bit blurry. It all faded at some point. And ever since returning to this realm, Aren had not quite felt the same.

Aren pulled their head back inside. Leaving the window open for some air circulation, they headed over to the dresser which had a fresh bowl of water and a washing cloth placed atop that Aren had requested be brought up in the morning. They began to wash their face and wipe down their arms and legs a little before hopping into their usual clothes. A wide, frilly white shirt and a black leather jacket. That jacket was probably the priciest item Aren owned that was actually not stolen. Apart from their weapons perhaps which really didn't count as items to Aren, those were survival instruments.

They closed the window, swung their backpack over one shoulder and headed downstairs, curious about their new assignment and the other team that would be joining their crew. Hopefully, they had some interesting personalities amongst them. Aren swiftly moved over to the bar just as Tarot commented on their absence. They dropped their backpack down to the floor, between their stool and the bar with one foot on it just to be sure, and cheeky grinned at the bard. "I heard that." Aren gave the bard a wink as they leant on their arms, slouching against the countertop a little. "No surprise to find you two here with those in your hands." Nodding at the drinks their companions were downing. "So we're still missing our bonde tyrant", Aren used the words they had just overheard. "Any idea of what personalities are gonna be on the other team? Or on our newly fused team, I suppose."

Aren was always one who enjoyed change. It was necessary, it was interesting, it was fun. But they would have a job to do, one they would hopefully get paid for handsomely, and Aren knew that some teams struggled when asked to work together with another one. Dynamics were challenged, leaders were anxious, old tactics had to yield to new ones. Usually, such endeavors consisted of a couple of weeks of... let's say... bumpy, chaotic relationship establishment. That is saying it kindly. Aren had no idea who those other people were they were gonna work with and what their team dynamic looked like. They could be strict with a love of routine and order and rules. Not Aren's favorite work conditions. They could be slackers for all they knew. Chaotic and rash and unorganized. Maybe that was a little more Aren's style but an entire group of that would surely lead to more disaster than would be good for them. Of course, most groups had a healthy dose of everything. The moral compass, the rule observer, the chaotic one, the one who flirts their way through everything somehow. Would that be me? Ah, probably not. Most adventuring groups usually had a sneaky one, a brawl one, one with a plan, and one who fucks up the plan. For a moment, Aren wondered what categories their team members filled out. We know who the brawl one is, at least...

OBLIVION

@Lilissen Ah that's sad, I was looking forward to Alexa. Good luck on your group project :)

OBLIVION

@Lilissen I'm wishing you the best of luck for your job interview! And I hope you can still join.